UK Business Secretary Grant Shapps was criticised yesterday after claiming wind turbines are now "so big" they cannot be built on land.
However, his comments are at odds with the current situation in Scotland, where ever-larger wind turbines are being installed onshore.
The government is facing a rebellion from some of its own MPs who want to lift an effective ban on new onshore wind turbines in England.
Mr Shapps has said onshore wind should be "part of the mix".
But he said there should be local support for any new turbines.
Responding to calls from Labour in the Commons for him to clarify his position, Mr Shapps told MPs: "These turbines are now so large, they can't even be constructed onshore. They are so big, the turbines wouldn't be able to be carried by roads. They have to be put offshore."
'Not buildable' onshore
He added: "These single turbines are seven football pitches in scope as they turn. They're not buildable onshore. It's one of the reasons why the cheapest way to build them offshore, to produce energy offshore, is to build these mammoth turbines which go together in groups of two or even up to 300."
However, he reiterated the government would ensure onshore wind could be part of the "critical mix" of energy.
Mike Childs, from environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth, told the BBC it was "nonsense" to suggest turbines were too big to be built on land, with major onshore wind farms currently being built in Scotland.
A proposed Aberdeenshire wind farm would have some of the tallest structures in the UK.
The Hill of Fare development nearly four miles from Banchory could have 17 turbines each coming in at 820ft.
If approved, it would be the tallest onshore wind farm in the UK.
Only two UK buildings are bigger
To give an idea of its size, a quick check online reveals that only two buildings in Britain would be bigger.
The biggest is The Shard, coming in at 1,017ft, followed by 22 Bishopsgate, which measures 912ft. Both are in London.
Mr Childs said onshore wind was "cheap, plentiful and popular" and the biggest barrier to its development "isn't the size of the turbines, it's government policy".
Greenpeace described Mr Shapps's comments as "nonsensical".
UK policy director Doug Parr said: "Grant Shapps claims that turbines can't be carried by roads, but hasn't seemed to notice how this already happens all over the world.
"It may seem very obvious, but the point about onshore wind is that it is built onshore. On land. There is a thriving onshore wind market in many places. He enjoys a football analogy, but can't seem to notice his own goal."
Mental block
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said: "This Conservative Government has had an absurd mental block over onshore wind for the best part of a decade."
She said onshore wind "can strengthen our energy security, and help to tackle the ever-worsening climate emergency".
"Pitting onshore against offshore is dangerous and nonsensical - we can and must have both," she added.
Onshore wind is a cheap, renewable source of energy, but opponents say turbines are noisy and an eyesore.
In the summer leadership contest, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to keep the effective ban on new onshore wind in England, which has been in place since 2015.
But more than 30 of his own MPs - including former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss - have backed an amendment to the Levelling Up Bill which would overturn the ban.