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 ...

In a typically airless conference room in downtown Baltimore yesterday, the Public Service Commission fast-tracked a proposal for a wind farm in Western Maryland. "Fast," though, is a relative term given that developers have as long as three years to start construction and five for the first turbine to actually start harnessing those mountain breezes and turning them into electricity.

A SECRET ballot will decide whether a wind farm will be built on a picturesque Highland estate which was bought by the community. The project has already caused a divide among residents, with some arguing community-owned turbines would generate valuable income to help regenerate the area, but others saying it would harm the unspoilt scenery. A public meeting will be held tonight in Lochinver in Sutherland to outline the project and the ballot of 2,000 residents will be held within three weeks to determine the level of support.

Ashe County residents will have to wait at least another seven months before they learn the fate of a developer’s controversial request to build large wind turbines on or near Big Springs Mountain. At the conclusion of a 3 1/2 -hour hearing yesterday to consider the proposal, the N.C. Utilities Commission took one action: It scheduled another hearing for Aug. 8.

Faulty wind turbines in a Northumberland beauty spot could be taken down after they stopped working. The three giant structures at Kirkheaton, North of Hexham, were put up almost 10 years ago by EDF Energy. But technical issues have meant that two of the turbines have had to have their blades removed, and haven't been operational since last autumn.

Fayette County needs to move faster to update zoning for renewable energy and Marcellus shale gas wells, according to some residents who addressed commissioners during a public meeting on Thursday.

The Fayette County Zoning Hearing Board has unanimously denied a special exception request that would have allowed the construction of 18 wind-powered turbines in Georges and Springhill townships. Calling the decision the "hardest the board has had to make," board Chairman Jim Killinger issued a statement saying the choice to deny the special exception was made in the interest of Fayette County - its residents and for those who visit - while acknowledging the board cannot make everyone happy with its ruling.

The chairman of the Fayette Zoning Hearing Board said members of the board "totally ignored" political pressure and instead made its decision regarding a controversial wind farm "in favor of being honest and acting in a professional manner."

Worried local residents are demanding answers after it was reported a major backer of Perthshire's biggest wind farm plan has abandoned the project. Griffin wind farm, near Aberfeldy, was to be jointly funded by GreenPower and multinational power giant General Electric, but reports have stated the latter has dropped its 50% interest in the scheme. Although it was expected a new backer would have been found by now, it is understood a funding shortfall still exists in a time of increasing global financial uncertainty, throwing the massive project into doubt.

Defence officials are objecting to a cluster of controversial wind farm applications on an isolated stretch of the Holderness coast amid concerns they could interfere with vital radar systems. A scheme to build seven giant turbines at Monkwith, an 11-turbine scheme a short distance away at Roos, and new proposals for nine turbines at Withernwick fall "in line of sight" to the air defence radar at Staxton Wold. However there are no objections to a smaller three-turbine scheme at Tedder Hill, the third application in the parish of Roos.

A controversial application for a 14 turbine windfarm in a scenic area of Argyll frequented by young golden eagles will be debated by planners this summer. A proposal by npower renewables to erect a windfarm at Allt Dearg, on moorland south of Lochgilphead overlooking Loch Fyne, was lodged with Argyll and Bute Council a year ago. A host of objections on various grounds came in, including visual impact and the potential adverse impact of the windfarm on golden eagles and other local rare bird species.

Ministers yesterday gave the go-ahead for a 35-turbine wind farm despite opposition from campaigners who said it would result in the "second Highland Clearances". First Minister Alex Salmond welcomed the approval for the Gordonbush development near Brora, Sutherland, which will be able to power 37,000 homes. Objectors' concerns were raised last July when Mr Salmond unveiled a statue in nearby Helmsdale to commemorate those who left the Highlands during the clearances and began new lives overseas.

Spanish energy company Union Fenosa has begun consultations over its plan but residents are fearful and say they are having trouble getting accurate information. Berrybank farmer Graeme Keating said affected residents felt in the dark. "We can't get any information from the company or from the Corangamite Shire,'' he said. "We are trying to get organised to fight this.''

A WARNING was issued yesterday that East Yorkshire could be "ruined" by applications to build wind farms.

The building of a third nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast could be forced through as part of a major Government shake-up of the planning system, environmental campaigners warned last night. A White Paper is set to be released by the Government next week which is expected to outline plans to overhaul the planning process for new developments. The Government is likely to publish eight national statements of policy - relating to nuclear power plants, nuclear waste disposal plants, airports, motorways, waste incinerators, wind farms, ports and reservoirs - which will give the green light to site-specific projects considered to be of national importance.

GETTYSBURG, Pa. - Apple trees have been planted, wood fences restored and power lines buried in recent years to transform the Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg to the way it looked when Union and Confederate forces clashed on farmers' fields in 1863. But preservationists now worry that the national military park in Pennsylvania's picturesque fruit belt soon may be in the shadow of high-powered transmission lines. It is not just Gettysburg that worries them as a result of a 2005 law that gave federal regulators new authority over where power lines are built. They fear the law could place hundreds of national and state parks and other protected sites in the Northeast and Southwest in or near the path of massive power lines.

Concerns have been raised over plans to put up two wind turbines in Shropshire. South Staffordshire Water is considering putting up two 400ft (122m) high turbines at Chelmarsh Reservoir, near Bridgnorth. It plans to put up a test rig to see if there is enough wind to make the scheme worthwhile. Bridgnorth councillor Elizabeth Yeomans said she would need to be convinced that it was worth sacrificing a beautiful landscape for the turbines. South Staffordshire Water has not yet submitted a planning application. Keith Marshall, from the firm, said the company welcomed consultation with the people of Chelmarsh and added that nothing had yet been decided. He said it was important to place the turbines close to its customers, adding: “To get the benefit from renewable energy, the closer you can site your usage to your generation, the more effective and efficient it is.”

Plans to build a vast wind farm in East Ayrshire have hit a major stumbling block with claims it would cause chaos in Scotland’s skies. The National Air Traffic Services claim engineering giant AMEC’s proposed site in Dalmellington would disrupt hundreds of flights to and from Scotland every week. NATS, which controls air traffic at 15 of the UK’s biggest airports, say the turbines would interfere with their radar equipment.

The way of the future may not be what some locals are looking towards,at least not in their back yards. A public meeting on Thursday gave people the opportunity to check out the plans for a wind turbine in Port Blake,behind the water treatment plant. This is currently in a resource assessment feasibility stage. If implemented,it would be the first municipal water treatment plant to generate electricity from wind power.

A federal court will hear a lawsuit 24 property owners have filed over Calumet County's wind turbine ordinance. The plaintiffs, who oppose the wind turbines, contend the county's ordinance as amended in October is unconstitutional. They allege the ordinance, which requires 1,000 feet between wind turbines and homes, schools and churches but not businesses, fails to protect all property owners equally. At the same time, they contend the 1,000-foot setback impinges on adjacent properties, constituting a "taking" of property. Wind farm developers say the changes the plaintiffs want would thwart their plans and overstep the county's legal authority.