Rogers City residents who have an opinion regarding a proposed wind turbine ordinance for the city will have the opportunity to speak up at April's planning commission meeting Members of the Rogers City planning commission voted unanimously during their Monday evening meeting to set a public hearing regarding the proposed ordinance. In addition, a six-month moratorium was passed, barring all wind turbine projects within the city until the commission is able to study the issue further. "This is something that requires a lot of study and careful thought," said City Manager Mark Slown.

An application by Merck Sharp and Dohme Ltd to build the turbines was refused by members at Blyth Valley Council's development control panel. Members argued the plan, which proposed two 130m high turbines to be placed in Windmill Industrial Estate, Shotton Lane, Cramlington, would be misread on airport radars as aircraft. Concerns were also raised about the effect on Brizlee Wood air defence radar where, if granted permission, the turbines would have been placed 36km from.

Two new wind farm planning approvals dependent on developers and MoD agreeing way of minimising radar disruption ...approvals are conditional on technical solutions being developed that mitigate the effects of the turbines on the Air Defence Radar at RAF Brizlee Wood and Trimmingham respectively. The government said that both the business and defence ministers must be satisfied the impacts on these air defence radar are acceptable for the projects to proceed.

Rahall's spokeswoman, Allyson Groff, said last week that committee staff already were working on the points of greatest contention - especially the wind provisions. The bill as introduced "was a proposal," she said. "Nothing was set in stone. He wanted to be able to work with the Republicans on this."

CONTROVERSIAL plans for a five-turbine wind farm in Rainworth have been given the green light by planning chiefs today (Tuesday).

A Raleigh couple, Nelson and Dianna Paul, are seeking permission from the Public Utilities Commission to build North Carolina's first large-scale wind mills on coastal property they own. ...The utilities commission did not vote on the proposal today, and may not take action for a couple of months. Many residents of the coastal community of Bettie, where the Pauls own property, oppose the windmills, which would stand nearly 500 feet tall.

The Ridgeville recall effort began in May after some residents complained the current board was not representing them. They held a meeting at the town hall and selected Luethe, Krueger and Giraud as their candidates. The effort stems from controversy in the area over plans for an industrial “wind farm” that would place 35-story-high wind turbines along the ridge.

The director of the Scottish Ramblers’ Association has criticised proposals for two windfarms in north east Fife. A planning application has been submitted for a five-turbine windfarm in Auchtermuchty, while a larger 13-turbine project is planned for Ceres — both by German-based firm EnergieKontor. Local opposition has been widespread for both, citing the same grievances as the Ramblers — that they are proposed in the wrong place and would diminish the area’s landscape.

The Ramblers' Association is set to announce its opposition to the construction of onshore wind farms across the country. The move is a major blow for the government, which is struggling to maintain its pledge to increase the amount of electricity generated by renewable energy sources. The decision to try to block large wind farms in Britain follows the association's role in persuading the Scottish Executive to stop construction of a group of turbines in Perthshire on the grounds that the development would damage the environment.

Ramblers have condemned a decision by Peak District bosses to approve a wind turbine on National Trust land. The Derbyshire Ramblers' Association say the decision to allow the turbine on White Edge on the Park's eastern moors is "astonishing" and would seriously detract from the character of the landscape. Officers had recommended the application should be refused because it wouldn't fit in with the landscape - but councillors felt the demand for renewable energy was just too important. ..."It is even more astonishing that the Park's Planning Committee should vote for the application to be approved. We would describe it as a betrayal of all the National Park is intended to stand for."

Rose Bacon, member of the Governor's Energy Task Force and a rancher who owns property in the Flint Hills, spoke about the vulnerability of communities facing proposals from international companies that want to build commercial wind farms in rural areas. She pointed to the lack of “teeth” in regulations, and the attractive tax write-offs granted to wind energy companies, and the inexperience of local officials in dealing with such monstrous deals, depicting a state-wide scenario akin to the “wildcatter days in the oil business.”

Some landowners who favor a wind farm coming to the area of Wolverine Canyon are a little concerned Tuesday morning about the upcoming public comment period, since there is worry that the public has been misinformed. ...Landowners on both sides of the controversy must face a re-do of the entire decision on bringing wind turbines to the area, after worries of a conflict of interest caused the commissioners to send the controversy back to Planning and Zoning.

Prompted by a determined resident who erected a wind turbine in violation of city code, Rancho Palos Verdes officials are contemplating a change in their policy on "small wind" systems. But it won't happen anytime soon. The City Council on Tuesday decided to put off consideration of the issue until it becomes clear what will happen with related state legislation.

Phyllis Hartwig is not happy with the resolution, passed by the municipality of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards on Jan. 7, requesting that the Ontario government place a moratorium on wind farms until further research is done ..."You're saying it's all good, good, good and we have people that have researched and come back and said bad, bad, bad. That's what council is facing. What we need are facts." Visneskie asked council members if they wanted to rescind their original motion, but they voted to let it stand as it is.

Palmerston North ratepayers will be charged $56 an hour for information if they ask the city council too many hard questions. Paul Stichbury and John Adams, unhappy at the lack of information they have received about the Turitea wind farm proposal, have both emailed the council with questions and both have been told by city council legal counsel John Annabell that they will be charged for the answers. The men said they thought the cost was “to fob them off”, but Mr Annabell said it is standard practice. “We haven’t charged anybody yet . . . but we have indicated to two people that there could be a charge at a rate of $56.” Mr Stichbury said questions he asked in his submission to the council on the wind farm proposal have never been answered.

A continuous protest at the meeting’s opening led Liz Argo, a consultant for Cape and Vineyard Electric Co-operative, who was overseeing the presentation for CVEC, to terminate the event less than nine minutes after it was to begin.

Battle lines for a possible appeal were already being drawn after the IW Council – as expected – threw out the Wellow Wind Farm planning application last night (Monday). Generator Your Energy has three months to decide whether to appeal against the decision to government, whether to re-submit, or scale down its application. The company said only that it was disappointed and was considering its options.

Glyndebourne Opera should re-think its plans to build a huge wind turbine on the top of the Downs in an area of outstanding natural beauty, claims the South Downs Society. The planning application, submitted to Lewes District Council last week, proposes a 70-metre high turbine on Mill Plain, between Glyndebourne and Ringmer, on the site of an old windmill. The turbine is designed to produce 850 kilowatts of power for the opera house and surrounding area. ‘The South Downs Society is not opposed to renewable energy,’ said its chairman, Jon Martin, ‘but it is vital that we protect the few areas of unspoilt countryside we have in the south-east from large-scale developments such as these.’

A natural gas plant here. New nuclear reactors there. Massive wind farms in northern Ontario. Surplus hydroelectric power from projects in Manitoba and Labrador. Who says Ontario is facing an electricity shortage? On top of conservation efforts aimed at reducing how much electricity we all consume, the reality is there are plenty of opportunities — some cleaner than others — to generate the power this province needs over the next two decades. Even, it should be noted, with the shutdown of all coal-fired plants. But generation is only part of Ontario’s electricity equation. Under-appreciated in the power supply debate is the crucial role transmission plays in moving electricity around the province. Power generation, like a car, is useless if there are no roads on which to drive, or if the only route into a big city is limited to one lane during rush hour. “Transmission is undervalued; without transmission you can’t do anything,” says engineering consultant Frank Macedo, a 25-year veteran of the electricity sector who once oversaw Hydro One’s provincial transmission assets.

Romney Marsh Press Release in response to Npower (Rheinisch-Westfalisches Elecktrizitatswer) Romney Marsh residents were shocked this week to receive letters from Npower indicating that the developers intended to start work immediately on the very controversial Romney Marsh wind farm. The scheme was formally opposed at Public Inquiry by the County and District Councils, by RSPB and English Nature and a group of concerned local residents, all of whom value the very special qualities of the Marsh.. Legal advice indicates that the decision to grant permission for this wind farm development is in breach of wildlife legislation. As a result of this a group of concerned local residents have mounted a legal challenge which is at present before the Court of Appeal. The hearing date for this legal challenge is fixed for 20 June.