Planners from the Peak District National Park Authority have objected to plans for a five-turbine wind farm on the border of Sheffield and Barnsley. The Peak District planning committee has told Barnsley Council that the proposed wind farm on Sheephouse Heights, between Penistone and Stocksbridge, would be a "visual intrusion" that would harm the landscape and impact on the rural economy. Anne Ashe, who chaired the committee, said: "Members of the committee felt that having five wind turbines at this location would have a dramatic effect on the wilderness on the edge of the national park.

Cheryl Wagner, a URW member and a vocal opponent throughout the process, says she can only speak in general terms. Wagner said a proposal was given to Horizon, which the energy company is currently reviewing. The proposal was drawn up by Porter and agreed upon by URW. Neither Wagner nor Porter would disclose what was in the proposal, but an appeal may hinge upon whether or not it is accepted. "Horizon said they really want to do this (project)," said Wagner. "But, they're not willing to give a property value guarantee."

The Tioga Preservation Group's land use appeal of the Tioga County Planning Commission's decision to grant conditional approval for a wind farm project has been denied, opening the door for the construction of 124 wind turbines in Tioga and Bradford counties. On Aug. 8, Tioga County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Robert E. Dalton Jr. issued an order denying the appeal of the group, and upheld the planning commission's preliminary conditional approval of the land-use application made by AES Armenia Mountain Wind LLC, according to court documents.

Powys county council has dismissed claims that it will not decide on future wind farm plans until the local road network is improved as a "misunderstanding", writes Rachel Johnson. However, the council, along with the Welsh Assembly, has hired a team of consultants to look into concerns that local transport links are "inadequate" for the needs of wind farm developers. The Council has not made any policy statement regarding wind farms.

A longtime landowner and farmer reproached the town board Monday for its apparent opposition to commercial wind tower construction. ...Orleans County Legislator and environmentalist Gary Kent respectfully rebuked Dudley's comments, as did a a handful of local and county residents. The price of hosting wind turbines will be diminished property values, Kent said. He cited his recent visit to Naples, N.Y., where a real estate agent told him that homes are selling for tens of thousands of dollars below their assessed value since the wind farms started going up. If turbines go up in Orleans County, he bets the same will happen here, too.

The Project Hayes wind farm Environment Court hearing has been abandoned until next year after opponents won the right to present new evidence. Effectively this means all the expert witnesses for both Meridian Energy and appellant groups relating to landscape and visual effects as well as transmission might have to be recalled. The new evidence relates to cumulative effects based on the Mahinerangi wind farm.

Wellington City Council planners have recommended the proposed Mill Creek wind farm in the Ohariu Valley be given the go-ahead – but with fewer wind turbines. The Council planning officer’s report to the upcoming hearing on Meridian Energy’s proposed wind farm recommends approval be given for 25 turbines rather than the 31 turbines proposed by Meridian Energy. Council Local Area Planning Manager Dougal List says the removal of six turbines at the southern end of the site would lessen the visual and ecological impact of the wind farm.

A third wind turbine has received City Council's seal of approval. Compared to the matched set of giants that will rise nearly 500 feet from a central high point in Blackburn Industrial Park and help Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates cut into its annual $2 million energy bill, the single tower authorized by the council last week is small. But the top of the blade, as designed, would be 180 feet above the granite ledge on which developer Mac Bell intends to construct an office building containing numerous "green" innovations other than the turbine. ...If it is built, Bell's smaller turbine will be much more obvious than Varian's to those coming into the city, since it would stand on the east bank of the Annisquam River...

Tourists have long treked to the region to see the Niagara River plunge as far as 188 feet over the Horseshoe and American falls. But what if windmills taller than the falls is deep soared above the city's skyline? A company founded by Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano has approached city leaders about building wind turbines on old industrial sites in the city. While the company sees economic opportunity, the prospect exists for millions of tourists to see windmills on the horizon of Niagara Falls. "The issue for us is one more of aesthetics than anything else," said Thomas J. DeSantis, senior planner for the city. "Is it OK to put a 600-foot wind generating station at Falls and First streets? Probably not. "I think because we're Niagara Falls, and because we have certain scenic and national resources that are important to us, that we'll want to try to protect them in some small way, we'll want to look at those issues."

As Florida Power & Light Co. gets closer to a public hearing on its wind turbine plan, skeptics of the project have plenty of questions left unanswered. What about the effect on birds? Or sea turtles? And why put turbines in St. Lucie County in the first place? Nick Blount, external affairs manager for FPL on the Treasure Coast, tried to answer some of those questions from about 20 members of the Conservation Alliance of St. Lucie County on Wednesday night and promised to try to find answers to others raised by residents. ... Indian Riverkeeper Kevin Stinnette said he has several issues he still thinks should be addressed, preferably by conducting a full environmental impact statement. Blount said the company would do what is required, but he didn't commit to a full environmental impact study. In addition to sensitive wetlands being in the area, Stinnette said he has concerns about the potential effects on sea turtles, fish and birds.

It is a rare lunar spectacle whose significance dates back to ancient times, drawing visitors to the Isle of Lewis from across the world. But now the druids, pagans and witches who gather at the Callanish Stones fear the next time they visit their treasured view of the Moon could be ruined by a 53-turbine wind farm. ...Beinn Mhor Power plans to build turbines on the Eisgein Estate in Lewis, some of them on the Old Woman of the Moors. One would be built on a lump that looks like her knee, and others would be on the skyline. Archeologist Ian McHardy said the lunar phenomenon is mentioned in the Historic Scotland guidebook for the area. "I think it's an integral part of Callanish and should have been afforded higher protection. The wind turbines would be a significant part of the view."

Many of the landowners whose property abuts the Beaver Ridge windmill project met at the Beaver Ridge Road home of Sally Hadyniak Saturday afternoon to voice some concerns about the windmill project and explain why they want the town to reinstate its commercial development review ordinance. ...[Resident Jeff] Keating explained at Saturday's press conference that he wants to see in writing that the builders of the project, formerly referred to as Competitive Energy Services (CES) but now known as Beaver Ridge Wind LLC, will abide by the standards set forth in the ordinance. Originally, CES had worked with the town while it created the ordinance but, according to the abutters, were ultimately unwilling to make the windmill project meet the ordinance's guidelines, and encouraged the town to get rid of the ordinance after it had been enacted.

An ombudsman is demanding council bosses pay to take down overhead power lines they allowed to be erected in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Tynedale Council has been accused of "maladministration" by the Local Government Ombudsman after it failed to prevent the erection of 1,600 metres of overhead power line, with 12 electricity poles, close to Ninebanks, in the Tyne Valley. The council claims it could have done nothing to stop the cables being put up but is facing a further rap for refusing to remedy the "injustice".

Ramblers have condemned a decision by Peak District bosses to approve a wind turbine on National Trust land. The Derbyshire Ramblers' Association say the decision to allow the turbine on White Edge on the Park's eastern moors is "astonishing" and would seriously detract from the character of the landscape. Officers had recommended the application should be refused because it wouldn't fit in with the landscape - but councillors felt the demand for renewable energy was just too important. ..."It is even more astonishing that the Park's Planning Committee should vote for the application to be approved. We would describe it as a betrayal of all the National Park is intended to stand for."

While Massachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick continues to push for more renewable energy and conservation efforts, a plan to build 20 wind turbines in Florida and Monroe is stymied by a protracted legal challenge from environmentalists. ..."We want to be sure that the state's environmental regulations are properly enforced," said John C. Bartenstein, the attorney representing neighboring opponents and another organization, Green Berkshires.

Developers behind a multi-million pound wind farm earmarked for rural Suffolk says he may reduce the turbines size in a bid to help allay residents' fears. Mid Suffolk Council has given the go ahead for a 70 metre high wind monitoring mast at Wyverstone, near Stowmarket, and the structure will be in place for up to a year. It was expected lead to an application for two 126 metre tall turbines in the village, at a cost of about £4 million. ..."Even when you reduce them to 100 metres they would still be five times the height of the next largest structure in the area and this in no way assuages are concerns, they would still be hugely out of scale with everything else around them."

From the early 1980s through the early ‘90s, California was the national leader in wind energy development and power produced by wind farms. ...Are the turbines benefiting one aspect of the environment at the expense of another? Longtime Snow Creek resident Les Starks calls the wind farms "industrial slums" - claiming the windmills have displaced wildlife and degraded the quality of life for nearby residents. "There was a canyon near Whitewater Canyon that used to have thousands of bats," says Starks, "and now you don't see any." He's also noticed a decline in turkey buzzards migrating through the pass. ...With wind energy having been harnessed in the Desert for nearly three decades, the next few years will determine its future here. Presently, it accounts for just two percent of California's portfolio. That number surely will rise along with new and bigger windmills - love them or hate them.

An appeal brought by an energy company wanting to install eight wind turbines in Lincolnshire has been dismissed. Your Energy appealed to the Planning Inspectorate after its application was deferred by West Lindsey District Council for a third time in 2007. But an independent inspector ruled the turbines would cause "significant damage" to the landscape at Laughton. Your Energy's managing director Richard Mardon said the company was undertaking a legal review of the report.

People in a cluster of the North's former mining villages are preparing to speak out against plans to build a 13-turbine wind farm. Scottish Power subsidiary CRE Energy wants to erect the 121m-high turbines on farmland west of the Alcan aluminium complex at Lynemouth, which would be 40 metres taller than the smelter's landmark chimneys. ...Castle Morpeth councillors rejected the CRE Energy application a year ago, claiming the turbines will be excessive and over-dominant in the flat, coastal landscape. But the company has said it is confident of succeeding with its appeal. Its original bid for 16 turbines was scaled down because of local opposition.

Residents of the open, rolling hills of Kaiwera yesterday argued that the visual impact of the huge turbines proposed for the Kaiwera Downs wind farm would be like having Manhattan at their back door. Collectively and individually residents of the area strenuously voiced their opposition to TrustPower's proposed 83-turbine wind farm within a 2568ha site in their district. ...Wind farms should be built closer to the more populated main centres and heavy industry, such as the windy hills of Canterbury. "There is no doubt in our mind there is a selective morality, when it comes to where wind farms are placed, by the powers that be," Mr McFadzien said. The group and individuals made submissions highlighting the project's adverse effects on their lifestyles and livelihoods caused by noise, dust, traffic and, most importantly, the visual pollution of turbines.