Local Plaid Cymru AM for Aberconwy, Gareth Jones, has described the decision by the Westminster Labour Government to approve the construction of the huge Gwynt y Mor windfarm, off the coast of Llandudno and Colwyn Bay, as a slap in the face and an affront to the democratically-expressed wishes of the people of Wales. ..."The scale of the Gwynt y Mor development cannot be overstated. The 250 turbines will be visible for many miles around.

Residents have expressed fears over the size of five huge wind turbines after their first view of how they would appear on the Derbyshire landscape. West Coast Energy, the company behind the scheme, said the 126m (413ft) turbines proposed for Matlock Moor at a cost of £16m ...

Hundreds of giant pylons connecting the English border to the Welsh coast will be needed to link huge new wind farms to the National Grid, campaigners warned yesterday. ..."Developers can be given planning consent for the turbines without consideration of the power transmission element, which can also have a huge impact on the environment.

A bid to extend a controversial windfarm near a historic Banffshire castle has been criticised by Historic Scotland officials and council planning chiefs. ...Historic Scotland had raised concerns that the two turbines would have a "severe" visual impact on the unoccupied castle. ...The proposed turbine would be some 3,700ft from the castle, while the other two would be closer, around 2,600ft away.

The controversy surrounding wind farms will be reignited this week when the government agency charged with protecting the environment reveals plans to build up to 80 wind turbines along some of the nation's most picturesque rivers.

Energiekontor Uk Ltd wants to put five 328ft (100m) turbines at Brightenber Hill near Gargrave, Skipton. A 250-strong group of residents have formed Friends of Craven Landscape and are campaigning against the plans. Craven Council has received 600 letters of objection and a 600-signature petition, but its planning committee has been asked to approve the plans.

An area the size of Wales would need to be covered in wind turbines to meet just a sixth of the nation's daily energy needs, according to a new study that has cast doubt over the Government's push for wind energy. Professor David MacKay, a physicist at Cambridge University, said ministers would have to look at other forms of alternative energy, like tidal power, if they were to meet their ambitious renewable energy commitments.

The skyline of the Vale of Evesham will be dominated and the countryside killed if a wind farm is built in Lenchwick, a newly-formed group has warned. Vale Villagers Against Scottishpower (VVASP) are urging residents to find our more about the multi-million pound project - which could see up to 10 turbines, each 410 ft (125m) tall built in the Lenchwick area.

The future of a proposed wind farm is hanging in the balance after a second authority refused permission for the scheme. Developer Broadview Energy wants to build five 125m wind turbines, between Hilton and Seamer, near Yarm. The plans immediately sparked concerns including visual impact, the potential consequences on the surrounding road network and effects to wildlife.

Farmers living next to a proposed windfarm in the Valleys say the plans would be a "disaster" for them if it is given the go-ahead. Pennant Wind Energy Ventures Ltd wants to build four 328 ft high turbines on a four-hectare site on Mynydd James mountain at Blaentillery between Cwmtillery and Blaina. ..."I fear that the scheme is unsafe and the area is not suitable for such turbines."

A national park authority is appealing against a wind farm in Derbyshire after a government inspector gave the green light to four turbines overlooking a scenic reservoir. The Peak District National Park Authority will take its appeal to the High Court.

Ambitious plans to build giant wind turbines in Southampton have stalled because city councillors fear a public outcry ...At least five potential wind turbine locations around the city have been identified since the council enthusiastically announced its plans late last year. ...But the council's Tory Cabinet has now gone back to the drawing board to look at other less eye-catching - and controversial - renewable energy schemes.

A tiny rural Northumberland community could end up completely surrounded by wind farms. The hamlet of Wingates, near Rothbury, is faced with five schemes which are either at scoping or pre-application stage, all within 5km of the houses. ...Residents have formed the action group Wingates not Wind Farms (WNWF) which held its first meeting last week in association with the parish council.

Proposals to build 85 wind turbines in East Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway have been rejected on safety grounds. The Scottish Government said the Kyle wind farm would have had detrimental effects on safety at Prestwick Airport and the surrounding landscape.

Demonstrators blocked traffic into the Eden Project in a protest against plans for a giant wind turbine. The 127m (416ft) machine would be put on the northern side of the Eden site, near St Austell in Cornwall, if Restormel Borough Council approves it. Protesters, who called off the demonstration after about an hour, clashed with visitors and police. Environmental charity Eden said the turbine would have to be large to be economical and to power the site.

Campaigners fighting proposed wind farms in Northumberland last night admitted they fear the floodgates opening after developers apparently overcame MoD objections. The Ministry is in advanced talks with RidgeWind Ltd which could see its objection to that company's scheme for Wandylaw, near Chathill, withdrawn. A public inquiry into the bid resumes on Tuesday when the two sides could reach agreement on a condition which would allow the turbines to be erected.

Controversial plans for a wind farm on top of a scenic wilderness has come under fresh attacks from worried residents. Energy firm nPower wants to put up 19 turbines - some as high as 400ft - on Mynydd-y-Gwair. Campaign group Save Our Common Mountain Environment, who have been fighting the scheme since 2004, recently won the backing of TV botanist David Bellamy. Now locals in Pontlliw have thrown their weight behind the plan to kick out the scheme.

Following on from last weeks landslide which is thought to have been caused as a result of work that is being carried out on a wind farm site, Shannon Regional Fisheries Board's Matt Nolan has reported that to date 2,000 small fish have been removed from the Owengar River. ...Having visited the site, Dromahair based Green Party member, Johnny Gogan believes that "it appears that the bogslide resulted from a heavy build up of excavated material on Corrie mountain related to the construction of an access road to the intended wind-farm. Such a liability should have been detected by an effective Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

A bogslide which threatened one of the country's premier fishing lakes appeared to have come to a halt yesterday. For the third consecutive night, geotechnical experts and wind farm and forestry staff remained at the scene of a potential environmental disaster. ...The slide began on Tuesday afternoon during the construction of a road to the Garvagh Glebe North wind farm, a joint project between Coillte and Hibernian Wind Power, a subsidiary of the ESB.

Walkers fear too many wind farms will be built in exceptionally beautiful areas of countryside, in particular parts of Yorkshire, the Ramblers Association has said. It said ramblers will see a trebling in the number of large-scale wind farms in the countryside in the next three years. In a response to the Department for Business's draft Renewable Energy Strategy, the association complained onshore wind farms would be erected at the expense of developing other renewables.