Wind farms are becoming a familiar site along Wyoming's interstates and highways. Residents know wind development is out there and that there is a lot of it. What they do not know is how the industry will alter the state's landscape in the future.

Avista Corp. will delay building a wind farm south of Reardan by at least two years, citing the high cost of the wind turbines. "This stuff is really expensive," said Hugh Imhof, a spokesman for the Spokane-based utility. "Why build a $125 million wind farm if we don't need it for another two years?"

The company building two wind farms in Cohocton will contribute $50,000 for restoration work at Memorial Town Hall in Naples. The Town Board voted unanimously last week to accept the cash; otherwise, it would go back to Cohocton for historic preservation projects there. The $50,000 is part of $200,000 UPC Wind agreed to set aside to compensate for the effect modern wind towers would have on the historic character of the area. Naples qualified for a share because one of the Cohocton turbines is visible when driving south through Naples on Main Street.

Plans for a controversial wind farm near Pontefract have been slammed by a Wakefield Council consultant. The news has come as a massive boost to local pressure groups fighting a dogged campaign to see off the plans by developers Banks Developments. ...Campaigners in Pontefract claim the wind masts are too close to local homes, will ruin their peaceful community and drive down house prices. ...Since then the Landscape Architect working for Wakefield Council has drafted his own response to the plans. A summary released by PWAG reads: "The turbines are close to residential dwellings. Their height results in them being visible over a relatively large area and the impact on the landscape character of Went Edge will be severe.

Wind turbines like the ones proposed by Florida Power & Light Co. on Hutchinson Island have been called ugly by residents worried about the 400-foot-tall structures with their large, whirling blades. Imagine the turbines standing atop a concrete foundation 10- to 20-feet high on a public beach access. The large pedestals could be needed to protect the towers from a storm surge washing over the dunes along the Hutchinson Island coastline where FPL proposes to build the electricity-producing wind turbines. Henrietta McBee, FPL's director of project development, raised that possibility when she and St. Lucie County Administrator Doug Anderson visited the Horse Hollow Wind Farm near Abilene, Texas, early in January.

Residents who support the Jordanville Wind Project in the towns of Warren and Stark were faced with another obstacle last week in the building of a wind farm. The New York State Preservation League has announced that the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville is being placed on the "Seven To Save" list. ...Being placed on this list means the windmills will not be able to be built without review of the negative impact they could have on the monastery and an agreement between the two parties.

Supermarket giant ASDA has admitted a massive wind turbine it wants to build at its Northampton distribution depot might be visible as far away as Wellingborough. The Chronicle & Echo first revealed ASDA's plans to build a 417ft wind turbine at its Brackmills depot in May. The company wants the turbine, which would be exactly the same size as the Express Lifts Tower, to help power its distribution centre. But latest plans submitted by the company to the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC) revealed the massive structure could in theory be seen all across Northampton, and as far away as Wellingborough and Long Buckby.

Storeys-high wind turbines might not be the first thing you think of as part of the Halifax skyline, but city officials want your input. ..."While wind energy is valued as an environmentally friendly power source, the size of the wind turbines and wind farms also raises planning issues regarding compatibility with homes from noise and impact on views, et cetera," says the report drafted for regional council

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.

Spencer Jones normally spends his day behind a desk in Garland. This weekend he's visiting Fredericksburg and the hill country. "One of the things I wanted to do was see this place," he said. He's referring to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.The giant granite dome attracts a quarter of a million visitors a year, many hike the trail to the summit. ...Robert Weatherford is the president of Save Our Scenic Hill Country, a group of land owners working to keep wind farms out of the area. "You will literally be able to see them for miles. So we do think that it would destroy the scenic beauty of the Texas hill country," Weatherford said.

DOWNSIZED proposals for a wind farm in a Moray forest are still visually and environmentally unacceptable, claim local residents. ...Locals say the development would scar a scenic landscape for nothing more than commercial greed. ...In 'The Northern Scot' last week, David Hodkinson, managing director of the firm's wind energy business, believed the development, on land owned by the Forestry Commission, now fitted with people's expectations in the area. ...However, the application met with strong opposition this week from residents whose homes border the site, which is around 800 metres above sea level to the south of Buckie. ...Dr Henderson said it was inconceivable to erect wind turbines, recently voted the No 1 eyesore in a BBC and MORI poll, at a time when Moray is developing a tourism strategy. "Once this process has been started it is iredeemable and you can't stop the juggernaut," she said.

A NORTH Sutherland community stands to gain up to half a million pounds a year in community benefit from wind farms, it emerged this week. But the "pot of gold" has failed to impress some Strathy residents who this week angrily dismissed it as a sweetener, aimed at making them accept major changes to their local landscape. ...The power company wants to build a £90 million, 35-turbine development on the north side of Strathy and a follow-up 77-turbine development on the south side of the forest.

PROJECT Hayes panel chairman John Matthews has released a 12-page statement explaining his reasons for voting against the Lammermoor wind farm proposal. ...He was chiefly concerned with landscape values, the appropriateness of the development and the setting of precedent, including his statement within yesterday's decision released by the panel. ‘‘If a proposal of this significance is found to be appropriate in an area of Outstanding Natural Landscape, it is difficult to see how any consent authority could fail to apply the ‘‘like for like'' principle on a future occasion,'' Mr Matthews said.

A REPORT into two proposed wind farms in Yorkshire and Lancashire has deemed the controversial schemes "acceptable" in landscape and visual terms. The proposed schemes for five 410ft high turbines on Todmorden Moor, Calderdale, and three turbines the same height at Reaps Moss, in Rossendale, have brought strong opposition. ..."The proposed wind farm would be a temporary feature that added a new chapter to the landscape's industrial history."

A proposed wind farm on Seven Mile Hill near the tiny town of Mosier, Oregon is the centerpiece of the trouble that stems from development near a protected scenic area. The Cascade Wind Project, proposed by UPC Wind Partners, has thus far drawn serious opposition from not only residents of Mosier, but throughout the Gorge and beyond. The farm would be built just outside the Scenic Area boundary, and the 389-foot-high turbines of the 40 towers would be clearly visible from many areas in the Gorge, including Interstate 84 and McCall Point Trail. "This proposal is a slap in the face of the protection rights that everybody in the Gorge has had to live up to for the past twenty years," says Mike Rockwell, a real estate agent who lives in Mosier. "It's simply not a wise location."

In neighborhoods across the country, there's a battle brewing: the environmentalists vs. the aesthetes. As "green"-minded homeowners move to put in new energy-efficient windows, solar panels and light-reflecting roofs, they are bumping up against neighbors and local boards that object, saying the additions defy historic-district regulations, will look ugly or damage property values. ..."Renewable energy and aesthetics don't have to be mutually exclusive," says institute spokesman Frank Rathbun. "But agreeing to projects without regard to the architectural guidelines of the community can create divisiveness and can affect property values." ...A bill in Connecticut would override zoning restrictions and make it easier for people to put in wind turbines on their property. It wasn't passed, but lawmakers hope to revive it next session.

Massive new wind turbines could be on the horizon for the North-east. The structures would literally be jumbo-sized - with blades as long as a 747 jet. And today planners warned the 500ft-plus structures were a "serious" threat to the look of the landscape. The new generation turbines are being developed in the US by General Electric. An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said: "The development of this new generation of larger wind turbines is a serious source of concern for us, especially in relation to landscape and visual issues. ...Lorraine Bolsinger, vice-president of GE's ecoimagination division, said: "The economics of longer wind turbines are going to be pretty compelling. "If you can put them in places where they're not eyesores, it'll be a win-win situation." But Aberdeenshire Council reckons it could be hard to hide a 500ft turbine. ..."We as a local authority need to view this type of development positively, but the industry has a responsibility too - they can't keep on developing ever-bigger structures with little obvious indication that potential adverse impacts on the landscapes of project sites have been fully considered."

Municipal officials riding a tour bus this week along Route 39 toward the town of Eagle first spotted several 300-feet-high wind turbines at a distance of about two miles away. A tour of the Bliss wind turbine park, sponsored by the Southern Tier West Regional Planning and Development Board, was set up to provide town officials in Cattaraugus County a variety of aspects on wind turbines. Proposals for wind turbine farms have been reviewed locally in communities that include the towns of Allegany and Carrollton as well as across the state line in Potter County. ..."This is my view now," he said pointing to the large wind turbines looming high above the tree lines. "This looks like the ‘War of the Worlds' out here, I mean I previously had a pristine, gorgeous view. "I can see 13 of these (wind towers) out here, and they say ‘your property value is going to increase' but do you think that's going to increase my property value," he asked.

With eight 78-metre high wind turbines, the Gotthard project would not only be the largest wind farm but also the highest in Switzerland, at 2,040-2,131 metres above sea level. ...However, obstacles remain before sails start turning in the Gotthard pass. The area first has to be rezoned by the local authorities before planning permission could be sought and granted. ...Plans for a wind farm on the Gotthard Pass are not new. A report on wind energy in Switzerland published by the state in 2004 said locating turbines in the Gotthard Pass would be "unthinkable".

County leaders are working with state legislators to change the way wind farms are regulated in Texas. Robert Weatherford is the president of Save Our Scenic Hill Country, a group of land owners working to keep wind farms out of the area. "You will literally be able to see them for miles. So we do think that it would destroy the scenic beauty of the Texas hill country," Weatherford said. ...Gillespie County is worried that would mean less visitors like Jones. "That's why people come to these places, is to see the view," Jones said.