The need for proper setbacks in Chatham-Kent between wind turbines and homes and natural settings was voiced loudly Tuesday by Chatham businessman Harry Verhey. Verhey told Chatham Sunrise Rotary Club members - of which he is a member - that he isn't challenging the use of wind turbines, but is convinced there is an urgent need to determine setbacks that are right for the municipality. "The recent proliferation of industrial wind projects will have a negative impact on the community," he said. "The massive size of industrial wind turbines conflicts with the scale and character of the Chatham-Kent landscape." ...Verhey said ads run in local papers by the proponents of wind farms aren't enough - "for the most part the public is unaware of turbine developments and locations."

Sheets of one-inch Styrofoam and thick corrugated cardboard still cover his upstairs bedroom windows. "It helped," he said. But, he says he gets his best sleep now in the basement.

Developers should be banned from building wind farms too close to residential areas, the Scottish Conservatives will warn today - as it emerged some £165 million has been invested in offshore projects. The party will call for a 2km (1.24 miles) exclusion zone around homes so Scots do not have to live "under the shadow" of wind turbines.

Landholders supporting a proposed wind farm south of Kingaroy have called on the State Government to introduce buffer zone legislation based on the noise impacts in the specific region rather than a blanket exclusion area.

A spokesperson for McNaughton said the two elected officials want all turbine construction to halt until results of a federal health study on the impacts of turbines has been tabled. ...The spokesman said there is also growing concern about the devaluation of property as a result of the rapid proliferation of wind turbines in Chatham-Kent and throughout southwestern Ontario.

The Democratic Labor Party is reigniting its push for a State Government-led investigation into the impact of wind farms on human health. ..."All of these sorts of factors would influence the effect of turbines and I think they should be studied properly.

The plant's operator has released data from a monitoring exercise which showed five of the 12 measured locations were noisier than Government maximums. But in a study to verify the data, acoustic specialists say the firm has not factored in an extra audible "hum" which would push all the readings above the maximum.

A Western Victorian MP wants the construction of wind turbines near homes and businesses stopped, until an investigation into their health effects has been completed. Democratic Labor Party MLC Peter Kavanagh asked the Planning Minister in Parliament this week to impose a moratorium.

At Friday's Iroquois County Board Planning and Zoning Committee meeting, the committee members unanimously approved the motion for a six-month moratorium on future wind tower development for the purpose of researching new information and amending the county's wind tower ordinance.

Jeff Rasche of rural Camp Point is voicing some concern about the wind energy ordinance approved in January by the Adams County Board. Rasche believes the ordinance doesn't offer enough protection to non-participants who don't want towering wind turbines within 1,000 feet of their home, as the ordinance allows.

A CAMPAIGN group which aims to protect common land has hit out at plans to build up to 24 wind turbines in East Lancashire. The Open Spaces Society said the project, designed for the moors between Hyndburn and Rossendale, would be a "menace on the landscape". ...Because the site is common land the company will need special permission for the site. Kate Ashbrook from the conservation group said: "Haslingden is a wonderful oasis among the Lancashire towns. Here the public have the right to walk and ride over every square inch of the common. "The wind turbines with their associated paraphernalia would be a gross intrusion on the landscape and will be highly visible from the common and from further afield."

Campaigners have called for a national debate about wind farms ahead of the General Election, during a conference in the North-East. Experts from a range of disciplines issued a number of warnings against wind farms at WindConf Conference 2010, which was held on Saturday. ...Dr Chris Hanning, a retired NHS sleep disorder specialist, said turbines should not be built within 2km of homes.

People living in Earthcott Green protested over plans for the wind farm, off Old Gloucester Road, at Alveston Parish Council's planning meeting last night. They told parish councillors, who were discussing Stroud-based power firm Ecotricity's planning application to South Gloucestershire Council for the first time, that the wind turbines were "totally inappropriate" for the village.

Alison Rodgers told how Palterton residents are "losing sleep" after Barlborough-based firm Banks Renewables submitted plans to Bolsover District Council to build three wind turbines on fields in the village.

As wind farm developers look to put more windmills in Illinois fields, questions have been raised about the safety of crop dusters who have to navigate them. The issue is a clear one to Rick Reed, who owns an agricultural aviation company in Mattoon, Ill. "The more obstacles there are, the more difficult it is for us to get our jobs done ..."

Wiehe, who managed the project for five years, said any location would need approval from boards concerned with wildlife, natural heritage and historic value, among others. It would probably take about two years, he said.

Living close to wind turbines can hurt your peace of mind, job performance and health, according to some health experts and researchers. "If you're within a mile, you're asking for trouble," said Alex Salt, an otolaryngology professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

Renewable energy developers are hoping the government will prevent a growing number of county councils from imposing wind farm buffer zones, which could severely restrict developments across the country. Buffer zones are designed to prevent turbines from being installed too close to people's homes.