Infratil says the falling New Zealand dollar could halt the development of further renewable energy generation such as wind farms.

There are fears the spinning blades of a planned wind farm near Wellington could interfere with signals from a nearby aircraft radar, putting planes at risk. The multimillion-dollar Long Gully project south of Brooklyn would have 25 two-bladed turbines, each 30-metres high, and produce a total of 12.5 megawatts enough to power 6000 homes.

Wind farm company Acciona Energy says it is frustrated that one farming family can hold up a proposed wind farm. ...The Paltridge family has taken the energy company to the environment and resource court and says the proposed wind farm will ruin its land value.

A poet, an artist and an All Black are among those making their voices being heard today in a campaign to stop a controversial Central Otago windfarm from going ahead. The resource consent hearing for Project Hayes - a 176 turbine windfarm on the Lammermore Range - reopens today. If the project goes ahead Central Otago will host the world's largest industrial windfarm which will have the capabilities to power all South Island homes. Windfarm opponents include poet Brian Turner, who says the project has upset some big names.

A PUBLIC meeting about the proposed Evandale wind farm drew an emotional response from a large crowd that spilled out of the Parkesbourne church hall.

A wind farm at Macarthur, set to be the biggest in the southern hemisphere, is in doubt. AGL Energy has announced its plans for the $800 million wind farm are under extreme pressure with a collapse in renewable energy certificate prices. A decision to put the project on hold has also cast doubt over the 400 jobs expected to be created during the construction phase.

WIND turbines covering more than 2300 hectares planned for Hawkesdale will devalue surrounding property and affect farming, objectors told Moyne Shire last night. The shire is expected to announce its position on the 31-turbine development at next Tuesday's council meeting and used last night's hearing to gauge the community's opinion. Council will make a submission to an independent planning panel which will make a recommendation to the Planning Minister about the project.

FOR a good part of his life, licensed surveyor Peter Mortimer has plied the waves of the pristine beaches around the idyllic West Australian town of Denmark.

Spanish company Acciona Energy has been taken to the environmental court over its proposal to build a $175 million wind farm at Allendale East near Mt Gambier.

A group of Waikato land owners say Contact Energy's behaviour has been disgraceful over the handling of its proposed $1 billion wind farm planned for the region. Contact Energy is holdings its annual meeting in Wellington today, and a group of land owners plan to tell the directors of the company about their outrage over the Hauauru ma raki wind farm.

The NSW Farmers Association's first wind farm guide supposedly to help farmers make informed choices on whether to host wind turbines is an irresponsible act of partisan pro wind turbine propaganda. Lack of forensic research background on wind turbines and their impact on communities, fire fighting, neighbours of host farmers, gag clauses, litigation issues and health to name but a few is not just an oversight it is downright amateurish and lazy incompetence.

Three months ago the first of 128 turbines started turning and almost instantly Mr Dean became sick. He started waking with headaches, initially dull but, over time, sharp and debilitating. "I was waking up two days in a row with headaches, I'd have to take Panadol but they'd be gone by dinner time," he said. "When the wind is blowing north I got a thumping headache, like someone belted me over the head with a plank of wood.

Pastoralists are determined to fight the New South Wales Government's decision to forcibly acquire land near Silverton in the far west. Landholders were told last week that land originally mooted for the proposed wind farm development would be withdrawn from their pastoral lease, under section 43B of the Western Lands Act. Lands Minister Tony Kelly says the acquisition will provide security for the wind farm. Mr Kelly says under the current pastoral lease requirements, the land cannot be used for any other purpose.

Portland's Keppel Prince is calling on the Opposition's energy spokesman, Nick Minchin, to convince the Federal Government to change the Renewable Energy Target, which it says is threatening jobs.

"At the moment we do seem to be going in circles, there is the consultation that is happening," he said. "Overall we just need to know I think whether ratepayers that are for it and those that are going to be a turbine host and approve of it, they just want to know an outcome.

The council says it appears the Federal Government will not budge anytime soon and it is up to state governments to increase targets.

The Federal Government has been asked to provide an official statement of reasons for its decision to lift a veto on the Bald Hills wind farm. The company, Wind Power, has been granted approval to build 52 turbines 10 kilometres from the south Gippsland coast near Tarwin Lower. South Gippsland Shire has voted to ask new federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull to explain the Government’s decision. Mayor Jennie Deane says 1,500 people in the region opposed the project and it should not be allowed to proceed. “We’ve always supported the Tarwin Valley coastal guardians and the local community there which is very opposed to this wind farm, so at this stage we really need to find out as a first step why the decision has been reversed and then we’ll decide what further action to take, if any, to support the community,” she said.

Goulburn Mulwaree Councillor, Geoff Peterson, is urging individuals, community groups and organisations to make submissions to a Federal Senate inquiry into the social and economic impact of wind farm installations. ..."It is simply not good enough for large energy corporations to climb into bed with Governments and plonk these monstrosities all over the countryside without meaningful dialogue with local residents."

A LACK of renewable energy policies by the Federal Government had caused the closure of a wind turbine factory in north-west Tasmania, the State Government said today. Prime Minister John Howard will be in northern Tasmania today, a day after Danish manufacturer Vestas announced it would close its nacelle factory in Wynyard, near Burnie, 345km north-west of Hobart. The $15-million plant employs 65 people and manufactures blade hubs and nacelles, structures that house electricity generating components, for its wind turbines.

A high court judge has knocked back a bid by Federated Farmers to become involved in the ongoing legal action over the Project Hayes wind farm. Federated Farmers wanted to join the appeal to clarify the impact on section six of the Resource Management Act, which covers outstanding landscapes.