The Tazewell County Zoning Board of Appeals has been holding public hearings since April 1, getting public input on the proposed Rail Splitter Wind Farm by Houston-based Horizon Wind Energy LLC. ...Spanos presented an acoustical engineer from Michigan who said the wind towers would create noise that could affect nearby residents and a real estate appraiser who said property values near the farm could drop. "These wind farm turbines surround the properties," said Michael McCann, a real estate appraiser from Chicago who said homes near the proposed farm could drop in value between 20 percent and 30 percent.

CAMPAIGNERS against plans for a new wind farm between Bagthorpe, Barmer and Syderstone have been told of the horrific impact turbines can have on village life. A packed public meeting in Bircham Newton heard from a number of guest speakers who gave grave warnings about the health impact, noise disturbances and threat to wildlife which could stem from the five turbines earmarked for the villages. Included among the speakers was Jane Davis, of Deeping St Nicholas, Lincolnshire, who described the persistent noise problems she has faced from a wind farm near her home. She also spoke of how the value of her property has plummeted since the development was completed. Syderstone resident Reg Thompson, a member of the action group formed to oppose the plans, said: "People are very concerned about this. "There are moves being made in Europe to ban wind farms that are within two kilometres of housing and we hope that becomes legislation because every house in Syderstone falls within that radius. "People are very upset. We have seen housing deals fall through as people no longer want to move here.

Stalled plans to build new high-efficiency wind turbines could get a jump start thanks to a The government is drafting a proposal to pay residents compensation if wind turbines placed near their homes depreciate for decreased property values

An MP has put his political clout behind a campaign against a proposed wind farm amid claims that properties within a 2km "blight zone" will be devalued by at least 35 per cent if the turbines are built. South Norfolk Tory MP Richard Bacon warned of damage to the "gentle rural landscape" if plans for seven wind turbines on the old Pulham Airfield site, near Diss, went ahead.

But campaigners from local pressure group Vortex massed outside the venue and canvassed the opinions of visitors leaving the exhibition. Vortex member Roger Wytcherley, aged 55, of Napley Heath, said the majority of people were opposed to the plans. "Everybody has been very willing to tell us their feelings, and not many are for the wind farm," he said. "A lot of people say their questions are evaded and washed over. People are most concerned about noise and loss of equity in their houses. People are not buying houses around here because of the threat of the wind farm.

In a 4-1 decision, state Supreme Court justices said a Grant County judge was wrong to dismiss a complaint filed by a group of homeowners opposed to a huge wind power facility planned for a site nearby. Now a nuisance case against two companies that want to build the $300 million wind farm can go forward after a circuit judge dismissed the case last year. "Our decision in this case is merely that the (homeowners) have alleged sufficient facts to avoid dismissal on the pleadings," wrote Justice Spike Maynard for the majority in the opinion released today. "In other words, the (homeowners) should have their day in court. Beyond this, we offer no opinion on the ultimate success or failure of the (homeowners') claim."

The state Supreme Court has breathed new life into a lawsuit challenging a $300 million wind farm in the Eastern Panhandle. In a ruling issued Friday, the court said a Grant County Circuit judge had no legal basis to dismiss the suit and sent it back for more proceedings. The decision is a victory for the plaintiffs, a group of homeowners who live near the proposed NedPower Mount Storm wind farm in the Grassy Ridge area. The homeowners contend their property values will plunge if the 10-mile string of 330-foot-high-turbines is completed. The Supreme Court's action gives them a chance to prove that claim.

Residents of Whitewater, North Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs are planning a protest march against the proposed windmills this coming Sunday evening at 6 p.m. at the corner of Thomas Avenue and Indian Avenue in North Palm Springs. "The locals who have everything to lose will be there," said Chuck Wolf, resident of the affected areas where Dillon Wind plans to construct windmills almost 400 feet tall. "And now they must march to protect the life savings they've shed sweat and tears to."

After an executive session Monday night, the Stephenson County Planning and Development Committee approved motions recommending that the county not require a homeowner protection plan for the local wind farms. In a unanimous vote, the committee endorsed removing the stipulations in the wind farm special-use permits that require the county to create a protection plan. The full County Board will likely vote on this issue at its next meeting at 6:30 p.m. May 9.

THERE'S TROUBLE brewing in Nova Scotia's quest for wind energy. We all know the importance of developing our valuable abundance of clean, green renewable energy in order to offset the greenhouse gases produced by Nova Scotia Power's coal-fired generation plants. Our government has legislated aggressive renewable energy targets for the near future. So wind energy is good, right? Well not always, according to many of the folks from Pugwash.

Property values were at the center of a court case that pits homeowners against a planned $300 million wind farm in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle that one lawyer labeled a "brothel on top of the hill." The state Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case that pits a group of property owners against NedPower Mount Storm LLC and its owner, Shell Windenergy Inc. The companies want to build a 10 1/2-mile string of 200 wind turbines along a ridge top in Grant County. Residents claim the project would severely damage the value of their property. The companies argue the 330-foot-tall turbines will not only bring economic gain to the area, but the homeowners' concerns have already been dismissed by the state Public Service Commission.

Terry Groves, director of planning and zoning for the county, said he wouldn't be surprised if the plan gets laid over for another 30 days. But he's unsure what will happen Monday. The plan is designed to set up terms by which the wind-farm companies would compensate adjacent homeowners who experience a loss in property value due to the wind towers. The plan has been the subject of considerable debate, but a final version of the document has not yet been approved. The lawsuits, filed in late February, have delayed the county's approval of the protection plan. The suits seek to invalidate the special-use permits that would allow two companies to build wind farms in Stephenson County.

The concept of public welfare is broad and inclusive. … The values it represents are spiritual as well as physical, aesthetic as well as monetary. It is within the power of legislature [to have] determined that the community should be beautiful as well as healthy, spacious as well as clean, well balanced as well as carefully patrolled. …

“The County found that placing the complexes of wind farms, of the size and scope necessary to accomplish their intended purpose, would have a dramatic, and adverse, effect upon all of the general welfare issues found in the comprehensive plan. …

“The Court finds there is substantial evidence which a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support the conclusions reached by the County.

“[I]n the County’s denial of placing wind farms in the entire county[,] [t]he County didn’t take any existing rights away but only refused to expand the existing rights including wind rights.”

A few landowners in Logan County might have the opportunity to lead the way in Ohio with the largest wind power operation in the state if the plans of a few green-energy companies prosper on properties in Jefferson, Monroe and Rushcreek townships. However, the proposed construction of up to 120 wind turbines in as soon as a year, each up to 550 feet tall, might be a bad move the community will have to live with for a long time, opponents say. Nearly 100 local residents met Tuesday afternoon at Marmon Valley Farm to discuss the implications of turning Logan County into what would fast become the largest wind power community in the state, while several posed the question: Are developers and landowners moving too quick with a decision that will affect the local community and disturb Logan County’s historic and scenic landscape for generations to come? After extensive research, Tom Stacy of Zanesfield, and others, believe so. “This is a way to shelter big company profits from taxes,” Mr. Stacy said. “It’s a symbol; it’s a monument that we’re doing something to conserve energy. The only thing is: It’s not conserving energy. They want to put up at least 100 to 120 of these things soon and it’s going to devastate the property values and scenery around them for miles.”

The Jordanville Wind Project’s 68 proposed wind turbines, which would stand nearly 400 feet tall, could have a visual impact on southern Herkimer County and as far away as Cooperstown. A debate is emerging among residents about how the sight of the turbines would affect the beauty of the landscape, land values and tourism. Some think the impact will be small or nonexistent, while others believe there could be many downsides. People visit the Cooperstown area not just for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, other museums and tourist attractions, but also for the scenic views, said Harry Levine of a citizens’ group called Advocates for Springfield. “I think we have to be very careful how we treat this background landscape because it could have a long-term effect on tourism,” Levine said.

When Fatima Hamioni and Gary Colclough built their dream home from scratch, they made sure its stunning view of the countryside was its main feature.But now a wind farm could be built on neighbouring land, ruining their rural outlook. The couple had been hoping to sell their home in Knighton, on the Shropshire-Staffordshire border, for £395,000 so they could move to Alsager. But the week they put the three-bedroom property on the market, they discovered Nuon Renewables was thinking of erecting nine 100m tall turbines nearby. The couple spoke out after around 120 people braved the wind and rain to attend a public meeting on the issue at Knighton Village Hall. Ms Hamioni, aged 36, said: “No-one in their right mind will want to pay £395,000 knowing there is a possibility of a wind farm. You are buying the view.

The 15-story towers and crackling cables that are planned to cut across the Northern Virginia countryside are just red lines on a map, a paper illustration of what could come. But for Cameron Eaton, who learned shortly after Thanksgiving that one of the proposed routes for a new high-voltage power line slices across her Fauquier County property, they have already brought the specter of financial ruin. She bought her 100-acre Delaplane farm last year, when it was an overgrown slice of land anchored by a rundown old farmhouse just off Interstate 66. She plowed all her savings into it. To pay down her $1 million mortgage and build up her horse business, she planned to sell a five-acre chunk within a couple of years. Then came what her neighbors have come to regard as “the black cloud.”

His distaste for wind-generated energy may have begun as a “not in my back yard” sentiment. But as he learned more about the industry, Rankin said, his attitude hardened. With several of his neighbors, Rankin filed one of the first anti-wind-industry lawsuits in the state, arguing that wind farms are a public nuisance that do little to help the state’s energy needs. “One of the things that really energized us is how quietly, how stealthily and surreptitiously these people worked behind the scenes,” Rankin said. “The lack of regulation, combined with the state renewable-energy mandate, is making Texas a prime spot for these wind companies. But I can tell you, nobody wants to live next to them.”

Industrial Wind Action Group, a nationally based grass-roots effort, claims companies are exaggerating the amount of megawatts wind farm projects can produce by giving maximum output figures instead of more concise estimates.

It might not be in perfect harmony, but a proposed wind farm and a planned lakeside subdivision hope to coexist together in Livingston County. Plans to ban wind turbines within 1.5 miles of Chatsworth city limits with not stop Chicago-based Invenergy Wind from erecting the Pleasant Ridge Wind Farm nearby, a company representative said Tuesday. Meanwhile, developers of a 900-acre lakeside subdivision in Chatsworth also expect to move forward, despite concerns that the wind farm could make the land a tough sell.