E.On UK said it intends to submit an application for planning permission to put the grid connection to the proposed Denshaw Moor Wind Farm underground. The move has been taken to ensure that the visual impact of the proposed wind farm is minimised, although the decision will cost E.On more money as it is more expensive to underground wires, the company said.

...to traditional crofters, it would destroy the heart and soul of the island. "They don't want to see the land spoiled," says Catriona Campbell, chairman of Mointeach gun Mhuileann - Moorland without Turbines (MWT) - the crofters' group opposing the scheme. "It's just intrinsically connected with us as people."

Campaigners trying to protect the Lammermuirs were this week in shock following a decision to allow a windfarm in a national beauty spot. The approval for 16 giant turbines on the Aikengall Ridge took protestors by surprise when it was granted by East Lothian District Council last Tuesday. Widespread outrage erupted after councillors went against the recommendations of their own planners and voted in favour of the 125m turbines. There was further anger when it emerged that only five of the 12 councillors at the meeting had actually visited the site which is on a prominent ridge on the eastern edge of the Lammermuirs. Six councillors voted in favour with six against and the deadlock was broken by chairman Norman Hampshire using his casting vote in favour of the farm. East Lothian's first windfarm would, he said, be good for the "global environment".

In Harney County, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the county have seen a jump in interest surrounding the windy Eastern Oregon ridges and peaks near Steens Mountain as wind development companies look for different sources of the renewable power to meet state standards. Harney County has already permitted one wind farm and is considering three more ... But the wind farms that have either been approved or are under construction would add 2,400 megawatts to that total in the coming years, he said. "Oregon in the next couple of years will move from around ninth in the country (for wind power production) to maybe third," Torres said.

Mr Struan Stevenson, Scottish Tory MEP, believes that the renewable schemes would be in contravention of three European Directives and they should be put on hold for further consideration by Brussels. He has branded the plans "disgraceful" and claimed they amount to the rape of one of Scotland's most beautiful wildernesses. Just before the summer recess of the parliament, Mr Stevenson handed over on behalf of the campaign group Save Our Dava a large dossier on the projects to the EC. "By giving it personally to Environment Commissioner Stavos Dimas I am hoping that this will fast-track the intervention of the EC," said the MEP. "It shows how we believe there are prima facie breaches of at least three major European Directives involved with this cumulative project - the Birds Directive; the Planket Peat Bog Directive and the Habitat Directive.

The European Commission has been asked to intervene to stop proposals for five wind farms. The planned developments at Dava Moor, near Grantown on Spey, would mean 130 turbines close to or on the northern boundary of the Cairngorms National Park. Conservative MEP Struan Stevenson yesterday joined the RSPB and 50 other protesters, describing the plans as "environmental vandalism on a grand scale".

IRELAND'S wind farms have a devastating impact on fragile ecosystems and contribute to global warming, according to an international study published last week.

In an interview with The Australian in Canberra yesterday, Mr Garrett [the Environment Minister] said he was worried by the number of wind farm proposals that had been refused because of objections by the local community. "Australians have got to realise the time has come to embrace wind and wind farms in appropriate locations, bearing in mind they are going to be visible on the landscape -- that a 'not in my back yard' kind of mentality won't see us rolling out the deployment of wind that we need," Mr Garrett said.

The town of Mars Hill...is the test bed for all that is good and not so good about wind power in Maine. ... With the failure of two other wind power proposals - a thirty-turbine project in Redington Township outside Rangeley and a three-unit installation in the town of Freedom in central Maine - the Mars Hill experience raises the question of wind power's future in the state. An energy technology praised as the green alternative to fossil fuels and one of the solutions to global climate change has produced controversies that have split the environmental community in Maine and made enemies of natural allies.

With eight 78-metre high wind turbines, the Gotthard project would not only be the largest wind farm but also the highest in Switzerland, at 2,040-2,131 metres above sea level. ...However, obstacles remain before sails start turning in the Gotthard pass. The area first has to be rezoned by the local authorities before planning permission could be sought and granted. ...Plans for a wind farm on the Gotthard Pass are not new. A report on wind energy in Switzerland published by the state in 2004 said locating turbines in the Gotthard Pass would be "unthinkable".

The Environment Court found that while the proposal would have positive effects in terms of climate change and had benefits in establishing a renewable energy source, this was outweighed by landscape effects and the affects on the value of the Te Waka range to local tangata whenua. "Important as the issues of climate change and the use of renewable sources of energy unquestionably are, they cannot dominate all other values. The adverse effects of the proposal on what is undoubtedly an outstanding landscape, and its adverse effects on the relationship of Maori with this land and the values it has for them, clearly bring us to the conclusion that the tipping point in favour of other values has been reached," said the decision.

In an attempt to protect the moor the society has called for National Park status to be extended at the south west corner towards Brayford, Molland and West Anstey which are all in an area referred to as Greater Exmoor. The report states: "Protecting the landscape is a major concern." Recent proposals for a series of windfarms in the area surrounding Knowstone have caused particular unrest.

An environmental expert from Rockefeller University in New York says renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass are environmentally destructive.

Water company leaders say they will not oppose wind power development above supply wells, if the developer agrees to certain rules. “I truly believe the windmills don’t pose a significant risk to the water supply, if managed correctly,” geologist James Casselberry told Windber Area Authority Wednesday.