Will wind-generated power save the environment or sacrifice it? The answer depends on who you ask ..."Your senators are very brave in what they're doing," said Lisa Linowes of New Hampshire-based Wind Action. "The legislature already concluded when it adopted the Ridge ordinance that your mountains have cultural significance to the state. When asked now to consider whether that value is worth more - or less - than wind generated electrons on the grid, your mountain senators are doing what most politicians in the U.S. have not done. They're putting a cold eye to the options and deciding wind is not worth the sacrifice, at least for now."

The 29th Congressional District is ground zero for wind farm development with more than 1,200 turbines ultimately planned for the region, according to U.S. Rep. Eric Massa, D-Corning. Massa was in town Monday night to discuss his opposition to the federal health reform act, during a 1.5-hour long town hall meeting, saying the act would impose a higher surcharge on New Yorkers and undermine Medicare.

Peter Kelley, the attorney for the group, said Tuesday that his clients have seen the quality of life they experienced before the windmills were constructed slip from their grasp. He said his clients are alleging that they were not properly notified about all that the construction process entailed. Noise, which Wendy Todd said Tuesday was not supposed to be an issue, continues to reverberate from the wind farm. Headaches and frayed nerves are now a problem, according to Todd, and property values among the homes allegedly affected by the project have diminished.

While the Huron County Wind Energy Subcommittee had expressed hope a state university would take the lead on a comprehensive heath study on the effects of wind turbine noise, it learned last week it's unlikely. Before last week's meeting, several subcommittee members met with Dr. Alfred Franzblau, University of Michigan Environmental Health Sciences professor, via teleconference to discuss the possibility of a noise study.

Giant wind turbines are coming close to Pocahontas County and many residents are curious if the windmills will be visible from their homes. A helpful website with a strange name lets you find out with just a few clicks of the mouse. Heywhatsthat.com works in conjunction with Google Maps and provides custom viewsheds from any point on the globe.

Bryne Purchase, a former deputy minister of finance and energy in Ontario, now executive director of the Queen's University Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy, says Dalton McGuinty's government seems to be flying by the seat of its pants when it comes to energy. "This has all been driven by relatively simple political thinking: coal bad, wind good," he says. A carbon tax, whatever the form, would have had the advantage of pricing the pollutants out of the market, rather than making wind the default winning technology.

State regulators declined to reopen a debate over the location of four new wind turbines in east-central North Dakota, saying they had already considered a neighboring landowner's arguments that they should be moved. The state Public Service Commission on Monday agreed to ask the project's developer, NextEra Energy Resources, if it would be practical ...in moving the turbines to alternative locations nearby.

A controversial new medical study gaining supporters claims living close to windmills can give you migraines and panic attacks. These windmills are at the center of a medical debate brought on by this controversial new study. Dr. Nina Pierpont in New York lists a dozen possible health problems ranging from migraines to panic attacks. She calls it "wind turbine syndrome." Spinning windmill blades allegedly cause a vibration we can't hear. ...Ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. Syed Ahsan at Eisenhower Medical Center weighs in.

State regulators say they won't hold another hearing to debate the siting of a wind farm in east-central North Dakota. The Public Service Commission says it will ask the wind project's developer to move four of the project's 80 wind turbines to satisfy complaints from a nearby landowner.

A long-running campaign to build a wind turbine at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn has been dealt another blow by councillors. The latest application to build an 80m turbine in the hospital grounds has been refused by West Norfolk's development control board ...This is the second planning application for the turbine which has been turned down.

People living close to windfarms in Powys could face a health risk as campaigners claim turbines are being built too close to people's homes. It comes as Powys County Council is expected to receive planning applications for more than 500 wind turbines. Campaign group Cadwriaeth Ucheldir Powys say studies have revealed many householders living near turbines suffer headaches, sleep deprivation and dizziness.

Neighbors protesting turbine locations for a wind farm near Luverne, N.D., are upset that work has begun while requests for reconsideration are pending before state regulators. ...Commissioners on Monday will discuss the requests for reconsideration by several neighboring landowners as well as Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo.

A group of Mars Hill residents who live near the second largest wind power project in the state have filed a lawsuit against the developer, First Wind, citing noise and health concerns and seeking compensation for a loss of property value. ...Wendy Todd says she and her husband were supportive of the project. ...Soon Todd says the intermittent sounds and shadow flicker from the turbines began to wear on her nerves.

The Hill Country's natural beauty is under assault, some say, all in the name of supplying power to the masses. Last week, Rep. Harvey Hilderbran asked the Texas Public Utility Commission to consider routing new transmission lines down U.S. 277 and east along Interstate 10 to the lift station in Comfort to minimize the impact to private property owners. ..."I understand the need to distribute power efficiently and effectively to all areas of Texas," Hilderbran said in a letter to the PUC. "But not at the expense of diminishing property values and the pristine views of the Hill County."

Citizens for the Protection of Libertyville addressed the Village Board at its last meeting over their concerns about a wind turbine operating near their residences. Dave Gates, a member of Citizens for the Protection of Libertyville, said the group is upset over a 120-foot wind turbine located at Aldridge Electric, 844 E. Rockland Road, within 250-feet of their homes.

When Trisha Godfrey bought her dream home she never imagined this. Sixty-five turbines in her view, some just eight-hundred metres away. Since they've been operating she's had trouble sleeping and suffered constant headaches and nausea. "All I know is before the wind turbines went on I was okay and now I'm not."

As Brighton-based Energy Farming Ontario Inc. presents its proposals to build a series of small wind turbine farms on leased farmland in Northumberland and Peterborough counties, local communities are also becoming aware of some of the issues that have fanned the controversy around this source of alternative renewable energy.

During last week's meeting of the Huron County Wind Energy Subcommittee, which was formed to address complaints about wind turbines from residents, Huron County Commissioner Kurt Damrow said a teleconference will take place in the near future, although a date has yet to be determined. Huron County Health Department officials, along with some members of the subcommittee, will discuss the protocol of a health study with the universities. Previous studies on the subject will be reviewed to determine their applicability to Huron County.

A rural Barnes County couple had planned to enjoy retirement by moving back to North Dakota. But Dennis and Cathryn Stillings are finding a changed landscape even noisy. As WDAY 6 Reporter Kevin Wallevand tells us, the prairie has a different look and sound. ...Dennis Stillings and his wife Cathryn moved back to their native North Dakota two years ago. ..."We would never do this again; no if we had known [about the turbines] we would not have looked at the property."

West Wind, Meridian's wind farm near Wellington, was opened by the Prime Minister in April. Since then, the company's been dealing with complaints from people living in the Makara Valley. Neighbours of the wind farm say they were told by Meridian that they wouldn't hear the turbines, but the locals say they hear them most days and most nights and it's constant torture.