Energy giants wanting to string massive pylons through a Highland bird sanctuary based their homework on "scant information," according to a leading naturalist. Sir John Lister-Kaye, director of the Aigas field centre at Strathglass, yesterday told the public inquiry into Scottish and Southern Energy's planned Beauly-Denny transmission line upgrade he was "dismayed" the company had failed to tap into an environmental databank he and his staff had spent 30 years collating. Pointing to a significantly different account of bird flight-paths, the author said the only logical conclusion he could come to was that "the applicants' survey was inadequate". And he said the results suggested the 30 ecologists hired by SSE were "maybe in the wrong place at the wrong time".

Three environmental organizations agreed to back the proposed Kibby Mountain wind-power project in Franklin County after the developer agreed to pay $500,000 to protect several high-elevation acres in Oxford County. According to a late Tuesday afternoon report, the Appalachian Mountain Club, Maine Audubon and Natural Resources Council of Maine negotiated the deal with TransCanada Maine Wind Development Inc.

MP Alan Whitehead has thrown his weight behind plans to protect Hampshire's marine life and to allow for the development of offshore renewable energy farms. Southampton Test MP Alan Whitehead backed proposals for new legislation to halt destruction of the UK's marine environment, including the Solent.

For many environmentalists, the modern wind turbine is a symbol of a cleaner energy future, and building wind farms as quickly as possible represents one of America's best hopes to fight global warming. But for many residents of mountain communities in the Appalachians where most of the nation's wind development east of the Mississippi has happened or is now planned, industrial wind turbines represent something less optimistic: the spoiling of pristine wilderness for little benefit to anyone except wind developers themselves. Now, wind opponents can call on a new report by the prestigious U.S. National Academy of Sciences to help them make their case.

Wildlife advocates hoping for a stronger voice in regulations concerning wind energy development on land and sea are expected to testify Wednesday at a hearing before the House Natural Resources Committee in Washington, D.C. While the Cape Wind proposal isn't specifically on the agenda, you can bet that folks on both side of the proposal will be interested in the aftermath of the hearing. At issue will be the proposed "Energy Policy Reform and Revitalization Act of 2007," filed by U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.

WASHINGTON-Migratory birds have a relatively safe trek across the Midwest, but unless the government intervenes thousands of those birds could be reduced to puffs of feathers drifting down from the blades of wind power turbines, wildlife advocates say. The birds often fly headlong into wind power devices, leaving behind victims with "severed beaks" and "mid-body separation," said Michael Daulton, of the National Audubon Society.

A Shetland businessman says his livelihood is threatened by a windfarm plan. Paul Featherstone rears around 180,000 sea trout smolts annually at his hatchery in Weisdale, which - after having been grown into sizable fish in sea cages - are being sold as organic sea trout to customers throughout the UK. His business, Shetland Sea Trout Ltd, heavily depends on continually pristine water qualities in the Burn of Weisdale, which feeds the tanks baby fish are being kept in. Yesterday, he said that plans to build around 30 of the 168 turbines planned upstream of his hatchery would "seriously" affect his business. Mr Featherstone's fear is that due to major construction and engineering work the peat bog in the upper half of the Kergord Valley will be destabilised and thus massive peat run offs will flush through the Burn of Weisdale.

Offshore wind facilities are expected to have negligible to minor environmental impacts in general - "if the proper siting and mitigation measures are followed," a draft study says. But some activists faulted the draft environmental impact statement by the federal Minerals Management Service. The document covers technologies for tapping offshore wind, wave and current energy. The agency jumped to conclusions about the risks without having adequate information, said Eric Stiles, vice president for conservation and stewardship in the New Jersey Audubon Society. "It's grossly premature to conclude," for example, that impacts on birds will be only moderate, Stiles said.

More than $1 million could be spent in the coming months pursuing offshore wind power in Lake Erie, even though the region just lost out on a bid to have East Toledo host the nation's first testing laboratory for offshore wind turbine blades. A $250,000 wildlife study, funded by a grant the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority obtained from U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), recently began along the western Lake Erie shoreline. The goal of that study is to get the region's clean energy and wildlife proponents on the same page over the risks posed to birds and bats. The next phase would involve putting two or three wind turbines along the western Lake Erie shoreline as early as the summer of 2008 to see just how lethal the devices might be. Sites have not been selected, but they likely would be between Toledo and Lorain, Ohio.

Wind turbines shouldn't be allowed near Point Pelee National Park, Holiday Beach or the south shore of Essex County, Ron Elliott, co-ordinator of the Windsor Essex County Environment Committee, says. "They do have the potential if they're in the wrong places to be an environmental disaster for birds. There's no denying that. And they're going to be around for 20 years, so they have to be located right," Elliott said, adding the "whole south shore is essentially one big migration route."

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."

The survey hasn't lessened the concerns of Rick Koval, of the Fish and Boat Commission's state Timber Rattlesnake Site Assessment and Inventory. Koval said there is a historical den site a mile away and another "robust" den area five miles away. Timber rattlesnakes have a range of five miles, and Koval has seen them three miles from the site. "Will there be an impact on timber rattlesnakes? It depends. If there is a gestation or den site nearby, the answer is yes," Koval said. Surveys for birds, bats, and rare and endangered plants have been completed. The bird and bat surveys, commissioned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, found the project would have no "biologically significant impacts" to birds, no eagles nest at the site and no federally endangered Indiana bats were located at the site. The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources commissioned the rare and endangered plant survey, which concluded the project would not harm any of the plant species or ecological communities. Koval said the bird and bat surveys are inconclusive because there are rare or threatened species that exist nearby. He said there have not been surveys conducted of moth or invertebrate species, including several located at the site. "These wind farm projects are still new to the Eastern U.S. and there's a lot of unknowns," Koval said. "When you have seven miles of roads, transformers, power lines, tons of concrete and the turbines, there's going to be some impact. There needs to be more research during the appropriate seasons to determine how much impact."

New Jersey's plan to spend $4.5 million to study birds and marine life offshore prior to a pilot project with up to 80 wind turbines has drawn mixed views from activists. "Our ocean deserves a robust, thorough, and scientifically valid study - not this bargain basement, blue-light special," according to a statement from Cynthia A. Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, a Sandy Hook-based coalition. Birds should be studied for three years before construction of offshore wind farms, according to a 2006 letter from a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service official. The proposed New Jersey ecological study would last for 18 months. While an 18-month study is "not an end-point," it's "a major milestone for moving forward in making informed and appropriate decisions regarding siting of wind turbines," said Eric Stiles, vice president for conservation and stewardship in the New Jersey Audubon Society.

NEW PARIS - Residents determined to stop the Shaffer Mountain Wind Farm have issued a notice of intent to file suit with federal and state agencies over environmental concerns. The notices were mailed March 2 by environmental attorney Bradley Tupi who is with Tucker/Arensburg Attorneys, Pittsburgh, and is representing several families within the project area. "We're still in the information gathering stage, but my job is to do whatever I can to protect the interests of my clients out there," Tupi said. Among their concerns is that the project, which will run along the Allegheny Front of the mountain, will impact migrating bird populations including that of the endangered Bald Eagle and Eastern Golden Eagles, he said. Another potential issue is the possible damaging of the Ethel Creek spring head, which provides high-volume, high-quality water for a local fish hatchery, he said. The move gives the residents 30 days with state agencies and 60 days with federal agencies to file suit, he said.

The Mexican government is preparing a big wind energy project, but peasant farmers and bird experts aren’t too happy about it. The government’s aim is for wind-generated electricity — which now accounts for just 0.005 percent of the energy generated in Mexico — to reach six percent by 2030. The project has the blessing of some big corporations and environmentalists. Achieving that goal involves setting up more than 3,000 turbines in Mexico’s windiest zone, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in the southern state of Oaxaca, as well as several other wind farms around the country with dozens of turbines each. But erecting the windmills, tall towers with a 27-metre blade span, requires negotiating with landowners, most of whom are farmers. Some have complained that they were taken advantage of when the first wind farm was created in 1994. Meanwhile, ornithologiests experts warn that many bird species are at risk of being killed by the giant blades, which could cause an environmental chain reaction across the continent, because various birds are migratory. “Everything is bent towards facilitating the wind farms, but there is not much interest in the birds, which in the long term could bring much broader problems,” RaGBPl Ortiz-Pulido, spokesman for the Mexican office of BirdLife International, told Tierramerica.

ROANOKE -- A state hearing examiner has recommended construction of the first utility-grade wind farm in Virginia, provided it meets conditions to minimize harm to the environment. The recommendation announced Thursday goes to the State Corporation Commission, which will decide whether to approve construction of the 19-turbine development on Highland County ridges. SCC hearing examiner Alexander Skirpan found that the project by Highland New Wind Development poses a risk to bats and birds, but said a monitoring program by the company and a state agency following construction would help reduce the hazard.

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.

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.