Ewan Carr Another round of court action is being considered by one of the groups fighting to prevent wind turbines from sprouting on Otago and Southland hills. The Upland Landscape Protection Society learned this week that the High Court had struck out its bid for a judicial review of resource management processes used for Meridian Energy's Project Hayes and TrustPower's Mahinerangi Wind Farm. Society spokesman Ewan Carr told the Otago Daily Times yesterday the society's executive would meet sometime in the next week to decide if an appeal would be lodged. The society had sought the judicial review claiming errors by the three local authorities that approved the wind farms - the Central Otago and Clutha District Councils and the Otago Regional Council.

The Mt Gellibrand wind farm near Birregurra was to be the largest in Victoria producing enough energy from its 116 turbines to supply 132,000 homes. But more than 18 months after work on the project was due to start the only sign of the project is a large wind testing pole in a paddock. The rights to the project have been sold and re-sold but nothing has happened. Some local landholders say they have heard nothing about the project for 12 months.

Babcock & Brown is unlikely to sell any of its wind farms before October or November as it seeks to avoid a fire sale of assets. The company remains under pressure to reduce its $3.6 billion of corporate debt, but selling the wind assets is taking longer than expected because of complications in the sale process. Any sale announcement is not expected before well into the last quarter of this year. ...B&B's stock dived 20 per cent over a two-day period last week as investors, wary about its immediate prospects, sold out.

A protest to stop the proposed Contact Energy wind farm on the Puketoi ranges is fast gathering power. A group of locals dead-set against the $500 million wind farm on the ranges east of Pahiatua are demanding the Tararua District council take their objections seriously. They want an open forum held to discuss wind farms, and are challenging claims that farms will bring local benefits.

The Palmerston North City Council has unanimously agreed to oppose a ministerial call-in for the Turitea Wind Farm. Last night, an extraordinary meeting was held for council to decide how to respond to a letter from Environment Minister Trevor Mallard, asking its opinion on Mighty River Power's (MRP) request to have the resource consent application for the proposed wind farm "called in". About 60 people attended and each councillor told of their concerns over ministerial intervention. Only Cr Jan Barnett didn't speak.

Manawatu locals are worried they'll lose the democratic process if Mighty River Power's application to "call-in" the proposed Turitea Wind Farm goes ahead. ...a call-in would see the application heard by either a ministry appointed board of inquiry, or the environment court.

Wind Power engineer and community consultant Ross Richards said this week that the wind farm, named because it would include turbines on the Tuki Trout Farm, had received plenty of interest from land owners keen to be involved. ...residents opposed to the scheme say Wind Power should either put up a planning application for the wind farm, or leave the area in peace. The Spa Country Guardians, a group of residents mostly living within five kilometres of the proposed wind farm, said the issue was dividing the community - and even families.

Contact Energy has filed resource consent applications with the Tararua District Council for a 177-megawatt wind farm southeast of Dannevirke and there may be more wind farms to come on the same hill range. The 65 turbines would each be 150m high 100m at top of the hub and blades of 50m, standard size for modern wind turbines. Such turbines are visible 50km away, though they would appear small at that distance.

Rural communities are splintering over plans to build dozens of wind turbines in southern NSW. Landowners opposed to the 132-metre high turbines are devaststed their lifestyles, landscape and land values could be destroyed by neighbours allowing turbines on their farms. At Conroy's Gap, north of Yass, 15 turbines are planned. ..."It's split the community down the middle. "My mother is dead against these things and her brother, my uncle, has been promoting them," Mr McGrath said.

Power company Contact Energy is expected to report a slightly improved annual profit of close to $230 million, though the outlook may be uncertain because of low hydro lake levels in the South Island. Contact is due to report its profit tomorrow. Contact shares fell 18c on Friday to $8.42, but they have rebounded strongly from a recent low of about $7 in the middle of July. ...Late last year Contact said it was planning to build a $1.5 billion to $2 billion, 650 megawatt wind farm on the Waikato coastline, with building taking up to five years, possibly starting next year. ...However, wind farms are expected to be less likely if National wins power at the November election, with gas-fired stations seen as more economic.

The chairman and chief executive of Australian investment group Babcock & Brown, which holds a 23% stake in Forth Ports, both quit yesterday amid the group's continuing financial troubles. Long-serving chief executive Phil Green and chairman James Babcock, who founded the company in 1977, have stepped aside from their roles at the troubled asset management and advisory company.

Spanish builder FCC has agreed to buy all of the wind power generating assets owned by Babcock & Brown Wind Partners in Spain for 190 million euros ($322 million). FCC will also take on gross debt of 590 million euros as part of the deal, FCC said today in a statement.

Save Central co-ordinator Graye Shattky said in a statement this week the new requirement to have 'particular regard' to the reversibility of adverse environmental effects is likely to rule out future consideration of outstanding and natural landscapes for any major wind farm projects. "In theory it may be feasible to remove turbines and pylons, but the network of roads, access tracks and laydown areas will remain as scars on the landscape for hundreds, if not thousands of years," Mr Shattky said.

Queensland's South Burnett region is set to be home to the biggest wind farm in the southern hemisphere after receiving "overwhelming" community support. The $1.2 billion project, called the Coopers Gap Wind Farm, is ...being proposed for 12,000 ha of cattle grazing country located almost midway between Kingaroy and Dalby in south-east Queensland. International specialist banking group Investec Bank and Windlab Systems, established by the CSIRO, will lodge a development application to build 252 wind turbine generators after successful feasibility studies and community consultations on the weekend.

The project would involve turbines scattered over seven large grazing properties in the region, and would produce enough power for 320,000 homes. Mick Cosgrove says the company has indicated it will pay land-holders $10,000 a year for each turbine on their property.

TrustPower says $1.3 billion of wind and hydro-electric power projects it plans are unlikely to go ahead without a change in transmission pricing. TrustPower has approval to build a 200MW wind farm near Dunedin and was this week granted approval to build a 72MW hydro project near Blenheim. Neither project, nor two others awaiting approval, are likely to proceed because of costs charged to South Island generators, TrustPower spokesman Graeme Purches said.

"We are currently getting legal advice on how we can proceed with these works," resurfacing and contracts team leader Steve Wright said. Farmer Graeme Hook said the issue was a simple one - the section of road that has to be widened running through his property is not legal. He pointed to a Land Information New Zealand map that clearly shows a hefty section of the road is literally not classified as legal road.

Meridian Energy has been asked to deal with concerns about the environmental impact of a 31-turbine wind farm planned for Ohariu Valley. The power company has applied to Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington regional council for consent to develop Mill Creek wind farm in the valley, west of Wellington. The project requires earthworks to provide extra roads to the turbine sites and upgrade existing public roads. The regional council has asked the company to address concerns about sediment discharges and stream works associated with building a 19.4-kilometre roading network.

Project Hayes has turned into a "legal minefield", with Meridian Energy having to convince the Environment Court not to let the Mahinerangi wind farm appeal decision have an impact on its own case. Judge Jon Jackson will not be making a decision about allowing the Maniototo Environmental Society to present new evidence relating to cumulative effects until at least Friday. He reserved his decision yesterday, after hearing submissions from both sides, and said it could even be next week before he decided.

A major new renewable energy project is in the wind, north of Dalby, on the Darling Downs, Qld. Following extensive air-speed testing at various sites around Australia over the past three years, Investec Bank has identified a 12,000 hectare site at Cooranga North near Dalby as an ideal place to establish a wind farm. The proposal is to build up to 252 wind turbine generators, located mainly on ridge lines in an area known as Coopers Gap.