The St. Lawrence River is too precious to be marred by poorly-conceived wind power projects, Governor David Paterson said Sunday. The Governor fielded questions from a packed house at the Northside Improvement League as part of his budget tour of the state. Asked by a Hammond resident about his views on wind power development, Paterson indicated he thinks the industry is moving too quickly.

Wind power offers the potential of clean, inexhaustible, if intermittent, energy. But where to site wind turbines in relation to homes and communities is a major and growing point of controversy around the world and in the U.S. Here's why.

The residents of North Gower who crowded into a small community hall to hear about the wind farm proposed for their backyard know the time for green power has come, but that didn't stop worries about the impact of giant turbines on their health and property values. ...Many of the 300 who filed through the three-hour information session supported the idea of moving to more renewable fuels, but questioned how the sight and sound of the turbines would affect them and drive down the value of their properties.

Alternative energy advocates and residents opposed to giant wind turbines overlooking their homes in Warm Springs Valley are expected to square off when Nevada Wind's proposed wind farm comes before the Washoe County Planning Commission on Tuesday. ...No matter what the planning commission decides, the project is expected to be appealed to the Washoe County Commission.

Campaigners from both sides of the England-Wales border are joining forces to save a massive landmark built more than 1,000 years ago to divide them. Villagers living in the remote areas either side of Offa's Dyke are putting aside age-old hostilities to fight plans to bring 21st century alternative technology close to the ancient monument. Welsh planning officials are pleading with their opposite numbers on the English side of the dyke to help them protect the eighth century earthworks.

Villagers battling plans for a wind farm in Worcestershire are to stage a walk through the countryside they fear will be destroyed by the proposals. Families living in the Vale of Evesham will gather tomorrow for the walk along the Wychavon Way and Blossom Trail, close to where Scottish Power Renewables is planning to build 10 turbines measuring 125m (410ft) on land owned by farmers.

The big challenge, wind developers acknowledge, is modifying site permits that restrict the spacing and height of turbines. Neighbors are often put off by the visual impact of the turbines themselves ...Wind developers face an additional hurdle to repower in Denmark, where legislation going into effect next year will require wind-park operators to compensate residents if wind turbines reduce their property values.

The Town Board says wind turbines planned for neighboring Prattsburgh come too close to the Naples town line. Board members agreed this month to send a letter asking the state Public Service Commission to intervene and order a developer to move the towers further from town line. "I think the board has made clear, we're not against wind turbines, but we are against the improper siting of towers," Supervisor Frank Duserick said. ...By placing turbines less than 500 feet from the Naples property line, Duserick and Servo argue that the project is creating "reverse zoning" that effectively limits Naples landowners from full use of their property for safety reasons.

David Anderson, the Eastern District member of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors, has been busy in recent days answering phone calls and e-mails from supporters and opponents of a proposed large-scale windmill project. ..."Don't get me wrong, I've heard a lot of positive, and I've heard a lot of negative," Anderson said Tuesday. "There are still people who are very pro-windmill. But the majority of the feedback I've received have been real concerned about the natural beauty of East River Mountain."

No doubt about it, green is good. So why is it that across the country, more and more people are seeing red over wind energy? Some say that in the rush to develop wind power, current government regulations aren't doing enough to protect human health, or the environment. ..."I think the government really needs to step up to the plate and make sure they do their due diligence and make sure they do their history checks on where they are putting these wind turbines because it's about location, location, location," said one member. "The government has made rural Ontario residents expendable in the name of green energy."

Villagers said the wind farms along Taiwan's coast have already destroyed vegetation and trees along the coast and create noise. Taiwan residents have held referendums on building nuclear power plants, but have not yet held a referendum on building wind turbines yet. ...Once the wind turbines start running, they will create noise and destroy the ecology by harming mangroves and crabs.

The Palm Springs Planning Commission approved about 50 windmills on Wednesday. ...The turbines would be about 3,000 feet from the Mountain Gate housing community and 2,000 feet from where College of the Desert's west valley campus is planned.

The final scope of the Westfield-Ripley wind project will include 83 wind turbines: 47 in Westfield and 36 in Ripley. ...The next immediate step for Babcock and Brown is the preparation of the environmental impact study, which must be filed with SEQR and accepted as complete by both towns. There will be a public hearing and a minimum of a 30-day period for public comment.

Despite the protests of environmental advocates who spent months trying to halt the projects, two large-scale wind farms in South Texas are now operational. Many of the approximately 250 wind turbines that were expected to dot about 20,000 acres of Kenedy Ranch, north of Raymondville, are up and spinning ...Seeing the turbines starting to spin is worrisome, Kittelberger said. "I think they were built without public input, and built (with developers) knowing they would kill thousands of birds," he said.

Bill Durdan has farmed northeast of Grand Ridge for 43 years and often relied on crop dusters. Now, however, he has been told his proximity to wind turbine towers will prevent him from receiving that service. The cost to him could be lost crops and lost revenue, he told the La Salle County Zoning Board of Appeals Tuesday evening. ...Kim Schertz of Hudson, who works in her husband's crop dusting business, said the problem is pilots simply can not safely pull up and make the necessary turns in a wind farm area. "These guys are good, but they're not kamikazes."

A lot of the literature surrounding the pros and cons of wind farms, "seems to be confusing in terms of differing opinions," he said. "Our council would like to ensure they are safe and safely regulated." It also wants to know whether setbacks established elsewhere in Ontario have proved to be adequate, Schnare said. "There are emerging issues coming from other areas of the province."

Anti-windfarm activists have joined forces to support councillors who fear that a proliferation of developments could undermine Cumbria's economic regeneration. The Strategic Alliance Against Lakeland Wind Turbines (SALT) and Friends of Eden, Lakeland and Lunesdale Scenery (FELLS) are concerned that Cumbria is at a crossroads that could heavily damage the countryside.

Local Plaid Cymru AM for Aberconwy, Gareth Jones, has described the decision by the Westminster Labour Government to approve the construction of the huge Gwynt y Mor windfarm, off the coast of Llandudno and Colwyn Bay, as a slap in the face and an affront to the democratically-expressed wishes of the people of Wales. ..."The scale of the Gwynt y Mor development cannot be overstated. The 250 turbines will be visible for many miles around.

The first of three public meetings is taking place about plans for 350, 49ft (15m) tall electricity pylons through rural areas of Powys. The overhead line is planned from a wind farm in Llandinam to a sub-station in Welshpool 22 miles (35km) away, and is needed to meet energy demands. Drop-in sessions and meetings are being held in Dolfor and Kerry, near Newtown.

A two kilometre buffer zone from houses would make the proposed Glen Innes Windfarm unviable according to the project's developers, however they say they are hopeful of negotiating a compromise with critics of the project.