Wind energy has become a divisive issue for Trempealeau County's residents over the past 14 months. The county board will vote Monday on a third draft of a wind ordinance they've been wrestling with since investment group AgWind Energy Partners approached the board in September 2006 with a request to look at three potential sites to build four to six turbines. The proposed ordinance is stricter than the previous two. It would require turbines to be at least a mile from all habitable structures and a half-mile from property lines. Among more than 30 other restrictions is a requirement that the noise from the turbines can't exceed 40 decibels when measured at any residence.

Wind generators have been the Rodney Dangerfields of the electricity market. They're unreliable, traditional utilities say. And expensive. So when Rob Gramlich, policy director of the American Wind Energy Association, got up to address the fifth Kansas Electric Transmission Summit on Friday, he seemed to be suppressing a smile. A previous presenter had just dropped a couple pretty stunning figures: about 13,000 megawatts of wind projects have been queued up for study, and the total could reach 40,000 to 60,000 megawatts in the near future. To put that in perspective: total peak demand in the heat of summer is only a little over 40,000 megawatts. ...A huge stumbling block for wind development is that the cost of connecting the wind farm to the electric grid can fall to the local utility. Most of the wind potential in Kansas is in rural areas served by small electric cooperatives, who therefore could be forced to underwrite connection to the network even though they may not use any of the electricity.

THE first batch of ballot papers were yesterday dispatched to residents who live closest to the proposed site of a contentious 21-turbine wind farm west of Thurso. Caithness West Community Council is surveying the 1000-or-so electors in its patch to find out whether they support or oppose the 57.5 megawatt development. The timing is particularly sensitive as Baillie Wind Farm Ltd's scheme for farmland near Shebster is being tabled at a Highland Council hearing next month. The community council is among the objectors to the proposal, which would add to the existing nearby six-turbine cluster at Forss. But it is pledging to reflect the feedback of the vote in its representation.

In November, municipal officials tabled the introduction of a windmill-related ordinance after a member of the Sourland Mountain Planning Council voiced concerns about the impact of the windmills on some endangered species and plants in the region. While Steve Bales, also a township resident, is a proponent of renewable energy, he asked Township Committee members to amend the language of the ordinance to reflect better ways to preserve the Sourland Mountain region. Council members did just that and introduced a new version of the ordinance Tuesday. The measure is up for public review and a possible vote Dec. 26. ..."I do have a concern over the setback," said Laura Burshnic, a township resident. "I think 180 feet is just a little too close. I wouldn't want to look out my window and see that. It would be an eyesore." The Township Committee then changed the ordinance to reflect a windmill having a 250-foot setback from property lines, easements or utility lines.

Councillors in Conwy have voted to refuse planning permission for the development of a windfarm near Cerrigydrudion. Mwdwl Eithin, situated in the heart of the countryside, was the proposed site of a 12 turbine wind farm by developer Nuon, but at the last planning meeting county councillors decided not to grant the application. Their decision went against the recommendation of local authority planning officers, but represented the views of the majority of local residents. ..."Wind farms should only be developed when they are supported by local communities. "Everyone would agree for the need for more sustainable and renewable energy and wind power certainly has a role to play, but there must be sensitivity to the effects of wind farms on local communities and their impact on the countryside, particularly in relation to tourism."

Jane Brooks, who has been active for 30 years in conservation efforts and worked with her husband for the state to buy the property, said she favors alternative energy sources but not on public beaches. She cited a management plan that says John Brooks Park was purchased to "maintain the land in as natural a state as possible" and to "preserve a section of coastline from further development, protect its native plants and animals and provide recreational opportunities for the people of St. Lucie County." Coward said that allowing wind turbines contradicts promises made to voters when they approved a bond issue to buy beach access for preservation and recreation.

Residents are raging over plans for a huge wind farm. Around 10 turbines nearly as big as Blackpool Tower have been planned for a site near Marton. ...residents oppose the plans. They claim, ..."The desire to build wind farms is not based on local needs but is driven by the profit motives of the companies and by the greed and selfishness of the landowners involved.

After years of debate over the controversial wind farm and approval granted two years ago, construction has begun. It dominates the Louth Marsh landscape and the view from the Wolds. All 20 turbines are expected to be in place and operating early in the New Year. ...There were 137 letters of protest to the proposal and ELDC's Planning Committee initially refused the application. The controversial site was deemed hazardous to aircraft radar and military jets using RAF Donna Nook bombing range. Councillors also agreed that the visual impact on the Louth Marsh detracted from the spire of St James' Church, Louth.

After generating huge interest across Berwickshire and beyond, a controversial planning application has been rejected by Scottish Borders Council after it was decided that it contravened key council policies. Meeting on Monday, the Council's Development and Building Control Committee, decided to follow the recommendation of planning officials and unanimously put a halt to the plans to have a windfarm on Coldingham Moor. Since it was originally lodged last year, the application has sparked a vast difference in opinion, gathering responses on a local, national and even international level.

A project is in the works that will dramatically change the face of Gore Mountain in the Adirondacks. A mining company that's been around since the 19th century, wants 21st century technology to make it a power producer. These days trees are tallest along the Adirondack landscape, but two years from now wind turbines could be towering over them on Gore. ...Barton has to get the approval of the state's Adirondack Park Agency, which won't be easy. It has a history of opposing tall structures, like cell phone towers. ... Another obstacle will be the Adirondack Council, a private non-profit environmental organization. While the towers aren't near any homes, the council does not like the idea of ten, 280 foot tall wind generators towering over the landscape.

State regulators unanimously approved a proposal Wednesday to build New England's largest wind farm on a remote ridgeline in northern Washington County. ...Stetson Mountain is located in a sparsely populated area of Washington County's northernmost border with Penobscot County and Canada. It's a scenic area with rolling, heavily forested hills that help support the local timber industry. Hunting, fishing, snowmobiling and other forms of outdoor recreation are also an important part of both local culture and the regional economy. So UPC's proposal to build 38 wind turbines, each standing nearly 400 feet tall, has not gone over well with everyone. ...Opponents also raised concerns about noise from the turbines, which has been a problem for some homeowners near the Mars Hill farm.

Nearby Johnstown Township is higher in elevation, but the environment doesn't bode well for turbines, Slaymaker said. Parts of the town reach 1,051 to 1,079 feet in elevation, but much of that area is wooded, he said. Aside from the physical obstructions, wooded areas bring more environmental concerns such as birds and bats, he said. Town of La Prairie officials have not had formal discussion about writing a wind farm ordinance, but they know it's coming, town Chairman Michael Saunders said. "Unfortunately, in the town business we've got to know more and more about less and less," he said. "This is one issue I've started to watch on the horizon."

City Council is considering seeking a financial contribution from the city's biggest company in return for allowing it to alter the horizon with wind turbines tall enough to be visible almost everywhere on Cape Ann. The issue was raised by Councilor Jason Grow as councilors inched toward a vote Tuesday night on permitting Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates to build what would be the tallest turbines in the state. "I support (Grow) on this," said Peckham. "The city will have to live with (the turbines) every single day."

"The people of the village who were eligible to vote in the parish poll in August have shown that they do not want the wind turbine farm or the anemometer and the planners have taken that view on board in making their decision," said Mr Taylor. Also pleased at the result was Reg Thompson, vice chairman of the action group called Against Turbines at Chiplow". He said : "With over 500 off shore turbines approved along the Norfolk coast, the county has more than met its quota for renewable energy. I believe that the decision at the meeting sends a clear message to the power companies and greedy landowners that there should be no more shore wind farms blighting our beautiful Norfolk countryside".

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".

Highland planners were warned yesterday that they risked flooding communities and landing taxpayers with huge fines if they approved a raft of windfarm applications in a wildlife haven on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park. Scottish Tory MEP Struan Stevenson told local objectors to five schemes planned for the pristine Dava Moor near Grantown that he had submitted their complaints to EC Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas. He hoped the commissioner's legal officers would visit to verify that, cumulatively, the projects would breach bird, peat bog and habitat legislation.

One of the most significant sites in the history of British aviation is in imminent danger of destruction, a leading local historian has warned. A proposal by a developer SLP Energy to place seven 125m-high (410ft) wind turbines on the site of the former RAF Pulham - home to the famous "Pulham Pigs" - is "grossly irresponsible", says historian and archaeologist Hadrian Jeffs. "It is quite wrong that such an important historical location, both for East Anglia and for the nation, should be sacrificed in this way," he said.

MOTORISTS will catch glimpses of wind turbines from the Great Ocean Road from three locations for up to a minute if the Newfield wind farm, east of Warrnambool, goes ahead. Plans for the 15-turbine farm are set to be reviewed by the region's peak tourism body, Shipwreck Coast, during the public exhibition period before Corangamite Shire decides on the project's future.

Now a Massachusetts company wants to catch the wind that whips across the ridge between Mosier and The Dalles. The Cascade Wind Project proposed by UPC Wind Partners is the first to reach into a rural Oregon community. Predictably, the 389-foot towers have riled the locals. Yet the clash goes deeper than a spat between neighbors and a developer. The northern cluster of Cascade Wind's turbines would brush the boundary of the federally protected Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. That sets up a conflict between Northwest values, pitting a revved-up desire to advance clean, renewable energy against the long-held belief that rural and scenic areas deserve special care.

A second attempt by lines company Unison to win consent for a proposed wind farm, already rejected by the Environment Court, will be handed straight to the Government for a decision. The Hastings District Council has decided not to deal with a slightly modified application from Unison to build a wind farm on Te Waka Range, near the Titiokura Summit on the Napier-Taupo Road. The council approved Unison's first application, for 37 turbines on a property next to a site where Hawke's Bay Windfarms has consent to build 75 turbines of its own. However, the Environment Court threw out Unison's proposal, saying the cumulative visual effect of the two wind farms would be excessive, and it would be denigrating to Maori cultural and spiritual values relating to the area. Unison has appealed against that decision in the High Court, while lodging a new proposal with three fewer turbines with the district council. Rather than go through a repeat hearing of a virtually identical application, the council has decided to send the consent request straight to Acting Environment Minister David Parker for a decision.