Worries for the safety of wayward skydivers is just one of the concerns that has led Hobart to blow away a proposal to install wind-turbine power generators on a CBD rooftop. Perth rejected the rooftop turbines in August last year when it denied a similar application, mostly on the basis of visual impact. Concerns over visual impact and bird strikes marked Hobart's rejection of the turbines at a council meeting last night, but worries over skydivers was an added reason for knocking them back.

Opinion is divided as to whether wind farms near Crookwell airfield, north of Canberra, will pose a threat to aircraft. But people with concerns have been invited to make submissions to a NSW upper house inquiry.

Tooborac residents fear a proposed wind farm will make their fire-prone village even more unsafe after a turbine caught fire in South Australia. The turbine burnt scrub near Port Lincoln last month at the height of a prolonged heatwave. Tooborac, about 20km from Lancefield, has been earmarked for a 70-turbine wind farm for more than five years by Transfield Services.

As the owner of Gisborne's Farmers Air Limited, Mr Stevenson has been flying for 45 years and services over 25 farms in the Tararua District. His message was clear. "There are serious safety implications for aerial topdressers. I've seen far too many people killed by wires, poles and other obstructions - it's only a matter of time."

A wind farm turbine caught fire at the Cathedral Rocks Wind Farm in the early hours of Tuesday morning. ...The company said yesterday it expects the damage bill to be about $2 million, but it would determine an exact amount when it finishes its investigation.

A $6 million wind turbine has caught fire near Port Lincoln, starting blazes on the ground as embers fall. The fire, at the Cathedral Rocks Wind Farm about 30km southwest of the town, was first noticed by a boat about 1am.

Pilots flying in and out of Wellington may be forced to change course with the construction of a new windfarm. The construction of 62 turbines from Makara Beach to Cape Terawhiti, west of Wellington, is due to begin next month. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) magazine Vector said the wind farm would require airspace changes within Wellington's "control zone" but the changes would not appear on Visual Navigation Charts (VNC) until November when updated charts were printed.

A Meridian Energy witness was scrutinised for not considering Central Otago's harsh winter, which could shut down wind turbines in times of high demand. The Environment Court hearing into the $2 billion Project Hayes windfarm continued yesterday with wind energy consultant Graham White appearing for Meridian. He said in freezing humid condition wind turbines could ice up and no longer operate.

A 50-tonne crane ran off an access road and slipped down a bank on the Tararua Wind Farm yesterday, tipping on its side. The driver survived with moderate injuries. He was taken with a leg injury by ambulance to Palmerston North Hospital shortly after 10am. The damaged crane belongs to Verticon New Zealand, a maintenance subcontractor at the wind farm. Ashhurst Senior Constable Andy Nicholls said the accident could have been a lot worse as the crane could easily have gone over the bank and plunged towards the access road below.

Developers of a proposed wind farm near Purnim have opposed CFA requests to install water tanks on the site to assist firefighters. Yesterday, Wind Farm Developments director Alistair Wilson told a Moyne Shire Council hearing that he opposed the request to install static water tanks because firefighting equipment would be unable to reach a tower blaze, rendering the tanks useless.

A $3 MILLION wind farm turbine caught fire while dozens shut down at the time South Australia most needed them - when a heatwave left 63,000 South Australian homes without power last month.

Engineers from Melbourne will today begin inspecting the scene of a $3 million fire at the Lake Bonney wind farm.

A compilation as of November 1, 2006 of turbine accidents in the USA and abroad by accident type, date, site, state/country and turbine model.