Wind turbines standing as high as 15 metres (50ft) will be allowed on farmland and industrial estates without planning permission, under proposals to boost renewable energy. The turbines will be approved across large areas of the countryside, provided they meet noise and impact restrictions. John Healey, the housing minister, also announced plans to fast-track applications for solar panels on stadiums, schools, railway stations and offices, as part of proposals to achieve national commitments on climate change.

Supporters and opponents of plans to build wind farms in Cheshire will have been keen spectators of a heated debate in the House of Commons. Peter Luff MP introduced a ten-minute rule bill on the proximity of wind turbines to homes which has gained backing from Weaver Vale MP Mike Hall and Eddisbury MP Stephen O'Brien. The bill, which is not expected to become law but may be considered by future government, is designed to create a 2km ‘buffer-zone' around any 125m commercial wind turbines.

More than 100 Byram residents living less than one mile from land earmarked for nine turbines have now written to the Labour politician voicing their concerns over noise, vibrations and flickering shadows. They want him to support the Onshore Wind Turbines Bill put forward by Peter Luff to Parliament on Tuesday, requesting a 2km separation distance, as is the case in Scotland and France.

Windfarm operators say new guidelines could jeopardise extension plans for their project near Fintry - and massive cash boosts for local villages along with it. Falck Renewables is looking to extend the Earlsburn windfarm and an application for a further nine turbines is currently with Stirling Council. The new proposal would broaden the community benefits package ...But the company says moves by Stirling Council to update its windfarm policy could prove too restrictive.

Back in July, DDC wrote to the Government asking for guidance on how it should deal with a proliferation of ‘speculative' proposals for wind farms in the local area. ...Replying to the council, the Rt Hon Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, Minister of State at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, said: "You make the point that clearer leadership is required on the issue of sustainable energy and what installations are actually needed ...I agree we need to show clear leadership in this area, and while I agree there is more to do, I think we are going in the right direction."

Planning bosses have refused permission for a wind monitoring mast to be built in Stinchcombe. Members of Stroud District Council's development control committee gave a majority vote against the application by green energy company Ecotricity on Tuesday. The company wanted to build the 70-metre mast at Standle Farm on land between the M5 and the A38.

Plans to erect an 18m. wind turbine on the outskirts of Burnley town centre have been given the green light. Neighbouring residents had objected to the turbine, which will be built on land by The Kestrels, in Manchester Road, due to the impact on the landscape and noise that will be made. However, Burnley Council's Development Control Committee passed the proposals despite reservations from some members.

Two Derbyshire councils are formally objecting against plans for a wind farm on the edge of the Peak District. Derbyshire Wind Energy, a subsidiary of West Coast Energy, wants to build three 126-metre turbines on Matlock Moor, overlooking the Derwent Valley close to Chatsworth House and the national park boundary. Opponents fear it will harm the landscape and deter tourists from the area.

An inspector was due to hear an appeal against the rejection by North Lincolnshire Council for a seven turbine plan for Flixborough Grange on Tuesday. But the planning inspectorate has said the matter now needs to go to a full public inquiry because of complicated issues and the number of people who were likely to come along. No date has been set.

Scottish ministers have rejected an appeal for planning permission for a 16-turbine wind farm on a hill directly opposite Rothesay Bay. Over five months after the end of a public inquiry - which took place in April at Colintraive Hall - ministers agreed with the findings of reporter Karen Heywood that the project would have a "significant detrimental landscape and visual impact" on the area.

Plans to build three 126-metre wind turbines at Matlock Moor have been opposed by NE Derbyshire District councillors. The application was considered by the authority's Planning Committee on Tuesday, when members voted 14 to three against the scheme submitted by Derbyshire Wind Energy. It comes as Derbyshire Dales District councillors ...also ruled to oppose the scheme yesterday.

Plans to build wind turbines next to two villages look set to be given the go-ahead after planning officers recommended that permission be granted. The controversial plans to build two 125m-tall turbines on land between Seamer and Hilton, near Stokesley, in North Yorkshire, were revised by developers after they were initially rejected by Hambleton District Council in November 2008.

Lochaber's first windfarm was given the go-ahead yesterday, but it took the votes of councillors from outwith the area to approve the controversial four-turbine project. Caol and Mallaig councillors Bill Clark, Allan Henderson and Donald Cameron all opposed the development by Edinburgh-based North British Windpower, but an amendment by Black Isle councillor, Isabel McCallum, seconded by her Lochalsh colleague, Isabel Campbell, won the vote 6-3.

Wind turbines are the symbol for the UK's green revolution but as factories close the industry has warned it is being kept in the slow lane by "archaic" planning laws.

An energy company which has fought for nearly eight years to get permission for wind turbines on Mid Norfolk farmland last night issued a strong "we won't walk away" message after it was accused of bullying the local community. Ecotricity managing director Dale Vince reinforced his determination to develop on a site at Wood Farm, Bradenham, near Dereham, which has been at the centre of a bitter planning saga.

Hundreds more wind farms than those already planned will have to be built to meet "flawed" Government targets for renewable energy, it was claimed last night. ...Professor Ian Fells, an energy expert and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said the Government's plans were "hugely expensive" and "wildly optimistic."

Controversial plans to build four 102m wind turbines at Carsington Pastures have been given the go-ahead. A High Court Judge has today determined that proposals for the wind farm should proceed. Pundits said the ruling could be a landmark case for the future of wind farms across Britain.

Selby District Council this week agreed to form a stringent wind farm framework in a bid to stop the area skyline being "decimated with turbines". Members of the authority's policy and resources committee voted on Tuesday night to spend £30,000 to employ experts to assess all wind farm applications. ..."We've currently got eight or nine applications coming in, and I don't think we want to have our whole skyline decimated with turbines."

In an interview for Go Green, John Lloyd Jones, of the Countryside Council for Wales, said: "The biggest problem we have in assessing wind farm applications is that the wind farm application and the grid connection application are two separate processes, and sometimes the grid connection can be more visually intrusive than the wind farm itself. "If you're asking what I would do to improve the planning process I would roll the wind farm and the grid connection into one application process."

Thousands of homes in east Rugby and surrounding villages will get mailshots this week outlining plans for an eight-turbine wind farm near the M1 motorway. Your Energy Ltd is in the final stages of public consultation before its controversial wind farm blueprint goes before a council planning committee next month.