A wind farm being built in South Australia is threatening endangered animals and one of the nation's oldest trees, nearby residents say. SA Democrat Sandra Kanck, and some residents of Hallett, have asked Federal Environment Minister Peter Garret to stop part of AGL Energy's proposed wind farm around the mid-north town. ..."The Hallet 3 cluster of 32 turbines planned for the Mt Bryan area is only 20 metres from possibly the oldest tree in South Australia," Ms Kanck said. "The eucalyptus bicostata is a form of blue-gum that is unique to SA. "The wind farm also threatens vulnerable, endangered and rare plants and animals including the silver daisy, pygmy blue-tongued lizards and wedge tailed eagles.

"We're stunned that Mainpower is even considering this site as they claim to be environmentally responsible and there are alternatives nearby," said Dr Murray Parsons, chairman of the board, which represents the community interest in the work of the Department of Conservation. "The Mount Cass ridge where Mainpower wants to build ... is covered in dense bush extending down gullies on either side, and is a unique limestone landscape with its own special ecosystem." ...Mainpower was proposing to bulldoze a 10m wide access road, up to and along the mountain ridge, and to construct concrete footprints of up to 240sq m to support the construction of wind generators up to 80m in height.

"The proponents [of the wind farm] say 11 birds have been killed by wind farms [but] we believe the number might be slightly higher, possibly as high as 18 birds," he said. He says he describes the area as a "black hole" area for these birds because the wind farm area overlaps several territories of eagles. "With every death it allows an opening - if you like - for a bird from an adjacent area looking for a territory to move in," he said. "These birds then are essentially naive to the area - they don't recognise the turbines and they then in turn get killed. ..."It's a one-way trip into Woolnorth - they don't come out."

After days of detached and often numbing pontifications from hired consultants, it was a stark contrast yesterday to hear some of the closest residents bring a human face to the hearing in Ngaruawahia. "I can only speak from the heart and it is breaking," said Ohautira Rd resident Wendy Reid. She said up to 24 of the turbines would be directly visible from her home of 19 years. Ms Reid variously referred to the wind farm as "a glorified and cunningly gift-wrapped power station", "a gigantic monolith" and "visual pollution" which would cause catastrophic distress, anxiety and fear. "It is dividing friends, neighbours, and families in half," she said. "It is destroying lives and lifestyles and turning me inside out personally.

Contact Energy could face opposition to its proposed route for power pylons connecting the country's largest wind farm to the national grid. The company wants to put up to 218 wind turbines along a 40km stretch of coast between Raglan and Port Waikato. ...The plan has received support from farmers and local iwi, but the path of the pylons is more contentious. Franklin District councillor, Lionel Petterson, says the community is concerned about the environmental impact of another row of pylons in the area.

Melbourne Water spokesman Ben Pratt said the authority was committed to achieving the twin targets of zero net greenhouse gas emissions and 100 per cent renewable energy usage by 2018. Wind farms would help achieve these targets. However, Mr Pratt said the document listed Werribee's Western treatment plant as "a site with reservations." "We acknowledge there are some potential issues with putting wind turbines there because of the bird sanctuary," he said. "We can't rule anything in or out at this stage. "But if the feasibility study comes back and says there are some real issues with this site, then we would expect it would immediately be ruled out as an option." The wetlands are a seasonal home to thousands of local and migratory birds. Environmentalists fear wind turbines would result in the deaths of many birds caught up in the rotating blades.

Forest and Bird would look at supporting smaller wind farm projects, such as the one near Gore by TrustPower, but not Project Hayes. Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society vice-president Janet Ledingham told the commissioners hearing Meridian Energy's Project Hayes application yesterday the group was not sure whether other places in Central Otago would be suitable for wind farms. "Central Otago is one of the most difficult areas because of the landscape," she said.

Forest and Bird would look at supporting smaller wind farm projects, such as the one near Gore by TrustPower, but not Project Hayes. "It appears there is a wind farm rush in Otago and Southland, akin to the gold rush of the 1800s and the more recent gold rush for aquaculture sites, as companies are racing to all get in first and establish dominance," she said.

Pacific Hydro has written to the state and federal governments to find out if endangered species are found on an area of land the company has earmarked for a wind farm. The $150 million Crowlands wind farm comprises 72 turbines across 18 properties, north-east of Ararat. The company's Andrew Richards says the governments' response will determine whether an environmental effects statement will be needed. "Flora and fauna, whether they're on the endangered species list, or threatened species list, that kind of thing," he said. "This is a matter of course for all forms of development, they need to go through this referral process. "While we have had our own independent studies undertaken on this site, we still need to go through this process to check with state and federal levels to make sure we haven't missed anything."

Victorian Nationals leader Peter Ryan says the approval of the Bald Hills wind farm in South Gippsland has divided the community. Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell has changed his previous decision to block the project. Senator Campbell originally withdrew approval for the wind farm, saying it could threaten the orange-bellied parrot. Mr Ryan says Bald Hills is an inappropriate location and it is up to the State Government to create a better planning scheme for wind farms.

Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell has given the go-ahead for the $220 million Bald Hills wind farm, reversing a controversial decision based on a perceived threat to the rare orange-bellied parrot. Senator Campbell today said the wind farm had been given federal approval subject to key changes to the turbine layout and strict conditions to protect the parrot and other threatened species. But local Liberal MP Russell Broadebent and environment groups immediately attacked the reversal.

A Tasmanian wind farm located near known habitats of the orange-bellied parrot was approved before new information revealed risks to the birds from the turbine blades, Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell says. In April this year, Senator Campbell overturned Victorian government approval for a 52-turbine wind farm at Bald Hills in Gippsland, using his discretionary powers under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. Despite a departmental report indicating there would be negligible impact on the species, an independent Biosis report found more serious concerns about parrot deaths. The minister acted, blocking the $220 million project.

THE number of wedge-tailed eagle deaths at a Tasmanian windfarm may be higher than officially acknowledged. Up to six of the endangered eagles may have been killed in the past year after being struck by turbines at the Woolnorth windfarm in the far North-West. Windfarm operator Roaring 40s, jointly owned by Hydro Tasmania and China Light and Power, puts this year's official death toll at four. However, a further two eagles found dead at the windfarm this year are not included in the tally.

From the lounge room window of their Tarago home in the NSW southern tablelands, the Corrigan family will soon see 33 windfarm turbines, and from daughter Sue’s bedroom they will see 30 more. Ruth Corrigan and her husband Rod have spent the past 20 years regenerating their property, which is home to endangered species and native grasslands. “We’re not worried about the view, we’re concerned about environmental issues, the roads that will be built, the impact on the water table and the effect on bird life,” said Ruth. “This is a flight path between Lake Bathurst and Lake George for waterbirds, and we have eagles and falcons.”

Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell has won a concession from the developer of the Bald Hills wind farm, with the company agreeing to move six turbines out of the potential flight path of the orange-bellied parrot. Senator Campbell blocked the wind farm in April, claiming a threat to the parrot, and the company’s move is an acknowledgment the turbines would have been on the potential migratory path of the endangered bird. The minister has agreed to reconsider the wind farm after legal action by the company. Opponents of the project said yesterday the company’s decision was an admission of guilt and showed the original proposal threatened the bird.

THE Bald Hills wind farm developer has promised to spend almost $1.4 million, including $750,000 to protect the orange-bellied parrot, in a bid to revive the $220 million project. Wind Power Pty Ltd has submitted a revamped proposal for the Victorian wind farm, which was blocked by federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell because of a claimed threat to survival of the parrot. Senator Campbell agreed to reconsider the project after the company took legal action. If the proposal is approved, almost $4million in public and private funds will be spent on the parrot. Senator Campbell had previously announced that $3.2million in taxpayers' funds would be spent to protect the bird.

SCIENCE, not politics, was behind Environment Minister Ian Campbell's decision to place the orange-bellied parrot on Australia's critically endangered list, the minister said today. The parrot, which played a key role in Senator Campbell's controversial decision to reverse approval for a wind farm in Victoria, was reclassified this week as critically endangered.

THE orange-bellied parrot that played a key role in a controversial decision to reverse approval for a wind farm in Victoria has been placed on the critically endangered list. "I will be announcing today, in fact I think I'm announcing now, that I have formally signed the law upgrading the orange bellied parrot to critically endangered," Environment Minister Ian Campbell told a gathering of school children at Parliament House today. Only about 150 of the birds are left in the wild.

THE rare orange-bellied parrot, behind the scuttling of a $220 million Gippsland wind farm, is the subject of a $3.2 million Federal grant to protect its habitat.

THE Bald Hills wind farm developer has foreshadowed spending millions of dollars to protect the orange-bellied parrot and other threatened species in a bid to revive the $220 million project. As police were called in to investigate $100,000 in damage to equipment on the wind farm site, developer Wind Power raised the prospect of committing a substantial sum to fund recovery programs for the parrot and other species.