Anti-windfarm campaigners say that installing turbines at Todd Hill could have a devastating impact on wildlife and tourism. Members of the Put People First (PPF) group have highlighted concerns for birds, bats and other animals if a Novera Energy application for four turbines near Pigdon is approved. They say the area is host to a wide range of species.

Children at an island primary were sent home after a newly-installed wind turbine next to their school collapsed, it emerged yesterday. Parents of youngsters at the 18-pupil Raasay Primary School were asked to collect their children following the incident on November 13. The 50ft turbine will "remain out of commission" until an investigation has been carried out.

The Government says it wants to cut the red tape and expense involved in generating energy from wind, and insists the new rules will come with strict conditions about noise, size and appearance. But rural campaigners said the changes to the planning system could lead to a 'free-for-all' and warned that the countryside was in danger of being sacrificed in the battle against global warming.

Magnificent views enjoyed by visitors to an award-winning North East holiday complex would be ruined by plans to build four massive wind turbines nearby, it is claimed. Businessman Alun Moore has invested about £2m over the last 20 years in developing his Beacon Hill holiday centre, 15 self-catering cottages and a luxury spa on a hilltop north west of Morpeth. ...But now Mr Moore fears his business, which employs 14 people locally, will suffer badly if plans by Novera Energy to erect four 101m turbines at nearby Todd Hill, Pigdon, are given the go-ahead.

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.

Villagers are celebrating after plans to build a wind farm, on the former wartime airfield at Graveley, were thrown out by Huntingdonshire District Council. Opponents of the plan by Npower Renewables packed the Burgess Hall ...Councillors also strengthened opposition to the plan by beefing up a recommendation of refusal by planners who considered that four of the proposed eight turbines would have an adverse effect on the Grade II listed Toseland Hall.

Proposals to build Europe's largest onshore windfarm in the Shetland Islands at a cost of £800 million could be scaled back, according to developer Viking Energy, writes Will Nichols. The limited company originally presented plans for the 150 turbine, 540MW project to the Shetland Islands council this summer. However, last week, a spokesman for Viking Energy told NewEnergyFocus.com that the company is to submit an addendum to its plans early in the new year in a response to concerns flagged up during consultation, including over bird life and landscape.

The High Court has thrown out a legal bid that had the potential of derailing the drive to achieving the UK's ambitious wind energy targets. Mr Justice Cranston rejected a challenge to the authority of South Norfolk Council and their decision to grant planning permission for a wind farm development at Lotus sports car factory. Campaigners had argued that the local authority had acted unlawfully because it had not considered the impact of the scheme on local residents.

The Government's renewable energy strategy is in tatters after a report exposing the true costs of generating electricity by wind power. An internal document from the National Grid, seen by the Sunday Express, says wind turbine energy will at times cost over 3,000 per cent more than conventional power. Industry experts say over-reliance on wind power could mean fuel poverty for consumers, as older power plants reach the end of their working lives while Britain's new generation of nuclear stations is still a long way off completion.

The hostile battle for control of Novera Energy took a new twist today as it emerged that one of the company's pipeline wind farm projects could be halted by fears it could cause a mid-air fighter jet collision. In an intervention which could have ramifications for many onshore wind projects, an air traffic control expert has told North Yorkshire planning officials to block Novera's Bullamoor project, where it envisages massive 120 metre-tall turbines on farmland near Northallerton.

Campaigners have launched a website to gather support in opposition of plans to construct a wind farm with up to eight turbines near Kimbolton. The Stop Bicton Wind Farm website (www.stopbictonwindfarm.org.uk) has been created by Stow Longa resident, Richard Murphy who has also set up an action group. ...Mr Murphy said he was sceptical about the plans as he believes the impact would be greater than the environmental benefits.

"Visually intrusive and offensive." That was the verdict from many Milford Haven town councillors this week as they discussed proposals for a new wind farm on the banks of the haven waterway. The debate was sparked by a letter from Pembroke design company director Gareth Scourfield to the council objecting to the planning application by renewable energy developer Infinergy for a wind farm situated on the brownfield site between Milford Haven and Llanstadwell.

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.

An application to increase the height of three proposed wind turbines at Flimby has been turned down by Allerdale council. Flimby Wind Energy Limited wanted to increase the height of the turbines from 335ft to 377ft and lengthen the blades. The plans had been recommended for approval by Allerdale planning officers, despite objections from the parish councils of Dearham, Broughton Moor and Seaton. Councillors this week refused the plans by nine votes to six.

The owners of land being considered for a wind farm have said the development will only take place with the community's blessing. Cranford Estates has commissioned a report into the feasibility of building a wind farm on Cranford Wood Lodge, north of the village, after being approached by West Coast Energy, but the family which owns the land has said it wants to work with the community.

Unmanageable interference would be caused to the radar at RAF Leeming by four 132-metre tall wind turbines, the Ministry of Defence says, warning their height would also cause a serious obstruction to the safe movement of aircraft. But the plans are still being recommended for approval. Novera Energy plc wants to erect the turbines on undulating farmland south of the A684 at Winton, four kilometres north-east of Northallerton and 3.6 kilometres from the boundary of the North York Moors National Park.

Picture a field of enormous windmills, each the height of London's Gherkin skyscraper with blades as long as a jumbo jet. Does this sound fantastical? ...Executives estimate that to build them will cost more than £100 billion over the next 12 years - the same as 25 nuclear reactors. ...Reliability is also a concern. Nobody has ever tried to put so many power stations as far out in the North Sea. Andy Cox, energy partner at KPMG, said: "The hostile environment that awaits these projects must be a real concern to investors. Even in the more benign onshore wind sector, there have been numerous problems with gearboxes and blades failing."

A BAFTA-nominated documentary maker has accused the BBC of banning his latest film about life in a remote Highland glen because it shows a lack of impartiality about wind farms. ...BBC has refused to broadcast the finished film, warning Scott that the documentary does not meet its strict rules on objectivity. Shot in Caithness, Arcadia includes footage of protests against a new wind farm development in Thrumster, near Wick, including a sequence where local residents burn a large "wicker-man" style wind farm turbine to the ground.

Britain's biggest developer of offshore wind farms has hired Rothschild to sell stakes in its projects because it cannot afford to build them. The move by Dong Energy, the Danish power giant, casts fresh doubt on the government's carbon-reduction plans just six months after it ramped up subsidies to keep the offshore wind sector afloat. ..."The issue is that these projects require enormous amounts of capital and it's getting very difficult to justify," said an industry source. "The enthusiasm there once was has diminished."

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.