Apart from being ugly, noisy, expensive, inefficient, destructive to wildlife and incapable of doing the one thing that notionally they're supposed to do - "reduce CO2" - they are also BLOODY DANGEROUS.

Asked directly whether the generator that caused the fire was an actual wind turbine, Captain Ewing confirmed, "Yes ma'am." He also confirmed that ground had been cleared around the base of each turbine, the blaze swiftly spread to become a wildland fire despite those precautions. Captain Ewing did not know the precise cause of the turbine malfunction.

The company that installed the turbine, AAER of Canada, went bankrupt a year after installation, and left Portsmouth with no warranty. Even worse, the chief executive of the company hired to oversee maintenance of the turbine stated that gearbox failures occur in "10 percent of turbines nationwide".

According to the independent business intelligence service Wind Energy Update, wind turbine operation and maintenance (O&M) costs are increasing sharply, rising to two or three times more than first projected and causing a 21 percent decrease in returns on investments.

In Minnesota, the wind is blowing but turbines aren't turning. The machines, bought used from California and installed last fall, are completely frozen in place. Even on the windiest days, the blades sit at a standstill, producing no power. Why should anyone care? The problem highlights some of the less intuitive challenges associated with wind power - long considered to be the most feasible and cost effective source of renewable energy.

Another wind tower has collapsed, this one in the Madison County Wind Farm in the town of Fenner. ...Wind farm advocates, especially in Cape Vincent, Clayton and Hammond, have blasted those urging tighter control of wind farm development for what they say is unreasonable setbacks from wind farms for other structures and for infrastructure such as roads and power lines. Yet, experience is beginning to show that in terms of safety, it is likely far better to err on the side of caution.

What we can't see from Kingston, but what one island neighbour told me is among the biggest changes to their lives, is the noise. When the wind is up, "it sounds like a jet engine coming through -- and they're not all up and running yet."

This has been known to fry wind turbines. With snow, ice and frigid weather, winter creates complications for renewable energy, as I wrote last week. But for Ralph Brokaw, a Wyoming rancher with both cows and wind turbines on his land, the worst hazard is not the ice that his blades can throw off in the winter. Rather, it is lightning strikes on the towers.

The discussion on the proposed windmills on our coast seems to have ignored the serious potential of devastating damage that these structures could cause. Although they "would be designed to withstand hurricane-force winds" it is doubtful that they could be engineered to be completely secure in a Category 3-4 or 5 hurricane or a tornado. The blades of these turbines are designed to produce optimum benefits from the wind, which means to me that if they were detached in a hurricane or tornado, they would become lethal missiles that could slice through not only nearby homes, but would pose a grave danger to the nuclear power plant facilities as well.

The wind energy industry has been growing at nearly 30 percent per year for the last decade. The heavy push for more green energy has created a gold rush of sorts...which means buyer beware ...

The talk in the local community is that five of the 12 turbines at Toora are now shut down because of equipment failure, the warrantee period has expired and they can't get parts. This wind farm is not particularly old and it's now limping along with a 42% reduction in power output. It's probably a good time to get this junk off the Toora hills....... This mucking around with turbines all adds to the cost of something that is nothing more than a hoax, which would all be pretty funny if it wasn't subsidised by the public purse.