Putting up a small wind turbine on the roof of a suburban home may be a waste of time, according to a new report. And in future grants for people who want to install small-scale wind turbines should only be given if it can be shown the turbine will actually save on CO2 emissions. The claims are made in a joint study by the Carbon Trust and Met Office set up to establish whether household wind turbines - so-called microgeneration - will work and whether they can help cut CO2 emissions.

The study shows rural areas tend to deliver more energy than urban ones Grants for homeowners who want to install small wind turbines should assess whether the structure saves carbon emissions, a report has said. The Carbon Trust study says turbines in urban homes may not generate enough electricity to counter CO2 emissions created by their manufacture and use. It said grant schemes should consider whether the likely carbon savings of small wind turbines are "reasonable".

Campaigners were jubilant last night after controversial plans to build a windfarm in the south Norfolk village of Hempnall were unanimously refused. More than 100 local people packed into the chamber at South Norfolk Council's headquarters in Long Stratton to listen to the debate over plans by renewable energy company Enertrag UK to build seven 125m high turbines on land at Bussey's Loke. The proposals had been recommended for refusal and were last night unanimously turned down by the council's south-west area planning committee. Enertrag said that it would appeal the decision.

Parachute instructors are "sky high" after a planning application that could have grounded their business was thrown out by planners. Plans to build two wind turbines near Shotton Airfield have been dismissed by a Government inspector because of the impact they would have on Peterlee Parachute Centre (PPC). An instructor at the only parachute centre in North East England says the decision has not only saved the centre, but safeguarded the sport in the region.

Six homeowners living near the site of a proposed wind farm in the Vale of Belvoir are demanding council tax discounts because they say the plans have caused their house prices to fall. The move comes after Julian and Jane Davis, who were forced from their Deeping St Nicholas home after turbines were built 930m away, successfully appealed to have their council tax banding lowered to a Band A. A valuation tribunal ruled last week that the construction of the wind farm close to the Davis' home had a "significant detrimental effect" on their enjoyment of their home and would have "some effect on the potential sale price".

Alex Salmond yesterday said the past ten days were the most exciting in the history of renewables in Scotland, as he gave the go-ahead for a major wind farm to expand. Another nine turbines will be built alongside the 77 already given approval at the Crystal Rig wind farm, near Dunbar in East Lothian.

German energy group E.ON and Danish utility Dong Energy have agreed to acquire Royal Dutch Shell's 33 percent stake in the 1,000-megawatt wind farm project in Britain, known as London Array, for an undisclosed sum. The pair, each owning a one-third stake in the project currently, are to become 50-50 partners in London Array which, once finished, could supply electricity to over 750,000 homes. ...Both E.ON and Shell declined to provide the financial terms of the transaction.

The First Minister told the World Renewable Energy Congress in Glasgow the green light had been given to a 152-turbine project in South Lanarkshire. The chairman of the congress then hailed Mr Salmond as the "saint of renewable energy". Mr Salmond now expects Scotland to become the green-energy capital of Europe and a major exporter of renewable energy - a move that could bring billions of pounds into the economy. ... But sceptics questioned whether Scotland was going in the right direction with its strong focus on wind. ...Scotland is too focused on wind power at the expense of other technology based on saving energy and producing clean electricity, which would also be more economical, according to some leading environmental thinkers. More than 80 plans are currently lodged for new onshore wind farms in Scotland, which could lead to more than 1,600 extra turbines being built across the country.

Residents campaigning against a planning application for three wind turbines have presented a petition to the local authority. Eileen and David Watson, and Tanya and Paul Davies, all residents of Earthcott Green, have presented a petition of more than 350 signatures, campaigning against an application to build three wind turbines in their village. ...The angry residents presented the petition to Matthew Riddle, South Gloucestershire Council's executive member for community care and housing, on Monday morning.

Bosses at the MoD had a deadline of December to submit statements to the ongoing public inquiry into three proposals for turbine developments north of Hexham. But the ministry was yesterday criticised for submitting a vital proof of evidence to the inquiry ...three months after it had started. The MoD is objecting to the turbines on the grounds that they will interfere with air traffic control radar and threat radar. The first objection was submitted with the ministry's statement of case, but the objection on the grounds of threat radar was not submitted to the inquiry until March, a fact that has upset developers.

Dozens of residents came together to discuss controversial plans for a windfarm site in Ulley. Almost 50 people came together for the meeting which was held at Holy Trinity Church, on Main Street to voice their feelings about the potential site on Penny Hill. Residents against the proposal have formed The Ulley Windfarm Action Group to try and tackle the plans themselves. ..."We want to keep our countryside and the wildlife - we don't want great big industrial windfarms created, we think it's wrong."

The wind turbine will cost about £700,000 and will be funded through sponsorship and general income. It is hoped that it will reduce the organisation's energy bills by £150,000 annually. Despite receiving planning permission from Lewes District Council last year, against the recommendations of its own planning officers, the proposals have been hotly contested by some members of the East Sussex community, who feared that the turbine would ruin the stretch of countryside where the opera company is based. Following a public enquiry in Lewes in February, the case was put to Blears, who issued her final decision today.

Villagers who have vowed to fight plans for nearly a dozen turbines near their homes could face a second wind farm development on their doorstep. County Durham firm Banks Developments has drawn up proposals to build up to ten turbines on land north-east of Darlington. The company has started a report for the proposed development, known as the Moor House scheme, between the villages of Barmpton and Brafferton, approximately three miles east of the A1(M). Detailed proposals are still being drawn up, but it is expected the farm would include up to ten turbines with a maximum height of 125m to the tip of the blades.

The centrepiece of the Renewable Energy Strategy is a plan to build 7,000 new wind turbines over the next 12 years; 4,000 to be located off the coast and 3,000 more dotted around the country. The 4,000 offshore turbines, each the size of Blackpool Tower, will have to be lowered into the seabed at a rate of more than one every working day between now and 2020 - that's a turbine for every half mile of coastline. More than £100bn will need to be invested for the plan to come to fruition. ...To come up with that £100bn, the Government is laying out a slew of incentives to the private sector.

Wells lifeboat rescued a yacht with engine failure which was drifting dangerously close to a new wind farm off Skegness. ...Wells lifeboat press officer John Mitchell said it was too early to say whether the wind farm, which is still being constructed, was likely to present more problems for sailors and result in more calls to the coastguard but it was something they were monitoring.

A wind farm developer refused permission to erect turbines in Northumberland has lodged an appeal. Catamount Energy has challenged the decision of Berwick Borough Council's planning committee in March to reject its proposal to put up six turbines at Barmoor, between Ford and Lowick. The application had been amended from an original nine turbines and recommended for approval. But councillors felt the wind farm would have an unacceptable impact on the Northumberland landscape which could not be mitigated and voted 8-1 against.

Exmouth has been revealed as a potential site for the building of offshore wind-farms - angering fishermen who see it as their 'death knell'. Fishermen fear their livelihoods will suffer if plans go ahead to build an offshore wind-farm - most of the turbines are sited three to five miles offshore and fishermen go out up to 46 miles. Keith Graham, Harbour Master, said: "This will affect the fishermen - it's a death knell for them. I am a conservationist but this would be very bad for fishermen and I don't think it will make any difference (to the environment)."

Dorset may need four wind farms in order to meet a renewable electricity generation target set for 2010, it has been claimed. A spokesman for sustainable energy agency, Regen South West, said around 30 megawatts of power could come from two new sites proposed for East Stoke and North Dorset if they get the go-ahead. But two more similar sites would be needed elsewhere in the county to meet a target set in the 'REvision 2010' report on renewable electricity generation in the South West. ...The president of the Dorset branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England Terry Stewart said: "The proposed farm at East Stoke is right next door to a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and would be visually intrusive as would the planned farm near Gillingham."

Contact Energy has withdrawn its Environment Court appeal against Meridian's wind farm in central Otago, Project Hayes. Instead, the two companies will push for an upgrade of the lower South Island's transmission system so it can cope with both existing and planned generation. Contact had appealed against the 176-turbine wind farm on grounds that transmission constraints would restrict the amount of energy that could be transmitted northwards. ...Meridian chief executive Tim Lusk welcomed Contact's decision.

First minister Rhodri Morgan was urged yesterday to scrap the Assembly Government's windfarm plans which would devastate some of Wales' most stunning countryside. Fifty prominent Welsh figures in public life signed an open letter appealing to Mr Morgan to re-think proposals for a big expansion of wind-power. They include the uplands of the Denbigh Moors and Cambrian Mountains, and an area off the North Wales coast. Signatories included broadcasters Iolo Williams and Sian Lloyd, the Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan, Ffion Hague, Lord Carlile, Lord Howe and Marquis of Anglesey. They were backing the call by the Gwlad Alliance, an umbrella group for environmental and protest groups across Wales who are opposed to wind farms.