A bogslide which threatened one of the country's premier fishing lakes appeared to have come to a halt yesterday. For the third consecutive night, geotechnical experts and wind farm and forestry staff remained at the scene of a potential environmental disaster. ...The slide began on Tuesday afternoon during the construction of a road to the Garvagh Glebe North wind farm, a joint project between Coillte and Hibernian Wind Power, a subsidiary of the ESB.

Locals in north Kerry are up in arms at the alleged role of a wind energy firm in the landslide that destroyed a river's salmon and trout stocks. Before the facts of what caused last week's landslide in a north Kerry river network were known, a nearby wind energy firm taking the brunt of the local anger. Prior to the landslide, Tralee-based company Tra Investments had begun site works for an eight-turbine wind farm in the Ballincollig Hill-Maghanknockane area. Within 24 hours of the slide, the company announced that it would commission an independent review into the incident, which it promised to make public.

The chief executive of the Shannon Region Fisheries Board said yesterday there were no fish remaining in the spawning grounds affected by the landslide in the Stacks Mountains in north Kerry last weekend. ...However, the full effects of the landslide on the Smearlagh and Feale rivers may not be felt for five to 10 years, because of the migratory pattern of the life-cycle of the fish. ...Residents have called for a change in the county council development plan which has designated the Stacks area for wind farm development.

A company which began work on a wind farm on a mountain bog in north Kerry two weeks ago tonight said an independent investigation was being launched into the cause of a massive landslide which killed thousands of wild salmon and trout. Tra Investments Limited in Tralee said geological experts would assess what led to a two kilometre long slick flowing off the Stacks Mountains polluting the most important water supplies. ...Eamon Cusack, chief executive of Shannon Regional Fisheries Board, said: "All I can say is that we're following every lead and we're obviously looking at the windfarm as a possible source of the start of the landslide."

Hi-tech maps showing the country's landslide 'hot zones' were given the go-ahead just weeks before a 3km landslide cut off an entire community and led to fears of an "ecological disaster". ...The landslide, which has been put down to the record rainfall levels this month, occurred during construction work on a roadway to an electricity wind farm in the Magha/Kielduff area of Kerry, with its power sweeping away a bridge and imprisoning people in their homes.

Ireland's failure to insist on environmental impact assessments before major development projects are carried out will be scrutinised by the European Court of Justice on Thursday. The European Commission brought an action against Ireland in May 2006, claiming that the government had failed to comply with its obligations under the 1985 Impact Assessment Directive. ...The commission alleged that ‘‘particular deficiencies'' in relation to environmental impact assessments for a wind farm at Derrybrien, Co Galway, amounted to ‘‘a manifest breach of the directive''. Work began on the 60-megawatt windfarm in July 2003. About 90 per cent of the site roads on the 300-hectare site and half the bases of the 71 wind turbines had been completed when a landslide occurred on October 16, 2003. The landslide destroyed trees, fisheries and an empty house, and blocked two roads, but nobody was hurt.

The state Fish & Boat Commission has been responsible for ensuring that wind energy development does not harm water or aquatic life since corporations began erecting turbines in Pennsylvania. But with the wind energy industry growing quickly - and showing no signs of letting up - Fish and Boat commissioners have decided to put the agency's regulatory policy in writing. The commissioners made the decision at their most recent meeting. They are accepting comments about the policy from the public. ..."Anytime there's encroachment on a ridgeline, you're dealing with headwater issues," Lichvar said. "If you have a problem where it begins, then you have a problem where it ends."

The construction of giant wind turbines on deep peatland could damage the environment and add to global warming, according to a Euro Tory MP. Struan Stevenson said deep peatland was a natural global sink for CO2, having been formed over thousands of years by decaying plant matter in which carbon is stored. He said the development of windfarms on peatland requires first that the peat bogs are drained and this process releases vast quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere, negating the point of creating windfarms for years to come. Mr Stevenson said peat bogs in the UK, most of which are in Scotland, stored the equivalent of Britain's output of CO2 for the next 21 years.

THE COMPANY behind plans to build a massive windfarm in Shetland intends to wait until next summer before submitting a planning application to allow a second study of the islands' peatlands. Viking Energy had initially hoped to have already submitted its planning documents, but the huge number of responses to a public consultation scuppered the company's timetable. ...During the initial consultation in spring this year, many local residents were concerned about the amount of peat which would have to be cleared to erect up to 192 turbines, each measuring up to 145 metres in height. There were also worries that disturbing the sensitive peat habitat could pollute burns and inshore waters.

SILT run-off during the construction of a wind farm is believed to be the source responsible for the wiping out of valuable vegetation and a colossal decrease in wild Brown Trout fish stocks in one of Tyrone's hidden beauty spots. ...One source described the fish caught as "feeble and malnourished" and indicated that the "damage to the rare genetic strain was irreparable." Lough Lee has long been considered by angling tourists as one of the most unique freshwater fishing sites in Ireland or Britain. ...problems arose during the construction of the 9MW wind farm by leading company Airtricity, who was given planning permission to position turbines on the slope of Bin Mountain facing and in close proximity to the Lough.

As supervisors develop an ordinance to regulate wind turbines, some people continue to express concern that a turbine facility proposed for the southern part of Wyoming County could hurt the watershed. "My concerns are when you cut off the top of the mountain, it creates runoff," Doug Ayers, a Noxen resident and conservationist, said.

A state arbitration panel has dealt a setback to the Hoosac Wind project by rejecting a state-issued wetlands permit that would be needed to access the site....... The Division of Administrative Law Appeals yesterday ruled that the developer's evaluation of the impact on wildlife habitat was insufficient and certain parts of the project didn't comply with the Wetlands Protection Act.

CENTRAL CITY - A local environmental organization is calling for an independent study of surface and ground water on land where Gamesa Energy USA is proposing to erect wind turbines. In a three-page position paper, the Mountain Laurel Chapter of Trout Unlimited said the proposed Shaffer Mountain project could adversely impact the Piney Creek watershed and wants a water study done.

Town meeting voters Monday shot down a proposal to study the feasibility of creating a town-owned wind farm. Although wind power is an environmentally-friendly energy source and could potentially generate considerable revenue for the town, voters decided that putting a wind farm on the land near the Almeida Farm on Interstate 195 could pose a danger to the wetlands on the 22-acre parcel. John Ferreira, who donated the land to the town for conservation use, spoke against the proposed wind farm.

Windber Area Authority members are looking into the impact a proposed wind farm will have on an area watershed. The board agreed Wednesday to ask geologist James Casselberry to begin studying how the construction of 38 wind turbines along Shaffer Mountain could affect water quality for authority customers. “If in fact there is a threat, the best way to find out is to talk to a hydrologist,” said solicitor James Cascio.

Today, Britain’s peatland habitats are at the centre of a rather different wrangle. The drive towards cleaner energy alternatives to fossil fuels, backed by government, has jump-started the wind power industry. And many of the most suitable locations for wind farms in the British Isles happen to be on peat.

SAN FRANCISCO - Jill Cody used to feel guilty whenever she drove her car or flew on an airplane. She worried about pumping heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and contributing to global warming. But the San Jose professor found a way to ease her conscience. She paid a San Francisco company called TerraPass to offset emissions from her car and air travel by investing in wind power and reducing farm pollution.

A multi-million dollar wind farm development in rural Woodford County is in jeopardy, the county’s administrator said Friday. “We’re as close as we have been to this thing not happening,” Administrator Gregory Jackson said of the proposed 79-turbine, $260 million facility northeast of Benson. If it is completed, it could be the largest economic development ever for Woodford County. The County Board will vote Oct. 17 whether to issue a special use permit allowing the company to build. Greene, Panola and Clayton township government bodies, with their attorney, Sheryl Kuzma, are negotiating a road agreement with the wind farm’s developer, Navitas Energy of Minneapolis, Minn. The townships say a road agreement is needed because the company will be hauling large truck loads of turbine components on rural roads.

In many ways, the atmosphere is like a gold rush. With the backing of an enthusiastic Rendell administration, wind-energy companies have quietly but aggressively been negotiating leases for land on mountaintops, especially in Bedford and Somerset counties. Several developers hope to build hundreds, if not thousands, of windmills on the ridge lines of west-central Pennsylvania. Typical wind turbines stand nearly 375 feet tall -- about 70 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty -- and can be seen from 15 to 20 miles away. Some people question whether development of wind energy on this scale is appropriate for Pennsylvania, even though wind often is touted as a renewable, nonpolluting way to generate electricity. Longtime residents of Somerset County, where the building is more advanced, say the construction and operation of turbines have damaged the environment. They say the development offers little in return from jobs or taxes. "It's not quite what they tell you in the brochure," Todd Hutzell of Rockwood said.

A wind farm in the Turitea Reserve could ruin the city water supply. Erosion could be a problem that would be difficult to overcome, a Massey University geography professor says. The $1 million a year the Palmerston North City Council is hoping to get for its wind farm might not be enough to pay for the damage it does, John Flenley says. The problem is the removal of vegetation – native bush or scrub, whatever – to install the turbines themselves, as well as the road construction needed to the site. And it could take 100 years for all that vegetation to grow back.