Wind farms are here and they're here to stay, so all the naysayers should just get used to it and stop being "irrational", a district landowner believes. Codrington farmer and quarry operator Joe Crowe has scoffed at opponents' claims the 130-metre-high wind turbines will become unviable, be turned off and left to rust to pieces.

OWNERSHIP of what would be Australia's biggest wind farm - the proposed 116 turbine, 232 megawatt plant approved for Mt Gellibrand near Colac in western Victoria - has moved from Germany to Australia. Sydney-based unlisted public company Wind Hydrogen announced yesterday it would buy the project for an undisclosed sum from German development group Pro Ventum International.

Most Australians say they believe the government needs to do more to address climate change, a new survey indicates.

Australia's electricity output from new wind, hydro and solar power plants dropped almost 80 percent this year as projects struggled to arrange financing, said a group representing the industry. ...The Australian government is adjusting incentives to encourage larger renewable projects and spur a revival in investment.

Sydney (dpa) - Australia could have 25 nuclear power stations meeting a third of electricity demand by 2050, the head of a panel set up by Prime Minister John Howard said Sunday............ He told local television that renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power could not replace the coal that Australia currently relies on for more than 80 per cent of its power generation.

The Planning Minister, Rob Hulls, today gave the green light to building Australia's most powerful wind farm at Mt Gellibrand, near Colac

Approval has been given for Australia's biggest wind farm to be built near Broken Hill in New South Wales. Almost 600 turbines will generate enough electricity for more than 400,000 homes. A forest of giant turbines will emerge from the red dust of the Australian outback near the isolated town famous for its lead and zinc mining.

Australian's biggest wind farm with almost 600 turbines, is to be be built in far western New South Wales. State Government approval has been given for the project at Silverton, near Broken Hill. ...NSW had approved 14 wind farms with a total capacity output of 2486 megawatts since 2005, Mr Rees said.

Australia's prime minister, facing a tough re-election fight and under pressure over his climate credentials, has pledged new "clean energy" targets in a move environment groups said would not sway green-leaning voters. By 2020, John Howard said, 15 percent of Australia's energy would come from "clean" sources including solar, wind, nuclear or clean coal, reversing his coalition government's previous reluctance to lift its renewable energy target from 2 percent. The promise also dropped "renewable" from the government's agenda, paving the way for a controversial switch to nuclear energy, backed by Howard as a greenhouse-friendly alternative.

Domestic power majors Suzlon Energy and Tata Power, which have renewable energy projects in Australia, will benefit as that country is implementing a law to ensure 20 per cent of the country's electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020. Sources said the expanded Renewable Energy Target (RET) Bill will be enacted as a law by the Australian Parliament in a few days and will come into force by September 2009.

A promise of tougher planning controls on wind farms by Victorian Liberal leader Ted Baillieu has drawn an angry response from the wind industry.

South Australia must be careful about becoming too reliant on wind power, the Essential Services Commission has warned. ...By the end of next year capacity would exceed 1000MW - equivalent to nearly a third of peak demand. ...Mr Walsh said while capacity was high, wind farms generally only delivered about a third of that on average over a year and could only be relied on for about 10 per cent of their capacity to meet peak demand.

State power company Genesis has decided against developing a small wind farm in South Auckland because of soaring wind turbine costs, it was reported today. Developers of wind farms are reviewing the costs of projects amid hot international demand for turbines, which is driving up the costs of the machinery, The Dominion Post said.

A proposal to build a $2 billion wind farm on a South Island range should be rejected, a report to the Central Otago District Council recommends. In a report released yesterday, council-contracted planner David Whitney said the negative impacts locally of Meridian Energy's 176-turbine project outweighed the national benefits, and he recommended it should not be given resource consent.

THE Prime Minister has welcomed a report which estimates it would cost tens of billions of dollars to meet targets on climate change, saying it backs his policy on endorsing a move towards nuclear power. Australia’s energy generation industry commissioned independent research to find the cheapest way to achieve substantial cuts to greenhouse gas emissions over the next two decades. The report predicts a 30 per cent cut in emissions by 2030 - the amount necessary to meet scientists’ calls for reductions to combat climate change - would cost $75 billion in new infrastructure and could double the cost of electricity generation. “The answer is a greater emphasis on clean coal and nuclear power,” Mr Howard has said.

Developers of a proposed wind farm near Purnim have opposed CFA requests to install water tanks on the site to assist firefighters. Yesterday, Wind Farm Developments director Alistair Wilson told a Moyne Shire Council hearing that he opposed the request to install static water tanks because firefighting equipment would be unable to reach a tower blaze, rendering the tanks useless.

Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell has won a concession from the developer of the Bald Hills wind farm, with the company agreeing to move six turbines out of the potential flight path of the orange-bellied parrot. Senator Campbell blocked the wind farm in April, claiming a threat to the parrot, and the company’s move is an acknowledgment the turbines would have been on the potential migratory path of the endangered bird. The minister has agreed to reconsider the wind farm after legal action by the company. Opponents of the project said yesterday the company’s decision was an admission of guilt and showed the original proposal threatened the bird.

A Government submission in favour of Meridian Energy's proposed Central Otago wind farm says it will benefit all New Zealand, a hearing was told yesterday. Crown Law office solicitor Roanna Chen told commissioners hearing the application in Alexandra that the Government recognised "the many positive benefits this proposed wind farm would have on achieving the Government's current and future policy". However, commissioner David McMahon questioned the "whole of Government" approach when a key department, the Department of Conservation (DOC), had submitted separately against the proposal. "I find that a bit of an anomaly given the position of DOC," he said.