Amid turbulence about the possibility of a wind energy project on top of Ragged Mountain, a citizen group has formed with the intention of stopping any further research into the possibility of placing turbines on the mountain.

Walkers fear too many wind farms will be built in exceptionally beautiful areas of countryside, in particular parts of Yorkshire, the Ramblers Association has said. It said ramblers will see a trebling in the number of large-scale wind farms in the countryside in the next three years. In a response to the Department for Business's draft Renewable Energy Strategy, the association complained onshore wind farms would be erected at the expense of developing other renewables.

Xcel Energy and the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association have filed with the commission for a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the lines, which the companies say will increase the reliability of the grid in the valley and increase their ability to export electricity generated from wind and solar farms in Southern Colorado. ...An administrative law judge will hold a pre-hearing conference Friday in Denver to consider the intervention requests. The utilities commission has until Jan. 26 to decide on the applications by Xcel and Tri-State.

Arthur and Pamela Dodds are upset with the West Virginia Public Service Commission's approval of the wind turbine facility along the Laurel Mountain ridgeline in Barbour and Randolph Counties. "I was very disappointed that the wind turbine complex had been approved. I feel there was an improper balancing of the information that the opposition gave," says Pamela Dodds, a Barbour County resident.

Spanish multi-national Iberdrola unveiled a slimmer version of the Jordanville Wind Project before a packed town-hall meeting Monday, Nov. 10. It was unclear, though, if anyone has changed his or her mind on an issue that divided the townspeople of Warren and Stark, where the wind project is planned, and Herkimer from Otsego counties; the northern county gets the benefits, and two counties share the impacts.

Campaigners have called for the Government to safeguard North East beauty spots as The Journal reveals hundreds of wind turbines could blight the region. Our wind map reveals nearly 250 turbines could pepper the North East landscape in the next year if planning chiefs give them the go-ahead. Information provided by the region's councils indicates an influx of turbines could begin to dominate the landscape within a few years.

The board "does not support further industrialization of ridge tops until a prudent and reasonable public policy has been created and enacted that will provide protections to those who will be adversely impacted," Chairman Gregan Crawford said in the letter.

Growers and ranchers in the southern reaches of California are posing the latest obstacle to the state's push for green power. Facing the possibility of losing land to power transmission lines, they have urged state commissioners to avoid their property when selecting a route for a project linking consumers on the coast to renewable energy operations in the Southern California desert. ...The dispute is part of a growing conflict between farmers and utilities, as California's mandate for power providers to boost their use of renewable energy prompts new projects across the state.

Even as Americans tell pollsters they are eager for alternatives to fossil fuel, some are fighting proposals for solar and wind projects and for the thousands of miles of transmission lines that would be needed to carry the cleaner energy to market. The protests echo grass-roots opposition that has blocked nuclear plants and energy-producing trash incinerators for decades. The new backlash is fueled by worries that renewable-energy projects would occupy vast amounts of land to produce significant amounts of power.

The open, wind-swept terrain here makes it an ideal area for Imperial County's renewable energy projects, but residents have varying views about the modern development. ...District 2 county Supervisor Jack Terrazas' jurisdiction includes Ocotillo. "What we have to weigh is what is most beneficial for everyone," he said. "At the same time, we're faced with mandates from a government edict that mandates the use of more green energy."

Pentwater, with its population of approximately 1,000, is a scenic, quiet village known for its summer music concerts at the village green and its close proximity to Lake Michigan. If a newly-formed company has its way, however, Schwarz and many other local residents believe Pentwater and the 100-mile long coastal stretch from Muskegon on the south to Ludington on the north will dramatically alter the area for the worse.

Late last month Lincoln Avenue resident Kathleen Shafer filed a complaint against the town's zoning board of review over a decision it made involving the proposed wind turbine. The complaint's roots can be traced to the town's initial site selection for the project - Barrington High School. (Legion Way is also being considered as a potential site.) Ms. Shafer lives at 210 Lincoln Ave., and her property abuts the school campus. She began questioning some aspects of the project and eventually requested a zoning certificate with respect to the zoning status of the high school, specifically as it relates to a wind turbine. The building official said the high school was exempt from the town's zoning ordinances.

The first effort to install a small wind turbine on a residential home here was rejected by the historic district commission last week. The commission was deeply split over the decision, with two voting in favor, one against and two abstaining. Since a majority of the board did not approve the project, it was denied.

A Tamworth public inquiry into wind farms in the northern tablelands has heard the developments do not comply with local planning guidelines. The New South Wales Planning Department has bypassed local government controls to push the projects through. A number of residents told the inquiry that noise and vibrations from the turbines will force them to move if the projects go ahead in their current form.

Tempers ran high as roughly 40 residents showed up at a public information session last night to oppose the development of a wind farm in Bailey's Brook. One by one residents filed into the Lismore Community Centre. They pulled up a chair and waited for the show to begin. "I'm not leaving until I get answers," said Linda McCallum. However, many homeowners left the session two hours later none the wiser. Their anger was amplified when they realized no representative from Shear Wind Inc, the company responsible for the project, was at the open house.

"We had been all over the world looking for some place to live and we left our heart here in the Finger Lakes and this is where we came back to. We absolutely loved it here...until...we knew about the wind project," Judi Hall said. The back and forth over First Wind's bid to build wind turbines ended with the company's success. Champions of the project like Tom Casey, who sits on the town/village planning board, say the project puts Cohocton on the cutting edge of new energy and helps the economy.

Controversial plans for a wind farm on top of a scenic wilderness has come under fresh attacks from worried residents. Energy firm nPower wants to put up 19 turbines - some as high as 400ft - on Mynydd-y-Gwair. Campaign group Save Our Common Mountain Environment, who have been fighting the scheme since 2004, recently won the backing of TV botanist David Bellamy. Now locals in Pontlliw have thrown their weight behind the plan to kick out the scheme.

Folks in several nearby towns, about 100 miles southwest of Dallas, are fighting to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to them. ...They say the companies are swooping in -- even into areas that aren't as windy -- because federal tax credits for wind developers expire at year's end unless Congress extends the subsidy. Opponents also are holding meetings and erecting yard signs protesting turbines, disputing that wind energy works at all. ...They say that unreliability isn't worth sacrificing their scenic vistas and high property values.

Judy Mattinson expressed horror at the idea of spoiling the "sweet, peaceful viewshed" of the escarpment with wind turbines. "I can't see how you can move forward without impacting the beauty" of the area, she said. "The damage will irrevocable and unavoidable. "Anybody who has not visited the mountain in the spring and seen the wildflowers ... can't know how beautiful it is," she continued. "And it won't be that way again."

About 100 people came to the Moorefield Community Centre on Dec. 2 to hear about the Conestogo Wind Farm Project proposed in northeast Maple­ton Township. ..."Most people in this room do not want these industrial turbines in their community," [Lorrie] Gillis said in an interview. According to her, 600 turbines operating in Ontario have led to about 100 surveys re­turned to WindVoice by nearby residents citing health problems. She said there are many more who "suffer in silence".