Planners were yesterday accused of "sleepwalking" to disaster after approving controversial plans for a major wind-farm development in the Ochil Hills, one of Scotland's most popular hill-walking destinations. Clackmannanshire Council's planning authority, the regulatory committee, gave the go-ahead - on the casting vote of the committee chairman - for a 13-turbine wind farm at Burnfoot Hill, below Ben Cleuch, the highest point in the Ochil range. The Ramblers Association Scotland and the local environment group, Friends of the Ochils, condemned the decision and warned that the development, combined with four proposed similar schemes in neighbouring Perth and Kinross, could destroy one of the country's most precious landscapes.

The New South Wales Government has given planning approval for a wind farm at Gullen Range, near Goulburn in the state's south, despite an ongoing case in the Land and Environment Court. The Government has given the $250 million plan the green light after putting in place measures to protect the powerful owl and the wedgetail eagle.

The Government's own environmental advisory body has warned that the magnificent views from Flamborough Head on the east Yorkshire coast will be "impacted" on by the huge Westernmost Rough offshore wind farm, due to be constructed some 20 miles down the coast near Withernsea.

A Fife village considered by some the most beautiful in Scotland could be devastated by wind turbines towering over it, according to its community councillors. Ceres and District Community Council has added its voice to the mounting opposition to plans for a wind farm just 1.9km east of Ceres, in the hillside at Gathercauld. The five 80 metre high turbines are the subject of a planning application by wind power firm EnergieKontor UK, which is also behind the proposals for a wind farm at Auchtermuchty. The community council voted to object to the wind farm-a decision it insisted was measured and taken after canvassing opinion for several months. Chairman Grant Robertson said, "Ceres is often considered the most beautiful village in Scotland and the thought of this beauty being devastated by those turbines towering over the village is too shocking to imagine."

The Scottish Government has ruled out a change in law which would have protected some of the country's most picturesque areas from a "barrage" of wind farm applications. Politicians including Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser had demanded the introduction of a law which would have created "no go" areas for wind farm developments. He insists the legislation would have protected some of Scotland's most beautiful areas, including huge swathes of rural Perthshire in his constituency. ..."We certainly need to have better and stronger guidelines or the current barrage of wind farm applications in areas such Perthshire will continue.

Opposition to two Perthshire wind farms has gained the support of MSP Murdo Fraser. The Tory politician, who represents Mid-Scotland and Fife, yesterday told a public inquiry at Amulree village hall he backs Perth and Kinross Council’s rejection of the application by GreenPower to build 68 turbines at Griffin Forest, near Dunkeld, and also a plan to build 27 turbines at Calliacher, near Aberfeldy. He said, “The tourism industry throughout Perthshire accounts for about 15% of all employment in the area. When tourism comprises such a large proportion of employment, it can be deemed as not only very important, but essential. “Whilst the contractors are to be commended for reducing the proposed total number of turbines from 128…this is still 95 too many on our rural landscape.

The turbines emit a high pitched humming and a thudding sound when the blades pass the main shaft, a sound Clr Pardoe says resembles a Chinook helicopter. "They will be visually intrusive.

Public utilities planning Western Washington's first large wind farm declared Tuesday that the towers would kill less than one threatened marbled murrelet a year over the long run. The claim was greeted with skepticism by state and federal agencies that must OK the project. ..."We don't want to have a wind farm that starts hitting home runs with marbled murrelets and has to be shut down or torn down, or drives the marbled murrelet to extinction."

Protesters are celebrating after winning a two-and-a-half-year battle against a controversial wind farm above Edgworth. An appeal against the decision to refuse planning permission for two wind turbines at Uglow Farm, Broadhead Road has been dismissed. The appellants had argued the wind turbines should be allowed because they would benefit the environment. But a report from the planning inspectorate following a four-day public inquiry in May said the proposal “would not be likely to have a significant environmental effect”. It concluded: “I find that the proposal would have an unacceptably adverse impact on a key characteristic of the landscape here.”

Plans to build giant wind turbines at a Dales beauty spot look set to fall at the final hurdle because of their 'visual intrusion'. The proposal for four green-energy generators to power 5,591 homes, has been put forward by Carsington Wind Energy Limited but has met with a number of objections about the chosen location. And now Derbyshire Dales District Council planning officers have recommended that the application for the 335ft tall turbines at Carsington Pastures, two miles west of Wirksworth, should be refused.

A large 22-turbine wind farm planned for the north Sutherland coast by an Edinburgh power company has been slammed as a "step too far" by one concerned local resident. The householder, who did not want to be named, said the proposed £40 million development on Skelpick and Rhifail Estates, near Bettyhill, would be a massive intrusion in the area. He said: "The turbines themselves are massive. The measurements quoted for them were in metres - around 125 metres in height from blade to tip - which made the turbines seem quite innocuous, but that is nearly 410 feet which is enormous. "The wind farm will be an intrusion on the skyline in Bettyhill and will be visible for miles and miles to anyone up at plateau level. "While I am in favour of wind farms and do not mind the development being in that location, I feel maybe it is a step too far."

The federal government has blocked a wind farm proposal on Victoria's south-east coast after a report found the project would threaten an already endangered parrot species.

Councillors threw out plans for a wind farm over fears of the impact it would have on the surrounding landscape, a meeting next week is expected to reveal. North Lincolnshire Council's planning committee voted last month to deny permission for the six-turbine Grange Wind Farm facility at Flixborough Grange over the potential impact on landscape.

Under questioning in parliament, Senator Campbell said his department was "wrong" when it told him in March this year that blocking the Bald Hills windfarm would have ramifications for coastal development. "One wind farm proposal every fortnight has passed through the same process, so it can hardly be seen as a threat to wind power development."

A Wind farm protest group has accused Your Energy of failing to properly assess the visual impacts of its proposed Moorsyde scheme. Moorsyde Action Group (MAG) says the photomontages to illustrate the seven 360 feet high turbines planned between Ancroft North Moor and Duddo are inadequate and misleading. "We have been forced to produce artist's impressions of the turbines from nearby settlements such as Ancroft South Moor because Your Energy Ltd (YEL) have failed to provide them," said a MAG spokesman. ...The county archaeologist is also understood to have asked that impacts on nearby Duddo Church and Duddo Tower should be taken into account. MAG say that Your Energy have failed to provide any photomontages that illustrate the visual impacts on these sites even though the company's own environmental statement admits that the landscape within 3km would be 'substantially' altered and that turbines would be 'visually dominant' within that distance, resulting in impacts of 'major significance'.

Campaigners hoping to quash controversial plans for the region's first wind farm to be created between Burntwood and Heath Hayes have joined forces. Members of the newly formed Bleak House Wind Farm Action Group (BWFAG) said they want to use strength in numbers to make sure the proposed development on the former Bleak House opencast mining site does not go ahead. ..."We've all pulled together now to form one group - it's power in numbers. It was too much for one person to do to try and take this application on," Mr Baker added.

CAMPAIGNERS fighting proposals to build a wind farm on the outskirts of Penicuik have stepped up their battle against the plans by launching a protest website.

When Dawn and Dean Wallace moved to Wolfe Island 17 years ago, they fell in love with the peaceful, slow pace of life in the rural community. It quickly became home and they planned to retire on the island. That has all changed. The couple feels that construction of one of Canada's largest wind-power projects has forced them out of the community and they're in the process of moving off the island ...The noise and dust from dozens of trucks and heavy pieces of equipment moving past their property, at times starting as early as 4 a. m., made life almost unbearable.

Experts probing the so-called 'corkscrew deaths' of seals on Britain's East Coast believe the building of a huge offshore wind farm could be to blame. The corpses of 50 seals with a clean 'corkscrew' cut running from head to tail have been washed up over the past 18 months.

Half of the members the Smeaton wind farm community reference group, in central Victoria, have resigned. The six Landscape Guardians members believe their questions were not being answered by the developer, Wind Power. Richard Evans says the former committee members are disillusioned because a significant landscape overlay across the proposed area does not appear to be deterring the developers. "This area has got numerous amount of hills of national significance - they're all covered by significant landscape overlays and I think a lot of people in the area are wondering why we even have to put up with this when the overlays prevent dominant and obtrusive development on it, and we just can't understand why they haven't abided by the local planning laws," he said.