Yesterday, E.ON held a public meeting in the Northamptonshire village where computer generated photographs showing what the 377ft turbines would look like from the battlefield were put on show. The plans shocked residents who turned out in force to give their opinions. Wendy Westall, who lives close to where the turbines would be sited, said: "We're utterly and totally opposed to them. "They're just not appropriate for this historic area. Everyone around here is very proud of the battlefield and we want to protect it."

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.

Plans for two separate wind farms visible from Exmoor have come up against another hurdle. Campaign group Open Spaces Society has launched objections to the projects, stating they would have a negative impact on the feel of the moor. The two projects are the Three Moors scheme at Knowstone, North Devon, where the company Airtricity Developments hopes to erect nine turbines, and Bickham Moor, near Oakford, Mid Devon, where Coronation Power want to erect four. Kate Ashbrook, Open Spaces Society's general secretary said: "We are dismayed that the wind-energy companies keep applying to erect turbines in this part of North Devon. There are already two outstanding applications nearby, at Batsworthy Cross and Cross Moor."

The Preservation League of New York State has jumped into a wind-project controversy in Jordanville, naming the Holy Trinity Monastery to the group's annual list of New York's most-threatened historic resources: ``Seven to Save.'' The nonprofit group says tranquility at the monastery, which sits on 750 acres in southern Herkimer County, would be ruined if a proposal to site about 50 wind turbines in the area ever moves forward. ``The Holy Trinity Monastery is of extraordinary historic, religious and cultural significance, but it is currently threatened by an industrial-scale wind energy project,'' Jay DiLorenzo, the nonprofit organization's president, said Friday. Panoramic views and contemplative quiet will disappear from the surrounding countryside if wind tubines are erected as proposed by Iberdrola, DiLorenzo said.

So many people have flooded the Maryland Department of Natural Resources with emails, calls and letters about a proposal to build wind turbines in state forests that the agency has been forced to find a larger venue for its public hearing. "We've had a lot of interest expressed, so we changed the date," said Olivia Campbell, spokeswoman for the state wildlife agency. "We are making it easier for the public to participate. We realize a lot of people have passion on both sides." ...Some people have expressed strong opposition to the idea of letting developers rip up state forests and build tall industrial machines. Others strongly support the idea of using state property to generate clean, pollution-free electricity.

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.

The three-blade turbine reaches roughly 155 feet. That includes a pole that is 120 feet high. The owners recently decided to move the project about 150 feet north toward the back of the property. That should reduce the "shadow flicker," a complaint of some neighbors, Kenney said. The rotating blades create shadows. Moving the turbine also will slightly reduce the sound ...

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.

The wind blowing through Gillespie County won't be used to generate power anytime soon, that is if Robert Weatherford has his way. Weatherford is president of Save Our Scenic Hill Country, a group committed to keeping wind farms out of the Texas Hill Country. "We think that it would significantly impact the scenic beauty of this area," Weatherford said. One of the areas being considered by energy companies for wind farming was the hills north of Fredericksburg, near Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. Now local governments are making their opposition to the giant wind turbines known.

Photos simulating turbine blades that soar above the treetops and church steeples here are giving residents an uneasy feeling. PPM Atlanta Renewable is proposing the 62-turbine Horse Creek Wind Farm in the towns of Clayton and Orleans, and is distributing photos depicting what the turbines will look ... Patricia Booras-Miller, vice president of Environmentally Concerned Citizens Organization of Jefferson County ...argued that the pictures were "made aesthetically pleasing" and that, when comparing the simulated towers to the trees, silos and utility poles, it's apparent the turbines' true height is not represented accurately. Though the 407-foot turbines are actually "10 times the height of a utility pole," they appear in the photos "to be only slightly higher," Mrs. Booras-Miller wrote in an e-mail Wednesday. "The views do not appear to be to scale and therefore not realistic.

The owner of Laurel Caverns told the Fayette County Zoning Hearing Board Wednesday that if a special exception is approved to allow windmills to be constructed in Georges and Springhill townships, it could result in the site of the most killings of bats in the United States. David Cale said the site holds that potential, although he acknowledged under questioning that it is unknown if that actually would occur. The largest measured annual bat kill was in 2003 when 2,000 bats were killed at a windmill site in West Virginia. ...Enfield previously said although the turbines may have a significant impact on bats, most of the bats are migrating, and steps can be taken to lessen the impact, such as putting a deterrent on the turbines to ward away the bats. Cale also spoke about the potential for "ice throw" of 425 feet, and pointed out that the towers can be seen from miles away and they would impact the view. ...Because there were numerous people in attendance who did not get to testify at the hearing, the board continued the hearing until 10 a.m. Jan. 30, 2008, when testimony in the matter is expected to conclude.

NATIONAL security could be compromised by more wind turbines in the Swaffham area, but councillors have been recommended to grant permission. The Ministry of Defence warns the six new giant turbines would have "an unacceptable impact upon the air traffic control radar at RAF Marham and Lakenheath and also against the air defence radar at Trimingham". But Breckland councillors could give the go-ahead on Monday for the turbines to be built on an open farmland site between the A1065 Castleacre Road and Sporle Road in Swaffham and Sporle.

Stanford research team has concluded that the ocean not far off the Northern California coastline is the most promising spot for an offshore wind farm to generate power. Specifically, the researchers concluded that the sea off Cape Mendocino, roughly 150 miles northwest of San Francisco, was their top pick. Wind turbines there could supply 5 percent of California's electrical power needs, they projected. ...Most of the Southern California coast isn't windy in the summer, so it, too, was scratched from the list. That left the sea off Cape Mendocino, north of San Francisco. ...No doubt that wouldn't sit well with some folks who appreciate their pristine Pacific views today, the researchers acknowledged in a statement.

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

A wind farm planned for above the Pauatahanui Inlet in Porirua might be seen from as far away as Island Bay and Waikanae. A document leaked to The Dominion Post shows that the 130-metre high turbines would be visible from areas of Wellington City, the Hutt Valley, beyond Upper Hutt and as far north as Waikanae. Prepared by environmental planners Boffa Miskell, the theoretical visibility plans show that as many as 40 of the up to 50 three-megawatt turbines may be visible from some areas. ..."There is a slow growing awareness that this wind farm is going to be something big," she said.

DEVELOPERS may press on with plans for a controversial 12-turbine windfarm in North Wales even though a council rejected it this week, it emerged yesterday. Conwy councillors threw out the proposed Mwdwl Eithin scheme in Cerrigydrudion against the advice of officers, who recommended it for approval. ...Clwyd West AM Darren Millar welcomed Conwy councillors' refusal of the scheme which is in his constituency. Mr Millar, the Assembly shadow minister for the environment and planning, said: "This is great news for the countryside. The decision not to grant the application went against the recommendation of local authority planning officers, but represented the views of the majority of local residents.

MAGICAL, mystical and iconic views could be affected if a proposed wind farm in Northumberland is allowed to go ahead, a public inquiry heard yesterday. On day four of the public inquiry into an application to build 18 wind turbines at South Charlton near Alnwick, anti-wind-farm campaigners again clashed with experts speaking on behalf of nPower. ...Mr Stevenson said: "These turbines will introduce an element of dynamism into the environment. There is some evidence from other turbine sites that they become popular and may even become tourist attractions themselves."

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.

Three different qualified professional landscape and visual assessors have reported on the proposed Crook Hill wind farm with the result of three different conclusions. The first conclusion is that the 12 turbine wind farm is acceptable since the "landscape and visual effects will be temporary and there would be no long term impacts"; the second conclusion was that no wind farm at this location would be acceptable; and the third conclusion was that a smaller wind farm at this location would be acceptable, shifting the balance to two to one in favour of a wind farm at the site. ...If two out of three landscape assessors agree the location is acceptable and the council rejects the application, it will be left up to an inspector at an inquiry to decide whether the scale of the Crook Hill wind farm is acceptable or not.