Government plans to generate 30 per cent of UK electricity from renewable sources by 2020 are doomed to failure, according to the chief executive of one of the world's biggest utility companies. Wulf Bernotat, chief executive of E.ON, said that British politicians needed to stop misleading the public about what was achievable. He said that British plans to build 33 gigawatts of offshore wind power, up from 0.6 gigawatts at present, was impossible, given the necessary investment and relatively short timeframe.

Bird experts have welcomed the Scottish Government's decision to refuse permission for a wind farm they said would have posed a risk to golden eagles. WPR Wind Ltd hoped to build a 14-turbine wind farm near Inveraray in Argyll. However, RSPB Scotland objected to the proposal on the grounds that the site was one of the most productive areas in the country for golden eagles.

Fifteen 400-foot wind turbines will be built after controversial plans were given the green light. Government inspectors gave the go-ahead for two wind farms near Rochdale and Bacup, despite strong opposition from conservation groups and local planners. They opposed the scheme last year, saying the turbines would be unsightly and too close to rural communities.

Planning bosses have refused permission for a wind monitoring mast to be built in Stinchcombe. Members of Stroud District Council's development control committee gave a majority vote against the application by green energy company Ecotricity on Tuesday. The company wanted to build the 70-metre mast at Standle Farm on land between the M5 and the A38.

"SAY No To Turbines At Hilton". Those are the first words that greet visitors to the village near Yarm which is the proposed site of a controversial wind farm. ...Chatting to locals, some are angry, some are ambivalent, some are disappointed. But the residents are united by the common theme of being against the turbines - however their objections are manifested.

Scientists say man-made noise equipment, including anti-seal sonar devices used in fish farms, is driving deep-water animals such as whales to shore, where they die. A northern bottlenose whale was washed up dead on a beach in Prestatyn, North Wales, on Saturday morning, the tenth of the species to become trapped or stranded on British shores this year. ...Northern bottlenose whales are acutely sensitive to sound, for like other beaked whales they use sonic pulses for hunting. The noise of oil exploration (which uses loud underwater explosions to help geologists search for undiscovered reserves), wind farm construction and shipping are all possible culprits.

The energy regulator revealed on Friday the figure as the likely price tag for closing cheaper coal-fired plants and installing cleaner power sources, as well as replacing Britain's ageing infrastructure. Utility companies will have to raise the capital, but they are likely to pass costs on to consumers, causing energy bills to rise between 14pc and 25pc over the next decade, peaking at 60pc above today's prices in 2016 under the worst-case scenario. Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF Energy, the French power retailer, welcomed the report for "highlighting how massive investment is urgently needed in power stations and infrastructure".

A council has defended its decision to use £30,000 of taxpayers money to fight a controversial wind farm. Derbyshire Dales District Council has agreed to release the money to go towards the cost of a public inquiry into the Matlock Moor development. Council leader Lewis Rose said the cash will be used for legal fees to put forward its case against West Coast Energy's plans to erect five 125-metre high turbines.

Manufacturers of the 190ft high turbine, one of three owned by Sheffield University, are now investigating the damage at the site close to the city's Parkway link road to the M1. A blade on the same turbine was broken 15 months ago and residents who live close to the site at Catcliffe, near Rotherham, have expressed fears that they could pose a danger to local people.

Campaigners fighting plans for a windfarm at Hampole were today planning to tell Doncaster councillors it was not just nearby residents who opposed the scheme. HALT - Hampole Against Large Turbines - were addressing a specially-called technical meeting for members of the council's planning committee. The protesters said hundreds of visitors to nearby Brodsworth Hall had also signed letters protesting against the plans.

West Coast Energy are hoping to build the eight turbine facility at Standingfauld Farm and last week held a public information session for locals to learn more about the proposal and ask questions. A spokesperson for West Coast Energy said: "The Public Information Exhibition, held at Muthill Village Hall last Thursday was well attended by residents and some Community Councillors.

A giant wind farm with 21 of the UK's largest inshore wind generators is being proposed in Frodsham. The renewable energy generators will stand 410ft high, 100ft taller than Big Ben, and would even dwarf the Fiddlers Ferry Cooling Tower. ...Peel Energy senior development manager Richard Dibley, who made a presentation about the site, said Peel would be starting a round of community meetings and they had already consulted organisations such as the RSPB about the internationally significant wetlands and the bird life it supports.

Plans to erect an 18m. wind turbine on the outskirts of Burnley town centre have been given the green light. Neighbouring residents had objected to the turbine, which will be built on land by The Kestrels, in Manchester Road, due to the impact on the landscape and noise that will be made. However, Burnley Council's Development Control Committee passed the proposals despite reservations from some members.

Cornwall Council's planning officers have urged members of the strategic planning committee to reject the plan for 20 turbines at Davidstow when they meet to determine the application by Community Wind Power on Tuesday night. ..."It will be a great relief when the application is put to rest, and we hope the company will accept that they have misjudged not only the location of the wind farm, but underestimated the population's ability to see through the propaganda.

Residents in a south Wales valley say they plan to fight an appeal to build a wind farm. Developers have lodged the appeal to build four wind turbines on a Blaenau Gwent mountain, following a decision to unanimously reject the application. Campaigners say Blaenau Gwent mountain has a history of landslides and they are worried over safety and impact.

A wind turbine at a school in Flackwell Heath has been repaired after part of it fell off into the school playground. A panel - about the size of a dustbin cover - fell off the back of the turbine at Carrington Junior School and the whole structure had to be taken down and repaired over the summer. ...Photographs and an anonymous letter were recieved by the Bucks Free Press saying: "If this can happen, the turbine is a danger and should not be installed anywhere near our children."

Planning officials have suspended a proposal to build a wind farm between two Lincolnshire villages. Enertrag UK has been asked to provide more information about its plans for eight 125-metre turbines at Baumber and Wispington, near Horncastle. East Lindsey District Council will allow the application to continue through the planning process if the energy company can show how its project will affect nearby residents.

Plans to site a wind turbine in a layby by the A1 and the main east coast rail line in East Lothian could have "catastrophic" consequences for public safety if the structure breaks apart, protesters have warned. The 18-metre high wind turbine with a 13-metre blade span is due to be situated south of the Spott Roundabout, near the John Muir Way, Dunbar, if East Lothian Council grants planning permission on Tuesday.

Strong emotions were on show at a meeting to discuss two potential wind farm sites in south Norfolk. More than 120 people packed into Dicklebugh Village Centre on Wednesday to listen to speakers and raise queries they had about the proposals. Planning permission has been granted to TCI Renewables and Enertrag UK for wind measuring masts at sites between Dickleburgh, the Pulhams and Rushall and another at Tivetshall St Mary.

From repeated attacks by English warriors to annual invasions of daytrippers, the Mont-St-Michel has faced many a threat in its history. But locals and activists claim the majestic site is now on the verge of suffering one of the worst indignities yet: a host of towering wind turbines which critics say will ruin the magnificent panorama and "massacre" the landscape of the windswept Normandy coast.