Opposition is growing to giant wind turbines as the novelty of being paid for wind wears off. In St. Joseph, south of Winnipeg, a concerned citizens group is protesting a proposal by Bowark Energy Ltd. of Calgary to install 63 wind turbines across a 13-kilometre stretch of arable land. In Elie, just west of Winnipeg, some residents are demanding a study on long-term costs of a wind turbine proposal by Sequoia Energy. Applications for the next wave of wind turbines in Manitoba closed Tuesday. The province and Manitoba Hydro will approve three of about 30 proposals submitted. Complaints about wind power systems include noise, loss of property value, and a perception that the turbines are eyesores junking up the uninterrupted prairie horizon people are used to.

Dwayne Bailey has some simple advice for Gulf Shore residents fighting a proposed wind farm in their area, don't give up the fight because they may regret the consequences. Bailey recently abandoned his Elmira, P.E.I., home because noise from a nearby wind farm was becoming intolerable. It kept the family awake at night and impacted their health with headaches and vision problems. "Don't let them put up the windfarm, it's way too close to the houses. It chased us out of our house and it could happen to someone else. We didn't have much a choice and it resulted in us leaving our home," Bailey said, adding his parents also abandoned their home.

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.

Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Twp. Council recently received a letter of response back from the Minister of Environment, Laurel Broten, following their meeting in February. The letter from Broten states, "The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) is involved with setback distances between wind turbines and points of reception for the purpose of compliance with the ministry's noise limits. Wind turbines require a Certificate of Approval (Noise) under section nine of the Environmental Protection Act (EP A) unless the project is specifically exempt.

A recent report published by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has said large wind farms such as proposed here are not the way forward for New Zealand, the significant adverse impacts are avoidable by harnessing wind power using smaller clusters of small turbines servicing remote towns, and this will be better for the country. Unfortunately this report was published just after our hearing was completed.

Fearing noise and bad looks, some communities are banning them.

The appellants of the Enbridge Ontario Wind Power project wrapped up their portion of the turbine noise arguments at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing last week. The hearing reconvened after the holiday weekend on May 23, with testimony by meteorological and atmospheric specialist Dr. Jim Young, who sat for part of Thursday as well. He was followed by acoustic engineer John Coulter later that day, with Enbridge and the Municipality cross-examining him on Friday. Both were arguing that there will be unwanted noise impacts to local residents, if the turbines remain in their current proximity to homes; the closest of which is 450 metres.

Marshland St James is an isolated, functional, centre-less village, little more than a ribbon of houses along a country road surrounded by farms. In the far west of Norfolk, close to the borders with Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, it is a place that locals describe as "bandit country". It is not a place you expect an issue of national importance to find its focus. But on Monday, just a few days before the government released its white paper on energy, a local farmer was found dead in a drainage canal close to his home. A statement from his family linked his death to a battle over wind farms that has torn the village apart.

The Ontario Municipal Board wrapping up the second week of hearings into the Enbridge Wind Farm project in Kincardine.

State regulators indicated Wednesday that they plan to pay closer attention to potential noise levels generated by wind farms proposed within the Unorganized Territory. Members of the Land Use Regulation Commission said the state should learn from the noise concerns that have arisen since a wind farm in the Aroostook County town of Mars Hill became operational earlier this year.

Neighbors of Fairbanks Park are objecting to the town's plan to build a wind turbine adjacent to baseball fields there, fearing it will produce unpleasant noise and hurt property values. Around 10 residents from McKinley and Central avenues questioned members of the Parks and Recreation Commission Wednesday night about exactly what the 90-foot high turbine will sound like from their houses. Chet Larson of McKinley Avenue said he had recently checked out a similar turbine near Costco on Providence Highway and was dismayed at the noise it created.

Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Township council is sending a letter to the Ministry of Environment asking for an immediate response to a report on the affects of noise from wind turbines. At council's March 20 meeting, Reeve Ben Van Diepenbeek said the township still has not received a response back from Minister Laurel Broten who they met while attending a conference in Toronto in late February. Coun. Doug Miller said it was the minister, herself, who said the ministry would respond to their questions and a report by Dr. Vandenberg,

FAIRHAVEN - While the developer that wants to erect two wind turbines on town land is offering free bus trips to see operating turbines in Hull, members of the WindWise Fairhaven group questioning the project say they are paying for a noise study. WindWise member Kenneth Pottell made the revelation last night as the Board of Selectmen discussed the issue in the wake of a wind power forum last week. "It's really important that the town does it right," Mr. Pottell said. "We're not asking for something other towns haven't done."

FAIRHAVEN - Residents speaking at a forum on wind power last night made a lot of noise about what kind of sound two proposed Little Bay wind turbines would produce. During a sometimes chaotic meeting in a standing-room only hall, some wanted to know why a specific wind study has not been done on the project and why turbines would be erected closer to homes than what is recommended in other studies. "We have done the studies that the town asked us to do," said Nils Boldgen of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, which has worked with the town on the project. "A noise study could be done." Officials also said the sound requirements would have to meet levels determined by the town's bylaw: 60 decibels at 600 feet.

almerston North City Council's noise specialist Nigel Lloyd opened his case to slash turbine numbers for the proposed Motorimu wind farm yesterday. The joint hearing by commissioners was in its second day of overtime and looks set for a couple more. There were 218 submitters on the proposal within the allowed time period, 91 of whom indicated they would like to speak on their submission. Yesterday was the opening of the council's presentation.

ARKPORT - The Hornellsville town board discussed the benefits and drawbacks of a wind farm at its meeting night. With the Steuben County towns of Howard and Hartsville set to vote this week on wind laws developed for these communities, Hornellsville is still in the talking phase. Hornellsville still has a moratorium on wind farm development in place. One opponent of Howard's wind farm - Howard resident Eric Hosmer- was on hand at the meeting. He spoke about the impact of the turbines- usually between 400-450 feet tall - particularly the sound the windmills make.

FREEDOM - The town's Board of Appeals has rejected plans to erect three electricity generating wind turbines on Beaver Ridge. After four weeks of hearings, the board late Thursday found Portland-based Competitive Energy Service's turbines would not meet town standards for noise, said Addison Chase, chairman of the appeals board. The board also ruled that CES must post bonding for future demolition of the turbines. The planning Board approved CES's application in December. Planning board members agreed with a study that determined the turbines would not exceed the 45 decibel limit set in the ordinance. The vote was 3 to 0. Francis Walker abstained from the vote. Appeals board members determined that the study had been based on faulty ambient, or background, noise levels, Chase said. The planning board had required CES to post a bond for the construction phase, but Chase said the ordinance clearly requires the company to bond for future demolition as well. CES can appeal Thursday's decision to Waldo County Superior Court or start the process over again with the Planning Board.

FAIRFIELD — If wind turbines are built in this northeastern Herkimer County town, one family may be forced to move. Lisa Sementilli's 11-year-old daughter Alisha has central auditory processing disorder, which means Alisha hears fine but can't concentrate when she is around background noise. Doctors have suggested that Alisha live at least one-and-a-half miles from any wind turbine, but Hard Scrabble Wind Farm towers planned in Fairfield would be less than half a mile away, Lisa Sementilli said. "If they come, I have to move," she said. "I'm not going to put my daughter in any harm."

RESIDENTS said "no" to proposals for 16 more wind turbines in Deeping St Nicholas. Villagers spoke out at a special meeting of Deeping St Nicholas Parish Council, which was called to give a reaction to proposals at Church Farm. The proposals, made by Spanish renewable energy giant Iberdrola, would add to the existing eight turbines, taking the number in the village to 24. Jane Davis, who has faced sleepless nights due to low frequency noise from the turbines, said: "They don't really understand how these large wind turbines interact with each other in a flat landscape. The research just hasn't been done.

SCOTSBURN – Residents living near a wind turbine on Fitzpatrick Mountain want stricter regulations put in place to prevent the turbines from being put too close to homes. In the right weather conditions, says nearby resident Wayne Pierce, the turbines can make a “noise like a jet aircraft in place overhead.” County council is in the process of creating a new bylaw to put regulations in place on the distance wind turbines must be from other properties. The proposed bylaw would require turbines to be placed three times the height of the turbine from the property line. That’s not enough for Pierce, however, who believes the distance should be taken from adjacent homes.