Leading ornithologists claimed yesterday that Highland planners had based their approval for a number of windfarms on inadequate environmental data. The warning came from RSPB Scotland which is gravely concerned that, in many cases, insufficient time is allowed to gauge flight paths and breeding patterns of birds as part of essential environmental impact assessments (EIAs).

The MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood, Joan Humble, has urged the government to consult fishermen about plans to build offshore wind farms. Proposals for 90 turbines off the coast between Blackpool and Cleveleys are currently being discussed. Joan Humble told the Commons the needs of fisherman and the impact it will have on them must be considered. The Trade and Industry Secretary, Alistair Darling, says if people want wind-farms they need to go somewhere. The turbines will be connected to the National Grid and help contribute to government targets on renewable energy. It would mean one of the world's biggest wind farms being clearly visible from the Fylde Coast. But Mr Darling said: "We do need more renewable energy and it is all very well to agree with that but then to come along and say ‘not in my backyard' - we can't proceed on that basis."

RADAR might help to reduce the number of bats being killed by wind turbines, according to new research. Bats are repelled by electro-magnetic radiation emitted from radar installations, scientists at Aberdeen University have found. They believe fitting radar systems to wind turbines might prevent the bats from flying too close to their rotors. The team studied the behaviour of bats at various distances from ten radar installations across Scotland last summer. They found that bats did not forage in areas where high levels of radiation were present.

A Threat to an endangered species of goose brought a windfarm plan crashing to the ground yesterday. The development in Argyll yesterday became one of the first in Britain to be turned down solely because it was claimed it would break European wildlife protection laws. More than 600 letters of objection from all over the world were lodged against Eurus Energy UK's proposal to erect a seven-turbine windfarm at Largie, near Tayinloan, in Kintyre, amid fears that it would pose a threat to protected Greenland white-fronted geese who migrate to the area in winter. The application was turned down by councillors after they received legal advice that to pass it would be contravening a European Court ruling.

The RSPB has re-affirmed its opposition to plans for an 18 turbine Skye windfarm close to the fragile nesting areas of golden eagles. It has informed Highland Council that, unlike Scottish Natural Heritage, it is not satisfied that Amec’s revised environmental impact assessment addresses the potential threat to the species and other protected raptors. It has also reminded planning chiefs that siting a windpark in the area - Edinbane, in the north of the island - would breach its own green energy guidelines because the area is not favoured for such development.

Scottish Natural Heritage yesterday confirmed its objection to a huge wind farm planned for Lewis. SNH board members reiterated their previous view that land covered by special protection area status might be harmed by the development. They also said there was insufficient information to determine the potential impact on birds. Last week, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) voted 18-8 in favour of the plan by Lewis Wind Power, subject to 50 conditions, including the removal of five of the proposed 181 turbines. Because of the scale of the 651-megawatt project, a final decision rests with the Scottish Executive. Meanwhile, SNH has withdrawn its objection to a proposed wind farm at Edinbane on Skye. It follows a public consultation by Highland Council on the latest submission from the developer AMEC, which included an appraisal of the likely effect on golden eagles.

Anti windfarm campaigners on Skye last night threatened legal action in a bid to ensure a long-opposed development on the island would never happen. Opponents of Amec’s Edinbane proposal stated their intent shortly after Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) withdrew its objection to a reduced 18-turbine project. That followed consideration of a fresh consultants’ estimate, commissioned by the developers, of the likely impact on golden eagles within the protected area surrounding the site.

The Uk Government could face a multimillion-pound fine if Scottish ministers allow plans for a massive windfarm on the Western Isles to go ahead, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds warned yesterday. It believes the Lewis Wind Power application for 181 turbines was made without a proper environmental impact assessment. That, it says, would contravene the European Habitats Directive.

Opponents of a huge wind farm planned for the Western Isles have vowed to continue to fight the development after it was approved by councillors. Western Isles Council voted 18 to eight on Thursday in favour of the plan by Lewis Wind Power, subject to 50 conditions, including the removal of five of the 181 turbines earmarked for an area of moorland in north Lewis. Because of the scale of the 651-megawatt project, a final decision rests with the Scottish Executive, although it is unlikely to come before the Scottish elections. RSPB Scotland and some islanders are against the wind farm, and next week the board of Scottish Natural Heritage is expected to reiterate its objection. Anne McCall, RSPB Scotland’s head of planning and development, said: “We have not given up hope, quite the contrary.” RSPB has said the wind farm will have a “devastating impact” on a 6,000-hectare area.

A rare bird will have almost no chance of being struck by the moving blades of proposed wind turbines, according to an expert. The issue of bird collisions with turbines was raised on day 19 of the Humberhead Levels Windfarm inquiry.Stewart Lowther, of Hyder Consulting, was cross-examined about the risk to the birds. In July 2005, English Nature raised concerns there may be a significant effect from the two proposed windfarms in Thorne and Keadby Grange on the nightjar population.

With the envisaged escalation of windfarm developments in the North Sea, the North Sea Regional Advisory Council (NSRAC)has taken the first steps towards producing a set of minimum standards for how the fishing sector and the offshore windfarm industry should consult with each other.But it emerged today that there is already a feeling that fishermen are being consulted too late in the planning process.

The debate intensified yesterday as the deadline passed for responses to the proposal to build 181 wind turbines on the island of Lewis. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) will almost certainly recommend approval but it will be up to ministers to take the final decision and they will not do so until after the Scottish parliamentary elections in May.

Bats and garden birds are being injured and killed in collisions with domestic wind turbines attached to people’s homes, an environmentalist has warned. John Stoneman, of Cambridgeshire Environmental and Wildlife Protection (CEWP) Welney, has launched a campaign to highlight the dangers of the supposed energy saving turbines, which he claims in fact have very little benefit. Mr Stoneman said the garden was the only sanctuary and refuge available for many diminishing species and he was urging manufacturers of mini turbines to carry out environmental-impact studies. He said: “Bats are already a heavily protected species but they are being put in danger by domestic turbines.

The row over plans to build the world’s biggest onshore wind farm on Lewis intensified yesterday as a leading wildlife group claimed the job boost predictions made by the developer were “misleading and hugely optimistic”. The accusations were levelled against the Lewis Wind Power (LWP) scheme by RSPB Scotland, which has been campaigning to stop the massive renewable energy scheme from going ahead.

A shocked busload of nuclear workers witnessed the death of a buzzard after it flew into one of the wind turbines at Forss. The demise of the adult buzzard was seen on Wednesday by a group of workers travelling between New Park business park at Forss and the neighbouring site at Dounreay at lunchtime on Wednesday. The financial administrator, Terry Luckock, reported the death to the RSPB. She said: “It was a real shame to see such a beautiful bird killed in this way. It did not stand a chance given that it collided with a moving, nine-tonne blade.” Ms Luckock, 41, from Halkirk, does not believe it was an isolated occurrence.

THE number of golden eagles in Scotland has been kept down by new developments that have encroached on their territories. Forestry plantations have had a much bigger effect on Scotland's iconic bird of prey than previously thought, reducing its food supply by covering open ground and lowering its ability to produce offspring, researchers say. They now warn that similar effects can be expected from new wind farms if they are allowed to proceed in golden eagle ranges.

The RSPB is objecting to a controversial plan to build the West’s biggest wind farm next to the Bristol Channel, we can reveal. Experts from the bird charity are unhappy with the proposal for nine 110m (361ft) turbines at West Hinkley, beside Hinkley Point nuclear power station. They say more work should be done on the wind farm’s possible impact on nearby birds in the Severn estuary, especially shelduck, ringed plover and curlews.

Controversial plans to erect giant wind turbines in West Somerset have suffered a dramatic setback after the influential Royal Society for the protection of birds has come out against the scheme at Hinkley Point. It’s the first time the influential organisation has objected to a proposed wind farm in the South West. Richard Archer, conservation officer for the RSPB in Somerset, told the County Gazette: “This is not a decision we have taken lightly, as we are generally in support of schemes to reduce our carbon footprint and combat global warming.”

The big wind farm debate rumbled on this week as the RSPB again signalled its opposition to the nine-turbine plan for West Hinkley. The society stood against Your Energy’s proposals when they were first submitted in 2004. Giant turbines, RSPB representatives say, would have a detrimental effect on the birds living around the site.

A HOTEL owner is being driven batty by planning delays for a wind turbine that could bring green power to his business. Stuart McGlynn, who owns the Norwood Hotel, Whalley Road, Accrington, hopes to place a small turbine on the side of his detached house, behind the hotel. But the possibility that a bat population may be roosting nearby has put a temporary halt to the plans until a wildlife survey is carried out.