Plans for two separate wind farms visible from Exmoor have come up against another hurdle. Campaign group Open Spaces Society has launched objections to the projects, stating they would have a negative impact on the feel of the moor. The two projects are the Three Moors scheme at Knowstone, North Devon, where the company Airtricity Developments hopes to erect nine turbines, and Bickham Moor, near Oakford, Mid Devon, where Coronation Power want to erect four. Kate Ashbrook, Open Spaces Society's general secretary said: "We are dismayed that the wind-energy companies keep applying to erect turbines in this part of North Devon. There are already two outstanding applications nearby, at Batsworthy Cross and Cross Moor."

As part of their lobbying against wind turbine farms in Scotland's mountains, MCofS's Chief Officer, David Gibson is attempting to mobilise travel and tourist businesses to voice their dissent against this 'industrialisation'.

A citizens' group opposed to the location of massive wind-energy plant in northern Potter County is pressuring Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell to stop the plan. However, with Gov. Rendell pushing for renewable energy projects in Pennsylvania, the "Save God's Country" (SGC) group could face an uphill struggle. An SGC spokesman said the location of wind turbines in the region is at odds with the governor's strong support for the Pennsylvania Wilds tourist promotion plan. "Are hundreds of industrial wind turbines something that will tempt people to visit the Pennsylvania Wilds?" asked Dan Howe. "It seems incongruous, and yet this is what is happening in Potter, Cameron, McKean, Lycoming and Tioga counties, all designated as the Pennsylvania Wilds."

It said the Connemara landscape is one of the principal assets of the tourism industry in Co Galway and the proposed development is located on a prominent site in east Connemara in a an area which is part of the Connemara Bog Complex Special Area of Conservation. The site is also within an area with a high-value coastal tourism infrastructure and fisheries resource.

An eyesore or thing of beauty? A detriment to tourism or a magnet for it? That is the core of the debate raging between proponents and opponents of wind farms off the shores of Lake Michigan. Muskegon's Jack Kennedy has seen a waterfront wind farm in action.

Earlier this year, the council decided to seek a full judicial review against the Secretary of State's decision to grant planning permission for a 66-megawatt wind farm at Fullabrook Down. The decision followed a Public Inquiry held between November 2006 and January 2007. During the Inquiry, the council argued strongly that the impact the development would have on the local landscape, the lives of those living in the area, the attractiveness of the area to visitors and local tourism far outweighed any benefits. It is challenging the Secretary of State's decision on landscape, noise and policy grounds.

THE tiny Greek island of Serifos, a popular tourist destination, depends on its postcard views of sandy beaches, Cycladic homes and sunsets that blend sea and sky into a clean wash of color. So when a mining and energy company floated a plan earlier this year to build 87 industrial wind turbines on more than a third of the island, the Serifos mayor, Angeliki Synodinou, called it her "worst nightmare."..."These are not just one or two turbines spinning majestically in the blue sky and billowing clouds," said Lisa Linowes, executive director of Industrial Wind Action Group, an international advocacy group based in New Hampshire that opposes wind farms.

In a ruling, issued today, the ASA upheld complaints by Scottish Renewables that the advert gave a misleading impression of the possible consequences of the Scottish Government's wind-turbines plan and the type of turbines likely to be used in Scotland, as well as exaggerating the Scottish government's estimate for offshore wind-farm developments.

The landscape of Shetland could be changed forever if the giant windfarm project goes ahead, those in the tourism industry told representatives from Viking Energy at a meeting on Wednesday. Members of Shetland Tourism Association, including accommodation providers and tour operators, expressed concern about the size of the proposed development, which could see as many a 192 turbines being erected in the central and north-east mainland. They feared the visual impact of the windfarm would deter tourists, although this was disputed by David Thomson of Viking Energy who produced the results of surveys carried out in other parts of the UK that windfarms made no difference. A suggestion was made to give questionnaires on the subject for tour guides to give to tourists.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the adventurer and outdoor campaigner, has launched a scathing attack on the Scottish executive’s renewable energy policy, claiming the country’s landscape is being ruined by wind turbines. Fiennes, a world-renowned explorer and mountaineer, accused ministers of creating a blight across much of rural Scotland and of putting the country’s tourism industry at risk. He said rural communities were threatened with destruction and urged Jack McConnell, the first minister, to scrap his renewables target until other methods of green energy generation are found.

While Greek authorities are taking steps to harness the country's untapped potential in wind and solar energy, and to meet European Union targets on curbing the use of polluting fossil fuels, the residents of Aegean islands are opposing the drive, afraid that towering wind turbines will mar the natural beauty of their communities and offend the tourists on whom they rely.

Thirteen giant wind turbines will soon be towering over valley homes and the Brecon Beacons National Park. Neath Port Talbot Council has approved controversial plans for a wind farm at Maesgwyn, between Banwen and Glynneath. ...There were 45 objections sent in by residents, and concerns were also raised at public meetings, as well as by ward councillors. The main source of grievance was the impact the turbines would have on the area's countryside, as well as on tourism.

ONE of the North-East's biggest visitor attractions is to lead the fight against plans for a wind farm in Northumberland. And the Duchess of Northumberland's Alnwick Garden will be backed by other tourism favourites, including the Chillingham Wild Cattle park and possibly Alnwick Castle - the home she shares with the Duke of Northumberland. ... "The garden is concerned that the sheer scale of the development may discourage visitors to the Alnwick area - these visitors freely express the pleasure they feel when enjoying the fantastic natural and historic landscapes of Northumberland together with the coastal area of natural beauty and the Northumberland National Park."

Seven Grant County residents have filed suit to try to block construction of 200 giant wind turbines proposed near their homes. Jerome E. Burch and six other residents sued developers of the $150 million Mount Storm wind project. In their 14-page complaint, the residents allege that the NedPower Mount Storm LLC project will be a “nuisance” and “an eyesore” that creates excess noise and kills birds and bats. The suit also alleges that the project will generate little power but receive lucrative federal and state tax breaks.

"As an Association we encourage green development but what is proposed for Montgomeryshire isn't green," he said. "It's the industrialisation of a rural area in the same way that South Wales was industrialised with steel works and coal mines.

North Devon District Council wants a judicial review of plans for 22 turbines at Fullabrook Down. If the case goes ahead, the High Court could overturn the plans by Devon Wind Power. The plans were agreed by Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks, but the council says the impact on the area and local people outweigh any benefits. ...Council leader Mike Harrison said the authority had taken legal advice and it had a chance of winning its case. He said: "These are massive turbines and it will have a huge impact on the landscape. "It will affect people living nearby and the tourism industry."

Controversial plans for a windfarm near a country park have been ruled out. A proposal to build 19 turbines - each around 300ft high - in Kelburn Estate, near Largs in Ayrshire, has been rejected in the face of major opposition. Planning chiefs said the windfarm posed a threat to the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park environment and the tourism industry.

On June 4, 2008, the Minister of Tourism confirmed the province's approval for the Wolfe Island Wind Project. Premier Dalton McGuinty asked the Minister to step in when the Environment Minister declared a conflict-of-interest on May 29, 2008. Controversy over the Wolfe Island Wind Project centres on the location of a handful of the 86-wind turbines that Canadian Renewable Energy Corporation hopes to build on the island later this year.

“The MCofS originally objected to the proposed Beauly to Denny transmission line on grounds of lack of evidence of need for the line, the devastating impact it would have on landscape, and as a consequence of that the effect it would have on Scotland’s tourism industry.” “The proposed string of pylon towers over 200 feet high is inextricably linked to the large number of wind farm proposals currently in the planning and approval pipeline, which if approved by the Scottish Executive, would devastate the hitherto unspoilt scenic upland landscape of Scotland for generations.”