PERTH households could soon be using the "Fremantle Doctor'' to save energy and cut electricity bills. The state is funding two projects that could result in electricity being generated from small wind turbines on suburban roofs, Premier Alan Carpenter says.

Backers of a proposed wind farm near Palmerston North may scrap the plan after it was knocked back to almost half its size. But residents are rejoicing at the resource consent ruling.

After considering a wide range of issues, the commissioners concluded that for this wind farm proposal, the benefits derived in terms of renewable energy and climate change were not of sufficient national importance, national value and benefit to justify the significant adverse effects associated with landscape, amenity and cultural issues and thus claim sufficient sustainable management of natural and physical resources, such that the consent could be granted in its entirety. The 52 turbines for which consent was declined were those located on the front ridge line of the central Tararua Ranges known as the Te Mata ridgeline and Kaihinu Peak. The commissioners considered that deletion of those particular turbines would assist in mitigating adverse effects in terms of amenity, visual and cumulative effects, along with potential noise effects.

An Auckland power supply company is trialling tiny wind turbines that can fit on the rooftops of homes or businesses, allowing them to generate their own power. Vector is testing 10 micro wind turbines in Wellington and Auckland in a bid to find new sources of renewable energy, before deciding future options.

A $3 billion Australian finance company, Allco, says its New Zealand subsidiary is considering whether to appeal against constraints on its proposed windfarm in the Tararuas. Allco Wind Energy NZ (AWE) was last night granted approval to build a windfarm in the Tararua Ranges on the overlap of the Manawatu and Horowhenua districts, but on a much smaller scale than it had hoped. The company's technical director, Bernhard Voll, said today that it was looking at the details of the decision and considering whether to appeal the resource consent granted for just 75 of the 127 turbines it had sought.

Auckland lines company Vector says the turbines, which weigh around 50 kilograms each, can produce between 2,000-3,000 kilowatt hours a year, around a quarter of average household usage. But judging by overseas reactions, the micro wind turbines will generate more than just electricity. In the United Kingdom the turbines have sparked an environmental debate about whether they are an eyesore in urban areas, and sceptics have also questioned their cost effectiveness. Critics say the turbines produce only a quarter of the power claimed, and last October's New Scientist magazine says they are a waste of time and money. Vector was reluctant to discuss the cost, saying only that the more people who want them, the lower the cost per unit.

The State Government has doubled the size of the desalination plant while claiming to have cut the cost..... Mr Iemma said the Government would enter a 20-year contract for the provision of wind power to supply 100thperthcent of the electricity required to run the plant. A spokesman said the wind farms would be in other parts of the state, not on the Kurnell peninsula.

The Australian Wind Energy Association says there is potential for more wind farms to built in the Wimmera and Mallee in western Victoria. Buloke Shire recently gave planning approval to a wind farm development of up to 16 turbines at Berrimal, near Wedderburn. A number of wind farms are being planned or built in southern Victoria.

ALEXANDRA: Caught in the middle of a proposal that has divided their community, pupils at the Paerau School are trying to get on with it. The 10-pupil Maniototo primary school had been designated a ‘‘wind-farm-free zone'' due to conflict among children whose parents were on opposite sides of the wind farm proposal, Paerau School board of trustees chairman Eric Laurenson said. It was a common-sense decision made last year, Mr Laurenson said.

Opponents of Meridian's large-scale Central Otago wind farm are outraged after learning that the state-owned enterprise has not disclosed plans to almost double the number of windmills. Meridian is applying for resource consent to put 176 160m-tall turbines on the remote Lammermoor mountain range in Central Otago. The $2 billion operation, known as Project Hayes, will be the second-biggest in the world if it proceeds. But it was revealed this week that Meridian is considering building another 113 turbines next to the site and within Dunedin City Council territory.

The Central Otago District Council has strengthened its opposition to the proposed Project Hayes wind farm on the Lammermoor Range, releasing its final report yesterday asking for the application to be refused. CODC planning consultant David Whitney said his initial March 2007 report recommending that consent for the wind farm be declined had been finely balanced. However, after considering submissions and evidence presented during the five-week hearing, he was ‘‘more strongly of the view that consent should be refused.'' This was because of the adverse landscape, visual and heritage effects the proposal would have. Those adverse effects would outweigh any positive effects from generating renewable energy, and the proposal was against the objectives and policies of the Otago Regional Council statement, the amended proposed CODC plan, the Dunedin City Council plan, and the Resource Management Act.

ALEXANDRA: A bombshell disclosure at yesterday's Project Hayes wind farm hearing revealed land has been earmarked for another 113 turbines in addition to the 176 already proposed by Meridian Energy for its giant project on the Lammermoor Range. The energy company downplayed the revelation but admitted additional turbines could not be ruled out.

All Black hooker Anton Oliver continued his campaign against Meridian Energy's proposed Project Hayes wind farm - this time with the media in tow. The rugby heavyweight presented a 75-minute, 21-page submission against the proposal, before a public gallery for a resource consents hearing in Alexandra yesterday, the Otago Daily Times reports.

The president of an anti-wind turbine group has voiced her concerns over a windfarm planned for Stockyard Hill near Beaufort. Jocelyn Mitchell, president of the Western Plains Landscape Guardian Association, said her group had a genuine concern for the valuation of property if the development went ahead.

Proposed wind farms at Yendon and Elaine would dominate the landscape and reduce property values, a community group has claimed. Spokesman for the Lal Lal and Landscape Elaine Action Group John McMahon expressed concern at the size of both the proposed wind farms and turbines. "It is a very, very large project, (with) up to 79 turbines. It's very big, and these turbines are enormous."

Old Dunstan Road on the Lammermoor Range could be registered for protection under the Historic Places Act following public concerns raised during the hearing for Meridian Energy's proposed Project Hayes wind farm. Historic Places Trust Central Otago chairman Graye Shattky told the panel hearing the wind farm application that publicity about proposed upgrades to the old gold-mining road had highlighted the omission of the road from any district or regional plan protecting it. The number of people opposed to altering Old Dunstan Road for the wind farm had made the trust realise how important it was, and there was now some urgency to protect it, Mr Shattky said.

The All Black Anton Oliver has expressed his opposition to the building of the world's biggest wind farm on the Lammermoor Range, near Ranfurly. Meridian Energy is seeking consent for a $2 billion wind farm named Project Hayes. Oliver appeared at a resource consent hearing in Alexandra on Tuesday, in an effort to stop the wind farm being built. In a detailed submission which took almost an hour to deliver, he outlined overseas evidence he says shows wind farms increase the cost of electricity to the consumer. He said the proposed wind farm was less about energy for New Zealanders and more about cheap power for international conglomerates, citing a cement factory due to be built by Holcim in the area. Oliver told the hearing the Resource Management Act is toothless and was not designed to deal with issues such as wind farms. He also cast doubt on the carbon credit scheme Meridian says will help offset the cost of the $2 billion project, saying it has run a deliberate campaign to deceive the public.

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 community group is worried about how plans for a wind farm near Yendon and Elaine, south of Ballarat, are being pursued. Wind company WestWind is considering applying for permission to build a 79 turbine wind farm between the towns.

A decision on the latest wind farm for Manawatu has been delayed. The Motorimu wind farm is planned for the hills behind Linton and would have 129 turbines, which could generate enough electricity to power 47,000 homes. It is being proposed by a subsidiary of Australia's Allco finance group, which has been told that the commissioners considering the project's resource consent application need more time. A ruling will now be made later this month. Company spokesperson Berhnard Voll says it is not concerned by the delay.