The public benefits created by the development of hydro-electric power plants are not provided by wind farms, an Environment Court appeal hearing for Meridian Energy's proposed $2 billion Project Hayes wind farm has been told. Appellant Ewan Carr made the suggestion during cross-examination of Meridian's eighth witness in the resumed hearing, Christchurch landscape architect Peter Rough.

A bogslide which threatened one of the country's premier fishing lakes appeared to have come to a halt yesterday. For the third consecutive night, geotechnical experts and wind farm and forestry staff remained at the scene of a potential environmental disaster. ...The slide began on Tuesday afternoon during the construction of a road to the Garvagh Glebe North wind farm, a joint project between Coillte and Hibernian Wind Power, a subsidiary of the ESB.

The lake's sailing community is just one of the factions lining up to oppose plans from SouthPoint Wind to put turbines in the lakes in Canadian waters. Opponents have expressed concerns over the wind farms' impact on everything from property values to recreational boating to wildlife. ..."A U.S. citizen who doesn't like the way the wind farm looks across the lake can't just go into Canadian court and sue to try and stop it," said Nick Schroeck, executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center.

Now that the Power Authority has received five proposals from developers willing to build the 166 windmills off the shores of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario or both, some county lawmakers from lakeshore districts are saying, not so fast. "I support the resolution we set up supporting the project, but we need to pay attention to the environmentals," said Legislator John Syracuse, R-Newfane. "We've got a sensitive resource there."

LAKE HUGHES - Plans for the installation of 70 wind turbines on a ridge northwest of Lake Hughes and construction of power lines to connect them with an already-controversial proposed power line in Leona Valley have been submitted to Los Angeles County regional planners. But residents of the Lakes communities aren't too happy about it. "We as a community are not getting a lot of oversight protection on these projects," said Jim Walker, president of the Lakes Town Council.

Bluewater mayor Bill Dowson says the most common concern over wind turbines in the municipality is site lines along the lakeshore. Dowson says the municipality is looking at establishing a bylaw similar to the one passed in South Huron and proposed in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh that would require a distance of 400 metres from homes and 600 metres from urban developments.

Residents surrounding the proposed Lal Lal Windfarm have aired more concerns over the plan. Some residents believe they have no guarantee how the proposal will affect them, the visual amenity and farming. WestWind-Energy lodged its planning application with the planning minister last month for a 64-turbine wind farm, split into two sections, north of Elaine and east of Yendon. Millbrook resident Michael Phyland is making a submission to the proposal, with his property only 700m from the nearest proposed turbine. ..."We're concerned to have so many turbines so close to home, and about the amount of noise - we've no idea how it's going to affect us," Mr Phyland said.

A farmer’s bid to build two 70 metre-high wind turbines on the western edge of Dartmoor has been dismissed, because they would form a “restless intrusion” on the landscape.Carol and Robert Bradford, of Beech Farm, Lamerton, near Tavistock, had appealed against West Devon Borough Council’s decision to throw out the plans to build the turbines, each one-and-a-half times the height of Exeter Cathedral. They claimed the development would not have a detrimental effect on the surroundings, and said the windfarm was needed to create green energy. They had proposed that the turbines, which they claimed would provide enough power for up to 1,300 homes, would be run by a community trust. Their appeal was heard by Government planning inspector Richard Tamplin in October. This week, he released a report in which he dismissed the appeal. It read: “The turbines would form a restless intrusion into this quiet and reposeful upland, to its detriment.

Fury has erupted at the news that council planners have recommended approval of a 48 turbine windfarm at the heart of a Berwickshire beauty spot. The recommendation signals a massive U-turn by the planners who initially opposed the windfarm at Fallago Ridge in the Lammermuirs. The windfarm plan has since been revised to 48 instead of 60 turbines but objectors protest that it will still be a massive blot on the landscape.

The Scottish Wild Land Group said the number of wind farms proposed for the Lammermuirs risked losing their character, while the John Muir Trust described the lack of a strategic plan to ensure the farms were located in the most sensible places as "one of the biggest mistakes" of the previous Scottish Executive administration. Mr Havers, 56, said: "My argument has always been that the Lammermuirs have sort of been taken by stealth. In the Lammermuirs, it's just creeping, creeping, creeping.

Tracks linking turbines scattered around the proposed Project Hayes wind farm on the Lammermoor Range would create visual scars additional to those created by 150km of access roading to the site, an Environment Court appeal hearing in Cromwell heard yesterday. ...Upland Landscape Protection Society representative Ewan Carr, of Dansey Pass, argued the tracks would have a significant impact on the landscape, as in order for large quantities of industrial material to be transported around the site, so called ‘‘fit-forpurpose tracks'' would end up being substantial roads. There would be a mass of additional roads, as well as box-cutting for roads and windfarm structures such as turbine platforms, than what is shown by the Truescape computer images of the proposed wind farm. What the court was looking at was not a full representation of the wind farm, Mr Carr said.

In the next two years, a Virginia company hopes to pump upward of $400 million into what could be Colorado's largest wind farm on private grazing land near Grover.

Spencer Jones normally spends his day behind a desk in Garland. This weekend he's visiting Fredericksburg and the hill country. "One of the things I wanted to do was see this place," he said. He's referring to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.The giant granite dome attracts a quarter of a million visitors a year, many hike the trail to the summit. ...Robert Weatherford is the president of Save Our Scenic Hill Country, a group of land owners working to keep wind farms out of the area. "You will literally be able to see them for miles. So we do think that it would destroy the scenic beauty of the Texas hill country," Weatherford said.

County leaders are working with state legislators to change the way wind farms are regulated in Texas. Robert Weatherford is the president of Save Our Scenic Hill Country, a group of land owners working to keep wind farms out of the area. "You will literally be able to see them for miles. So we do think that it would destroy the scenic beauty of the Texas hill country," Weatherford said. ...Gillespie County is worried that would mean less visitors like Jones. "That's why people come to these places, is to see the view," Jones said.

"I like that you're here with nature and not with cars, people and concrete," he said. "I need green space and open air." ...The land had been earmarked for a 100-turbine wind farm, but the agreement shields the property from encroachment of developers. The ground will remain in private hands, but be reserved for recreational activities and agriculture, primarily cattle grazing.

There are more commercial-scale wind turbines on the Rhode Island horizon than ever before and offshore wind farms that could generate a substantial portion of the state's energy remain on track. But in many respects, the outlook for land-based wind power in the Ocean State has darkened recently.

Isle of Lewis is an area of outstanding beauty Conservation campaigners have welcomed a Scottish Parliament report that has slated plans for Lewis wind farm because it would destroy the scenic view. ...The Report - commissioned by Scottish Ministers - concluded: "Support for renewable energy development and the need to protect and enhance Scotland's natural and historic environment must be regarded as compatible goals.

It is one of Scotland's most famous and impressive Victorian structures but the Skerryvore lighthouse off the coast of Tiree could soon be lost from view. Islanders campaigning against the siting of a massive off-shore windfarm to the southwest of Tiree have warned that the Stevenson-built structure will be hidden in a forest of massive turbines is ScottishPower is given the go-ahead for the Argyll Array.

A longtime landowner and farmer reproached the town board Monday for its apparent opposition to commercial wind tower construction. ...Orleans County Legislator and environmentalist Gary Kent respectfully rebuked Dudley's comments, as did a a handful of local and county residents. The price of hosting wind turbines will be diminished property values, Kent said. He cited his recent visit to Naples, N.Y., where a real estate agent told him that homes are selling for tens of thousands of dollars below their assessed value since the wind farms started going up. If turbines go up in Orleans County, he bets the same will happen here, too.

He suggested the wealthiest Scots are benefiting from the spread of wind farms at the expense of consumers, who have to heavily subsidise the technology in their energy bills. Among the landowners named in the book is the Duke of Roxburghe, who, he estimated, could earn £1.5 million a year from turbines erected in the Lammermuir Hills.