Airport bosses are to demand the Government introduces stricter planning rules which would force wind farm developers to consider radar concerns when applying to build turbines. Newcastle Airport is in consultation with Government officers in an attempt to end the costly legal battles which could threaten the airport's expansion. With more than £400m a year brought into the North East economy through the airport, staff believe the time has come for developers to consider the wider impact of their airspace- restricting turbines. Aviation groups are currently fighting a legal battle against three energy companies which want to build 59 turbines north of Hexham.

When Portsmouth moved its proposed wind turbine site at the high school farther away from the town water tank, the Federal Aviation Administration raised a caution flag. Richard Talipsky, economic development committee chairman, said the town received a "notice of presumed hazard" from the FAA on Sunday that this new site could be in the flight path for Newport Airport. ...After talking to an FAA official about the notice, Mr. Talipsky said it seems to have been a technicality in response to the new application. Mr. Talipsky said he was told the FAA would have approved the original site at the high school, which is the direction that will now be taken.

The strong winds that buffeted the Tokai and Kanto regions Tuesday apparently snapped the massive blades of two wind turbines ...Each windmill is 103.5 meters tall, and can generate 1,500 kilowatts. Turbines No. 4 and No. 5 each lost one of their three 37-meter-long blades.

The federal government has rejected a proposal to install a wind turbine at a high school in Portsmouth. The Federal Aviation Administration says the 213-foot-tall wind turbine proposed for Portsmouth High School would be too high. The FAA says the plan needs to be modified. The agency had earlier rejected a proposed turbine at Portsmouth Middle School. ...Voters last fall approved a $3 million bond to build a wind turbine at either the middle school or high school.

A wind turbine manufacturer has appealed the $10,500 fine the state of Oregon issued for safety violations related to an Aug. 25, 2007, wind turbine tower collapse that killed one worker and injured another. The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division - Oregon OSHA - fined Germany-based Siemens Power Generation Feb. 26 after finding several safety violations related to the death and injury.

Siemens Power Generation Inc. has appealed a fine by Oregon's Occupational Safety and Health Division over a wind turbine tower collapse. In February, the Oregon agency fined the company more than $10,000 for safety violations that led to the collapse that killed one worker and injured another last year. Siemens says in its filing with the state that it was fully committed to the safety of its employees but disagreed with the agency's findings.

Emergency calls flooded the Jackson County Law Enforcement Center last Wednesday morning as passers-by on Interstate 90 in western Jackson County witnessed huge plumes of smoke ascending to the clouds. The fire originated from one of the six power-generating windmills on the Ewington Township Wind Farm, located south of Okabena just north of I-90. ...After the fire was controlled, the scene was turned over to Suzlon officials, who are conducting an investigation. "We are still investigating a cause," said Suzlon Vice President Ken Glazier. "The fire was controlled quickly and brought to a safe stop. There were no injuries and the damage was limited to the one cell."

Firefighters rescued a windmill maintenance worker who was having chest pains as he worked more than 150 feet above the ground this afternoon. Palm Springs firefighters were called to the 5400 block of North Indian Canyon about noon regarding a man having chest pains, Battalion Chief Mark Avner said.

Going green shouldn't mean getting killed. That's the message two groups are promoting as the province pushes ahead with wind power and the possibility of allowing more fuel-efficient vehicles on the road. Crop dusters say the spread of gigantic wind turbines creates a hazard for pilots, while members of the blind community say hybrid and electric cars make no noise, posing a potentially deadly hazard for blind pedestrians. Groups representing the blind and aerial sprayers have written to the Doer government outlining their concerns.

Planners who approved the building of seven massive new wind turbines on the Northumberland coastline may be forced to re-consider the decision after their council failed to follow the correct procedures. The proposed turbines at Blyth Harbour - six of them 125 metres high and the seventh the tallest land-based turbine in Europe at 163m - were given the green light by Wansbeck councillors two months ago, despite strong opposition from Newcastle Airport. Airport bosses say the giant structures could cause interference on air traffic control radar screens and pose a potential threat to aircraft safety.

Touted as a viable alternative to coal, gas and nuclear, the bid to cover the UK in wind turbines is now facing mounting opposition. Not only are they under attack from their neighbours, airports, and tourist attractions they are also coming under fire from the military. The Ministry of Defence has already opposed at least four wind farms in Northumberland, saying they make it impossible to detect aircraft flying overhead. Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the chief of the defence staff, insists the UK's radar capabilities must not be impaired. At a public inquiry into plans for 18 turbines at Middlemoor near Alnwick, these objections were raised.

The Ministry of Defence is blocking 13 wind farm developments from the Scottish borders to the Caithness coast because it claims they could create radar "blind spots" which might allow hostile aircraft, cruise missiles or even hijacked passenger jets to creep in under the country's protective screen. It has also lodged objections to 29 other proposed turbine sites in England, including four backed by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, one of the bodies responsible for pushing forward the government's renewable energy strategy. ...In a statement, the MoD said: "We fully support the government's renewable energy policies and consider each development proposal on a case-by-case basis.

An exclusion zone is in place around a Furness wind farm after gale force winds battered Cumbria. Pencil Lane at Marton has been closed off since Monday evening as engineers work to fix a mechanical failure on a turbine at Askam and Ireleth Wind Farm. Power Company E.ON requested that police cordon off the area as a safety precaution before the predicted high winds arrived. Today a spokeswoman for E.ON said: "Because of the weather we are experiencing we have not been able to carry out the work."

National air traffic control bosses are to tell a Northumberland wind farm inquiry that allowing the turbines to be built would be disastrous for the environment. The three wind farms planned for the Kirkwhelpington area north of Hexham have already met with objections from Tynedale Council, the Ministry of Defence and Newcastle Airport. ...But their biggest concern is that any change to flight paths will lead to more fuel being needed at a time when the aviation industry is coming under immense criticism by environmental groups for the huge amounts of fuel burnt high up in the atmosphere every day. In documents put before the public planning inquiry into 59 turbines by three energy companies, NATS bosses have warned the wind farms would indirectly contribute to climate change.

For the first time in more than a year, a group other than the Solano County Planning Commission will be discussing a proposal to install up to 88 wind turbines in the Montezuma Hills. The Solano County Airport Land Use Commission will hear the issue Thursday night, a year after voting against the issue the first time around for fear of the turbines affecting the radar system at Travis Air Force Base. The difference this time is that officials at Travis are no longer objecting to the proposal, as stated in a letter written by Wing Commander Col. Steven Arquiette earlier this month. ...The company proposing the project, enXco, has offered Travis a gift of up to $1 million that the base may use anyway it wishes.

A wind turbine caught fire in Birds Landing early Monday, but investigators have yet to identify what caused the flames. The fire, on the top portion and on the blades of the 200-foot turbine, was discovered around 5:30 a.m. by employees of FPL Energy - High Winds. The turbine that caught fire was one of 90 the company maintains in the 6700 block of Birds Landing Road near Rio Vista. Van Culver, high winds plant leader for FPLE, said by early afternoon the company was still assessing the risk of climbing the tower to get a closer look.

Airport bosses and defence chiefs have joined residents in objecting to proposals for a wind farm outside one of the region's villages. Early site tests are being carried out on a scheme to build the 100-metre high turbines on farmland outside West Newbiggin, near Darlington. No official planning applications have been submitted yet, but people living in the nearby villages have vowed to stop the scheme before it goes any further. ...The letter, obtained by The Northern Echo, states: "The principal safeguarding concern of the MoD with respect to the development of wind turbines relates to potential obstruction to air traffic movements and interference to air traffic control and air defence radar installations. "It is possible that wind turbines of the dimensions identified may be in direct line of sight to MoD radar facilities at RAF Leeming."

A large power-generating windmill caught fire early Monday near the Solano County community of Birds Landing, but firefighters were letting the huge structure burn itself out.

Turbines shuddering to a halt across the region in heavy winds are yet another flaw of wind power, opposition groups claimed last night. The structures cease to operate when wind speeds reach a certain level and do not generate electricity. Many wind farms shut down at 55mph, and some at 33mph. Figures released by the Met Office show that in February wind speeds reached 91 miles per hour in Newcastle, 79 mph at Boulmer, near Alnwick and 77 mph at Albemarle in Northumberland. But operators of wind farms in the North East have confirmed that with these strong gusts, there have been occasions when their turbines have been brought to a standstill.

High winds and ice Tuesday are partially to blame for knocking an approximately 20-foot section from the top of a 160-foot Monroe Township meteorological tower, raising concerns among area residents about what could happen to a wind turbine in the event of a more serious ice storm. “Wind Truth Alliance questions why a wind company would erect a structure that cannot withstand Ohio weather,” Linda Hughes of the organization wrote in a prepared statement. “If wind turbines are to be built in Logan County, what will protect residents from the impact of the recent ice storm and more severe ice storms, such as the one in 2005?”