State-owned Mighty River Power is asking Government to fast-track its application to build a 131-turbine wind farm near Palmerston North. The environment minister can "call in" a proposal if it is deemed to be of national significance and direct the matter to either a board of inquiry or the Environment Court. Last week Environment Minister Trevor Mallard said he was calling in Contact Energy's proposal for a 180-turbine 540-megawatt (MW) wind farm near Raglan.

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.

Contact Energy has filed resource consent applications with the Tararua District Council for a 177 megawatt (MW) wind farm southeast of Dannevirke. The Waitahora project on the Puketoi Range would have up to 65 turbines ...

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.

Yesterday, Palmerston North Mayor Jono Naylor received a letter from Mr Mallard notifying the council of the application for a "call-in". Resource consent applications for the proposed wind farm were lodged with local councils on August 8, and the city council had planned to appoint independent commissioners to hear the consent application, a process that could then be appealed to the Environment Court. But a call-in would mean the local authorities would lose the decision- making power ...

Horizons Regional Council is calling on local councils to get firm on where wind farms can go in Manawatu-Wanganui, or residents will have no certainty about what's being built next, or where. ..."The issue of wind farms has come along really quickly." The rules about what could go where had to be clarified, to put an end to the current case-by-case situation, he said. "They are dealt with in an ad-hoc method."

Environment Minister Trevor Mallard this week announced his intention to "call in" the 180 turbine Hauauru ma Raki wind farm planned for construction between Te Akau and Port Waikato. ...But while the move has been welcomed by applicants Contact Energy and Contact Wind, all three councils have told the Environment Ministry they consider such intervention inappropriate.

A breeding pair of wedge-tailed eagles has been killed at Roaring 40s' Woolnorth Bluff Point windfarm in the state's north-west. A spokesman for Roaring 40s said the company "gets as upset as anybody when there is a collision", but urged people to keep the deaths in perspective. The first eagle was killed on August 17 and a few days later its mate was also struck. ..."But every death of an endangered species is one step closer to the extinction of that species," Dr Woehler said.

The Tasmanian Greens today said the deaths of a breeding pair of Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagles, a critically endangered species, at the Roaring Forties Woolnorth Bluff Point wind farm during the last fortnight, is deeply disturbing. They have called on the responsible Minister to investigate the deaths and ensure the public are informed of the outcome of that investigation.

Opposition planning spokesman Matthew Guy said yesterday the Liberal Nationals Coalition would protect the state's greatest natural assets from wind farms. "The State Government's emphatic promise to defend our iconic natural assets from wind facilities is in tatters with the revelation that Acciona Energy has been allowed to build a $50 million 15-turbine wind farm on the doorstep of the Twelve Apostles and the Great Ocean Road," Mr Guy said.

Under the Resource Management Act, the minister can call in a proposal if it is deemed to be of national significance and direct that the matter is referred to either a board of inquiry, or the Environment Court. In this case, the matter would be decided by a board instead of the relevant regional and district councils, Mr Mallard said today. ..."I consider this proposal to be of national significance. It is relevant to New Zealand's obligations to the global environment in terms of the Kyoto Protocol.

A $50 million wind farm will be built near Victoria's top coastal attractions, despite State Government promises to keep turbines away from the Great Ocean Rd. The Government says the Newfield wind farm, about 12km from the Twelve Apostles in the southwest, will bring jobs to Victoria and boost renewable energy. But residents say it could be the start of a flood of wind turbines near environmentally sensitive coast land. The Acciona Energy wind farm will include 15 turbines that are 110m tall.

The beautiful Puketoi ranges will be turned into an "industrial park" if locals don't put a stop to the proposed Waitahora wind farm, the head of an opposition group says. Last week, Contact Energy announced plans for a $500 million, 177-megawatt wind farm on the remote Puketoi ranges, east of Pahiatua.

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.

A delay in commissioning of the second stage of turbines at the Te Rere Hau windfarm near Palmerston North caused NZ Windfarms Ltd to miss its prospectus revenue forecast. But the money earned interest, helping the company meet its profit forecast. The company, which has Vector Ltd as a cornerstone shareholder, reported a net profit of $2.42 million in the year to June 30 from a deficit of $352,000 a year ago. There was no dividend.

Families around Myponga and Sellicks Hill on the Fleurieu Peninsula are fighting the State Government, local council, and an international electricity generator to preserve their region. Yet the power company which residents say is threatening their tranquillity advertises itself as green, friendly and environment-conscious. TrustPower is a New Zealand generator which wants to build a wind farm on the hills behind Mt Terrible and around Heatherdale Hill close to Myponga, on two ridgelines some 8km long.

Two new wind farms will be built in southwest Victoria generating almost 200 megawatts of power - enough to power 97,000 homes. Planning permits have been granted for a wind farm at Ryan Corner near Port Fairy and the Hawkesdale wind farm, southeast of Hawkesdale. ... A planning permit was granted for 68 turbines at the Ryan Corner site after an independent panel assessment of an Environmental Effects Statement. An independent panel recommended a planning permit for 31 turbines be approved for the Hawkesdale site.