Bruce County is calling on the province to study the health effects of wind turbines. "The province has stated that they are not going to do a health study. We're going to encourage them with a letter hoping that they will do an independent study for the health concerns that are out there now and possibly down the road," said Huron-Kinloss Mayor Mitch Twolan.

Despite contentious debate last week over whether the town should open itself up to wind energy proposals at all, council decided in the end it was best to put the needed regulations in place instead of leaving the town without a strategy to guide a sector that is fast developing around the world. Coun. Margaret Tusz-King said the new wind power regulations, which were approved as part of Sackville's new zoning bylaw last Monday night, include "stringent limitations on how and where turbines will be erected."

In an interview Wednesday, Huron County Commissioner Kurt Damrow said Monday's public hearing is the last chance for local units of government, including townships that have control of their zoning and have a wind turbine ordinance, to speak to the State of Michigan in regard to maintaining local control over setback requirements and noise limitations for wind developments. "What's on the line is whether local units of government will have a say in zoning, specifically (regarding) setbacks and noise," Damrow said.

Provincial plans to create a streamlined approval process for renewable energy projects have been met with a bevy of objections ...Officials tout it as a means of creating "green" jobs ...Many stakeholders, however, aren't entirely pleased with what's on the table. ...Perhaps the most significant hot-button issue is the 550-metre minimum separation between renewable energy projects and residences.

Being green, without annoying your neighbors, was high on the list of residents' requirements for the regulation of small wind energy conversion systems at last week's special meeting of the planning commission. While not calling for a ban on wind turbines, many residents requested that commissioners write regulations to make the wind turbines as difficult to install as possible and suggested the alternative of a wind farm here, located on one property, rather than allowing individual systems on eligible parcels.

Another wind farm is planned for Schuylkill County. The proposal will come up Wednesday night at a zoning meeting at the North Schuylkill High School. There is opposition from people who live near the proposed site for the giant windmills. Even from a few miles away wind farms are hard to miss. They're usually located on mountaintops.

The Government says it wants to cut the red tape and expense involved in generating energy from wind, and insists the new rules will come with strict conditions about noise, size and appearance. But rural campaigners said the changes to the planning system could lead to a 'free-for-all' and warned that the countryside was in danger of being sacrificed in the battle against global warming.

Magnificent views enjoyed by visitors to an award-winning North East holiday complex would be ruined by plans to build four massive wind turbines nearby, it is claimed. Businessman Alun Moore has invested about £2m over the last 20 years in developing his Beacon Hill holiday centre, 15 self-catering cottages and a luxury spa on a hilltop north west of Morpeth. ...But now Mr Moore fears his business, which employs 14 people locally, will suffer badly if plans by Novera Energy to erect four 101m turbines at nearby Todd Hill, Pigdon, are given the go-ahead.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is asking Ottawa to fund more scientific research into the potential health effects of wind turbines. The organization has asked the government to focus on two areas: low-frequency noise and electrical disturbances from industrial-scale wind developments. The issue was raised in September by three municipalities from Ontario at a national board of directors meeting.

Caseyville police arrested businessman and windmill-builder Larry Wetzel on Monday afternoon after a judge signed a warrant for his failing to appear in court on charges he forged a building permit. A jury found Wetzel guilty of four counts of forgery in September. Prosecutors said he presented a faked building permit to police and a court clerk in an effort to build a wind turbine and power building in Caseyville.

Six Digby Neck residents will visit Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau Wednesday in Halifax to ask a few questions about a planned wind turbine park. "We're trying to find out his reasoning for approving this turbine site in the first place," Evelyn Hayden said Monday. "We're just a group of concerned citizens that are trying to protect the health of everybody down here."

This time, the county was prepared, but the developer was not ready to advance the Minonk Wind Farm project for a vote by the Woodford County Board. At the request of David Radin, project manager for developer Gamesa Energy, the County Board on Tuesday tabled a vote on a road agreement as well as a special-use permit for the proposed 100-turbine project.

Concerned residents have relentlessly questioned how far wind turbines should be set back from other structures in rural Goodhue County. Commissioners learned Tuesday that addressing those concerns locally regarding two proposed wind farms could be difficult. ...[County Attorney Stephen] Betcher said state law now allows counties to step in and regulate wind farms between 5 and 25 megawatts as well with PUC's help. In doing so, commissioners could impose stricter standards - including for setbacks - than the state currently does on mid-range and larger projects.

A recommendation that a proposed 333-turbine wind farm should be given a special use permit is on its way to the McLean County Board. The McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously to recommend Horizon Wind Energy LLC's plan for Black Prairie Wind Farm, which would dot 3,500 acres north of Illinois 9 east of Bloomington-Normal. The County Board likely will not take up the issue until its January meeting.

Where's the best place for a wind turbine in Orland Park? What are the advantages of a geothermal system? Should the village add solar power to some of its buildings? These are some of the questions sustainability consultant Teresa Fourcher will help village officials answer. The village is expected to use up to $10,000 in grant money from its $200,000 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant to pay Fourcher. Village manager Paul Grimes said most municipal staffs don't know a "hill of beans" about renewable energy so some help is needed.

The Livingston County Board at its meeting Thursday night approved amending the Streator Enterprise Zone Agreement, which had been in effect since the 1980s, so that several school districts in the county can benefit from the property involved in the Iberdrola wind farm project. ...County Board attorney Tom Blakeman explained that the county will abate the portion of property taxes involved with the wind towers. He said this would allow the schools to receive general state aid and then funds from Iberdrola.

Prince Edward County councillors and members of the public left the Nov. 10 special meeting over a new proposed windmill bylaw for the municipality at Shire Hall feeling impotent, bemoaning the unanswered questions. "In my opinion, the mark was missed. And in a lot of ways, it feels like we're beating a dead horse because, in the game of politics, the Ontario government trumps municipalities. And if the province doesn't want it, then the province isn't going to care what we have on paper," said Prince Edward County councillor Kevin Gale.

The battle over a new wind farm in Tehachapi is now heading to the Kern County Board of Supervisors. Kern County planning commissioners approved the Alta-Oak Creek Mojave wind project late Thursday night after hearing both sides of the debate. After hours of emotional testimony from Tehachapi residents, the planning commissioners approved a 9,000 acre wind farm in the small mountain town. It could be the largest wind energy project in California, but it has Tehachapi residents' heads spinning.

David Yoder's been farming for more than a third of a century. He's at least the fourth generation of his family who have lived and worked on the land on Cowpath Road near the border of Franconia and Salford townships that has been farmed "forever," Yoder said. Adding a 140-foot cellular tower and a power-generating wind turbine with a blade that reaches to a height of 163 feet will give the farm reduced electric bills and rental income from the cell tower and is similar to adding animals, crops or farm buildings, he said.

Stephenson County Board member Jeff Mikkelsen said he will introduce a proposal to make wind farms a permitted use within the zoning ordinance to eliminate the need for a special use permit. Such a zoning change, he said, would eliminate the need to hold lengthy public hearings on future wind farm projects, making Stephenson County a more attractive prospect for wind energy companies. Mikkelsen, who serves as chairman of the County Planning and Development Committee, said he may ask his committee to consider this proposal in the near future.