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.

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."

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.

FURTHER objections have been made to plans to build four giant wind turbines near Hemsby. The Broads Authority planning committee has joined Hemsby villagers and Ormesby St Margaret parish councillors in voicing its opposition to SLP Energy's scheme for the 125m high turbines. The objections came at its committee meeting last Friday amid concerns about the detrimental impact on the countryside, outweighing the Authority's need to promote green energy. ...the development would also affect the ecology of the area, with large bird and bat populations at the wind farm site in an area known as the Trinity Broads which is bordered by Hall Farm Fen to the north, an area of fen grazing stretching to Hemsby.

Nigg and Shandwick Community Council chairman Richard Cross described the photomontages as "extremely dubious" and queried why a request for copies was refused. He said, "Why? Could it be that the images do not stand scrutiny? "They insist on referring to this development as 'small scale' but capable of supplying 6,000 houses. The Nigg and Shandwick Community Council area contains approximately 175 houses, 30 of which will be within one mile of the wind turbines.

With the talk of a wind farm sprouting in Sullivan County, New York, some members of the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) have expressed concern for the visual impact they could make on the Delaware River in this section....Phil Chase, who represents the NY Town of Deerpark on the UDC, interjected that he knew of "people who receive $6,000 a year to pollute a beautiful area with minimum electricity generated." He commented that wind farms require a road connecting turbines, cutting through the land, where trespass then becomes an issue. Noise is also a factor, added Charles Wieland, the UDC delegate from the Town of Tusten.

A public hearing over plans for a proposed wind farm at Morwenstow is to take place following demands from protesters.The Planning Inspectorate has agreed to the hearing after power company West Coast Energy appealed against the decision to refuse an application to build a wind farm at Crimp. North Cornwall councillors went against planning officers' recommendations and turned down plans by the company to build three 81-metre (260ft) turbines near the coastal village. One of the reasons for refusal was the "unacceptable visual impact" of the wind farm, which would have a cumulative effect with Forest Moor in Bradworthy, home to North Devon's first wind farm. Members of campaign group, Morwenstow Against Turbines - MAT - were concerned the appeal would be decided through written representations only and have welcomed a public hearing.

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.

SEI, the school for renewable energy and sustainable housing technology, won approval June 4 from the Board of County Commissioners for its bid to erect a 106-foot-high tower on its year-old Paonia campus. The tower will support an electricity generating turbine with blades spanning 12 feet to be used for class instruction and to produce power for the school's use. The BoCC, sitting with commission chair Jan McCracken absent, voted 2-0 in favor of the schools proposal after hearing comments from neighbors both in support and opposition of the plan.

A proposal by Massachusetts-based UPC Wind to locate the 40-tower, 60-megawatt Cascade Wind Farm on Sevenmile would certainly change the landscape of that area. Scads of residents have, over the months, expressed disapproval over issues such as how 40 wind turbines, each nearly 400-feet-tall would damage the scenery around the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Others are troubled over the reported health hazards the turbines may pose to people in homes situated around them.

The view brought mixed emotions to the Riters. "To be honest, I was shocked when I first saw them," said 66-year-old Karl Riters, who enjoys hiking, backpacking and volunteering with the Poudre Wilderness Volunteers. "I saw them from maybe eight miles away and I started hoping that as I got closer they wouldn't be that apparent. But the closer we got, the worse it looked. I'm all for reducing carbon emissions, but when out in a desolate area like this, you don't want to see that." Lori Bell, the grasslands' acting district manager, said she has received numerous complaints about the turbines. She said there is nothing the U.S. Forest Service can do because the wind farm is on private land.

The latest bid to build a windfarm near Kirkwhelpington has been opposed by Tynedale Council........ Their concerns were reflected by councillors who voted to agree with the recommendation that the Steadings development would "cause demonstrable harm in landscape and visual terms".

The Scottish Executive refused to respond to the P &J's questions on the issue, saying it was "for SNH to field these questions". SNH commissioned the work and states in its completed document that "many windfarm developers participated". There is currently no uniformed method of photomontage to assess turbines and the issue has consistently baffled Highland councillors who decide the fate of most planning bids. Critics have pressed for years for a definitive system of accurately assessing the visual impact of turbines.

The green light to build the world's biggest wind farm in Central Otago hinges on consent hearings which got underway on Monday. Meridian Energy wants to erect more than 170 giant turbines many as tall as a 45-storey building in an area opponents say is too beautiful to be spoiled.

Photo simulations submitted for LIPA's proposed offshore wind farm offer a limited, possibly undersized view of the 40-turbine array as it will appear in South Shore waters, a town supervisor charged yesterday. After a study it commissioned last fall by a third-party imaging firm, the Town of Babylon produced its own photo simulations of the wind farm and found that, by comparison, the turbines portrayed in the Long Island Power Authority's submissions "look smaller," according to a report expected to be released today. The study found the LIPA photo analysis, conducted by an outside company, to be "incomplete," lacking in resolution and a range of lens depictions to provide a breadth of viewpoints. Babylon Supervisor Steve Bellone said the analysis, combined with a study his office conducted of the estimated construction costs of the project, lead to concerns.