Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats have poured scorn on George Osborne's push for a shale gas revolution in the UK, saying the process of fracking has caused extensive environmental damage and water pollution in the US.

The comments, in official policy papers, come as a new Opinium/Observer poll shows strong public opposition to fracking, with resistance particularly strong among women.

Asked if they would like to see various alternative types of energy projects in their area, 60% of people said they would be happy to have windfarms or turbines. By contrast, only 23% are happy for fracking to take place in their area.

While views were split fairly evenly among men, with 38% against fracking and 32% in favour, among women the proportion was 51% against and 15% in favour.

The papers to the Lib Dems' annual conference in Glasgow next month expose again the gulf between the two coalition parties over drilling for shale gas, with the Lib Dems insisting there will never be a "shale gas revolution" in this country.

Such views are at odds with those of Osborne and other Tories, who believe shale gas is the answer to the UK's energy needs and that the extraction process will create thousands of jobs.

They will anger the pro-fracking lobby, which contests claims that serious environmental damage has been caused by pumping water underground at high pressure to release trapped gas.

The Lib Dems say they take a "very different approach to that advocated by the chancellor, which would increase the UK's reliance on gas, and particularly on unconventional sources, ie shale gas".

They add: "In recent years, shale gas production has transformed the energy market in the US, though at the cost of significant local environmental damage and pollution of water tables.

"However, UK geology is much less favourable than that of the US (the shale contains a much higher proportion of clay, rendering hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking', techniques, much less viable), and, also unlike in the US, the benefits of production will accrue to the government, not to the landowner – thus increasing the likelihood of local opposition. There is no realistic prospect, therefore, of a 'shale gas revolution' in the UK."

The Lib Dem energy secretary Ed Davey allowed the process of fracking to resume last December – though under strict conditions – after an initial project caused tremors in Lancashire in 2011.

Recently protests have flared in Balcombe, West Sussex, where test drilling has taken place.