Plans for wind turbines in Pride Park are to be downgraded because the electricity generators would interfere with phone and radio communication. A year ago, Derby City Council announced a proposal to install up to 10 of the turbines at the business park. The council had planned to offer the power as a green alternative to the various businesses on Pride Park. But now it says this will not currently be possible because the blades of the 400ft-high wind turbines would disrupt Pride Park's telecommunication network by interfering with the transmission of radio and microwaves. Although turbine blades are not of metallic construction, they can reflect and diffract radio waves.

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.

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.

Firms and households are facing significantly higher electricity bills over the next five to 10 years as consumers shoulder the cost of renewable energy targets. Analysts estimate that households are already paying up to £10 extra a year through their utility bills to subsidise alternative forms of energy. At an energy conference in Edinburgh last week policymakers admitted that the financial burden on households and businesses will only increase as governments push to achieve ambitious renewables targets.

Guy Glencross hates the sight and sound of his new ‘neighbour' - a 20-metre wind turbine, 90 metres from the front door of his rural Co Tyrone home. Night and day, he claims, the two-blade "monstrosity" assails his ears and eyes - and those of his partner Julie - so much so that they moved from their former front bedroom to the smaller one at the back when the turbine was erected in September.

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.

Residents protesting against plans for a wind farm near Dumsurn say they are alarmed by results from a recent report which claims living close to turbines can lead to a greater risk of several health problems. The application for the proposed wind farm in the North Sperrins is for seven turbines, each 121 metres tall ...Members of the Roe Valley Anti Wind Farm Group are determined to fight the proposal and say they will take legal action if they have to. They argue there are too many wind farms in the area and that "enough is enough".

Residents campaigning against a planning application for three wind turbines have presented a petition to the local authority. Eileen and David Watson, and Tanya and Paul Davies, all residents of Earthcott Green, have presented a petition of more than 350 signatures, campaigning against an application to build three wind turbines in their village. ...The angry residents presented the petition to Matthew Riddle, South Gloucestershire Council's executive member for community care and housing, on Monday morning.

People living in west Caithness have voted overwhelmingly against plans to develop 21 wind-powered turbines on farmland near Shebster. A ballot run over the last two weeks of 2007 revealed that just over four in five of those who responded oppose the scheme. ...Caithness West Community Council commissioned the ballot to give the local authority a first-hand indication of local views. A total of 1099 papers were issued, with 470 returned by the December 31 deadline. Seventy-eight (16.6 per cent) voted "yes" and 390 (82.3 per cent) voted "no", with two spoiled papers. A further 12 letters were received - two for and 10 against - but were discounted as the individuals were not on the electoral list. Community council chairman Bill Brown said yesterday the outcome vindicated the formal objection previously submitted by the community council. ...The final say will lie with Scottish ministers.

It is claimed the turbine in the grounds of Winscombe Woodborough Primary School gives out a constant whirring and has been christened Chinook by neighbours. David Egremont, who lives near the school, said: "The noise is not very pleasant at the best of times but when the wind comes from the east, as has happened frequently in recent months, then it becomes a constant annoyance.

"It's unbelievable that they would press ahead with something that nobody wants around here, that's incredibly close to houses and which people are really, really concerned about," said Beverley Carr, who has written to her local MP Stephen Dorrell asking for an explanation.

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.

Plans for a 12metre-high wind turbine in a Ribble Valley beauty spot have been withdrawn following protests from councillors and residents. But applicant Stephen Tasker, who runs green energy company Energever, has vowed to resubmit the application for the alternative energy source within the Forest of Bowland, a designated Area of Natural Beauty.

"We are not opposed to renewable energy but this will destroy vast areas of precious countryside and kill off the tourism trade. "The authorities have completely failed to consider the devastating impact this huge project will have on people's lives and livelihoods. "The substation alone will cover an area of 28 acres.