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.

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.

Thirty-five of Horizon Wind Energy's 38 turbines under construction in Tazewell County are assembled, project manager John Fulton said Friday. ..."The first thing we did was the roads. The roads we started back in September. Then we started doing the excavation of the sites. Then of course we do the foundations and then we do what we refer to as the erection of the turbines."

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.

Rose Bacon, member of the Governor's Energy Task Force and a rancher who owns property in the Flint Hills, spoke about the vulnerability of communities facing proposals from international companies that want to build commercial wind farms in rural areas. She pointed to the lack of “teeth” in regulations, and the attractive tax write-offs granted to wind energy companies, and the inexperience of local officials in dealing with such monstrous deals, depicting a state-wide scenario akin to the “wildcatter days in the oil business.”

The ordinance, approved 6-0 last Thursday, amends Rankin's zoning code to give the village regulatory authority over commercial and private wind turbines within 1 1/2 miles of the town. Trustee Lynn Magers suggested the ordinance in February, saying she was personally concerned about possible "health issues" associated with wind turbines being built too close to homes.

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.

As of Monday, Donald had logged 20 complaints with the town about noise and shadow flicker causing ear ringing and ear pressure. "I think that people's physiologies are different," Donald said when told of neighbors who have experienced no negative health effects.

"There can be no doubt that groups of industrial wind turbines ("wind farms") generate sufficient noise to disturb the sleep and impair the health of those living nearby," states Dr. Christopher Hanning in a recent report titled "Sleep Disturbance and Wind Turbine Noise." Founder of the Leicester Sleep Disorders Service, which is the longest standing and largest service of its kind in Great Britain, Dr. Christopher Hanning's work in the area of sleep disorders has spanned thirty years.

A group of researchers found "no evidence" that wind turbines' sounds have any adverse physiological effects on people who live close by, according to a recent study - but that goes against some local residents and strong testimony suggesting otherwise. ...A handful of Morrow County residents living near Willow Creek wind farm filed formal complaints with the county asking for the farm's conditional use permit to be revoked.

Wind turbines could continue to sprout along the state's Appalachian ridgetops, as state regulators approved a project on the Randolph/Barbour County border in November. The same company applied in December to build a project in Grant County, while another developer announced plans in January for a project near Keyser. Industry growth may be slowing, however, as the national economic recession dries up the investment capital needed to build new projects.

"We've been talking about wind turbines for four years and have had presentations," said District 301 Superintendent Todd Stirn. "Due to the current economy, we've tabled the idea indefinitely. We can always bring it up should conditions improve."

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.

Work was stopped for six days on the Red Lily Wind Farm just west of Moosomin as a temporary injunction was granted against any further construction on the wind farm, then lifted a week later. The $60 million 25 megawatt wind farm is being built in the RMs of Martin and Moosomin.

The county's noise complaint resolution process was back in the spotlight this week as the Huron County Planning Commission learned the board of commissioners did not vote on its previous recommendation - and now it's back to the drawing board. The planning commission is working to create a specific section in the county's wind ordinance that would detail a process for residents to file official complaints about the turbines.

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.

Voters in McLean and Livingston counties will have the chance to voice their opinions Feb. 2 on proposed wind farm projects in their areas. Ballots in White Oak Township in McLean County will carry three referendum questions ...The advisory propositions seek input on whether a moratorium should be issued through Dec. 31, 2013, on issuing special-use permits for new wind turbines near Carlock.

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 winds of change swept through Woodford County in 2006 as alternative energy companies Navitas and Invenergy both submitted plans for wind farms. The $260 million Benson Wind Farm by Navitas Energy stands to create the most impact in Woodford County with 79 turbines in Greene, Clayton and Panola townships. Minnesota-based Navitas plans three other wind farm projects adjacent to the Benson Wind Farm. A 50-turbine project will expand the farm to the north, while a 40-turbine farm is planned for the west side of Interstate 39 near El Paso. A 100-turbine farm is planned for east of I-39 near Minonk. That wind farm, which would be shared by Woodford and Livingston counties, probably will not begin until at least 2009. Meanwhile, a second company is planning a project in western Woodford County near Carlock. Chicago-based Invenergy Wind is planning a $200 million, 100-turbine project known as White Oak Wind Energy Center in McLean and Woodford counties. The financial impact of the wind farms is difficult to quantify because of potential variations in assessing the turbines. However, officials for Navitas estimated the company could pay between $650,000 $750,000 annually in property taxes for the Benson Wind Farm alone.