January 2005

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7th January 2005: Bob Walter Welcomes Prime Ministers Opposition to Onshore Wind Turbines. Robert Walter MP (North Dorset) today (Friday 7th January) visited Mapperton in the Winterborne Valley in his constituency as part of his continued opposition to wind farm developments in the most beautiful parts of Dorset. Picture here (517kB).

December 2004

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20th December Eastern Daily Press: Turbines rejected over air safety fears Safety issues at Norwich International Airport have scuppered an application to build two wind turbines in a mid-Norfolk village. Breckland council today threw out plans for a wind farm at Shipdham, near Dereham, following objections from campaigners and aviation experts.

20th December This is North Scotland: WICK Targets Green Power Accolade at Solar Opening  Sleet and snow showers failed to thwart the official switch-on of a trailblazing solar roof in Wick, on Friday. In what was the coldest day of the winter so far yesterday, over 17 kilowatts were being generated - sufficient to heat and light half-a-dozen houses.

17th December 2004: WARNING ON THE WIND OVER ENERGY CRISIS A searching new report calls for an overhaul of the UKs energy strategy as it warns that onshore wind power could be the worst way of cutting the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. The detailed research goes so far as to claim that wind is even more expensive and less effective in reducing carbon dioxide output than coal - if used in ways that capture and secure their emissions. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon)

17th December 2004: NIMBY BLAIR FIGHTS WIND FARM Prime Minister Tony Blair used his political clout to fight off a wind farm in his own "back yard". And last night he was accused of being a NIMBY because of his opposition to four turbines two miles from his North East home. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon)

16th December 2004: A wind farm of 234 turbines planned for the remote and beautiful Isle of Lewis is meeting stiff resistance from locals and environmental bodies. We are a group of Westside residents, all of us born and brought up here. We are not normally campaigners, but prefer a quiet life. However, the scale and industrial nature of the massive wind farm development proposed for North Lewis, and the fact that we love our local moor land and the whole of our native island, has galvanised us into action.

16th December 2004 IC Wessex: Mendip blows out turbine plans COUNCILLORS have thrown out plans to build a massive wind turbine in the heart of one of the regions most treasured landscapes. Ecotricitys proposal to erect a 335ft turbine - which would tower over the Mendip Hills area of outstanding natural beauty - in Chewton Mendip prompted a barrage of objections from angry residents.

15th December 2004 The Northern Echo:Blairs wind farm hypocrisy TONY BLAIR was last night accused of hypocrisy over a planning application for a wind farm a mile from his constituency home. The Prime Minister and Labour MP for Sedgefield, who has a house in Trimdon Colliery, County Durham, signalled support for campaigners, many from his constituency, who are opposing the development in fields near the neighbouring village of Trimdon Grange.

13th December 2004: Cutting fuel bills and saving the planet FIFE COUNCIL is helping people save money on fuel bills, and at the same time helping save the planet by cutting carbon emissions.

Exactly what we should all be doing - and should be the very first priority to reduce fossil-fuelled emissions.

11th December 2004: WIND TURBINE FIRM IN NORMAL NOISE SURVEY Developers behind controversial plans for three giant wind turbines on a picturesque site in the West country are planning to carry out a noise survey in the area - despite claiming that residents would not hear anything from the 100-metre high structures. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon.

11th December 2004 The Guardian: Jurassic Park author pours cold water on global warming With 2 Million copies of State of Fear hitting bookshops across the world, Crichtons thesis that the "interminable yammering of fear mongers" about climate change is being used to keep ordinary people perpetually anxious will reach a huge audience.

9th December 2004: TURBINE PLAN CUT VALUE OF OUR HOME BY A THIRD A West country farming couple have seen the value of their home slashed by a third since controversial plans were submitted to build three giant wind turbines in one of the regions beauty spots, it has been revealed. Richard and Lynne Lethbridge say they discovered the devastating news after deciding to sell the home their family has farmed from for decades, because of the plans for the turbines. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon)

8th December 2004 The Scotsman: Green power will be hit by rates system, claims electricity industry PROPOSED rate changes for electricity-generating companies to be announced by the Executive today amount to a "stealth tax" on householders’ domestic bills, and will unfairly penalise the growing renewables industry north of the Border, according to industry representatives.

8th December 2004:RSPB Energy adjudged guilty of misrepresenting its "green" electricity marketing scheme Press Release From: Dr John R. Etherington, former Reader in Ecology, University of Wales. It is time for the renewables industry at large to show that it is making a significant contribution to reducing CO2 emission and that it is not simply driven by a scramble for profits ‘effectively subsidised by the plundering of all our bills. We need verifiable ‘carbon’ targets, NOT ‘installed-megawattage’ targets which may be unrelated to saving of fossil fuel consumption.

6th December 2004 BBC NEWS: Climate change is the norm "Climate changes - this is what it does." "Global warming is indeed a scam, perpetrated by scientists with vested interests, but in need of crash courses in geology, logic and the philosophy of science."

5th December 2004 The Sunday Herald: Executive sets energy targets SCOTLAND will adopt a strategy to use less oil, gas and electricity as part of a bid to cut the pollution which is causing climate chaos... "The cheapest form of energy is that which we don’t need to produce in the first place."

3rd December Isle of Wight County Press: TURBINE DROPPED FROM WIND FARM PLAN THE hugely controversial small wind farm at Wellow will consist of six, not seven wind turbines when plans are submitted, possibly before Christmas. But first, next Thursday, an exhibition of the scheme is to be held at the Wellow Institute so the views of the public can be considered by the applicants, Your Energy.

2nd December: HOW A GREEN DREAM TURNED INTO A RURAL NIGHTMARE One year ago, the WMN ran a series of articles questioning the accepted wisdom that Windfarms were the answer to the nations environmental ills. Since then, the arguments have intensified with each new application for wind turbines. Here, Neil Young looks at why they have proved so controversial and provoked such widespread opposition. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon)

2nd December Eastern Daily Press: Plan for new Norfolk wind farm Plans have been outlined for the second biggest onshore wind farm in East Anglia... "A survey of 80 households carried out by Guestwick Parish Meeting found 88% of villagers were opposed to the plans."

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November 2004

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30th November 2004: WIND TO THE FORE IN DEBATE OVER ENERGY SUPPLIES The vexed issue of onshore wind power drew an eager audience to a debate hosted by the Institute of Civil Engineers at the University of Plymouth. Prominent figures from the renewables industry tackled the question of whether wind turbines could meet future energy needs while helping to curbing greenhouse gas emissions.(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon)

30th November 2004 The Times: Power firms to put £6bn in networks ELECTRICITY companies will invest more than £6 billion in Britain’s distribution networks over the next five years...They must also invest in new cables to connect wind farms. Distribution charges make up 25 per cent of an electricity bill.

26th November Daily Echo: Future of energy is all wind and water WIND farms and reviving Bridports heritage of water mills could be among ways to create energy for nearby communities in future.

25th November 2004:LOOT Press Release East Lindsey District Council Planning committee voted today by 15 Votes to 6 to refuse permission for Ecotricity to build a 20 Turbine Wind farm at Conisholme Fen, Near Louth in Lincolnshire. After a long and very balanced debate between councillors the members determined that the application, due to its size and scale within this wide and flat open landscape was contrary to the development plan in force and it was duly refused.

Loot is delighted for all the residents in Conisholme and neighbouring parishes who are wholly opposed to this development and who have had to live with the shadow of this application hanging over them for the last two years.

A wonderful and much deserved victory after 2 years of very hard work. DART offer their congratulations to all who contributed to this happy result.

25th November 2004 The Huddersfield Daily Examiner: Tory leader visits wind farm protest TORY leader Michael Howard today visited protesters angry at plans for a wind farm in Denby Dale. He was shown the proposed site for the huge turbines, which measure 406ft from ground to tip. He was also briefed by campaign group Residents Against Wind Farms.

25th November 2004 The Courier: Scottish Power set to appeal Clatto refusal A NEW storm was brewing in Fife last night as Scottish Power confirmed it is to appeal the decision of councillors who threw out plans for Fife’s first wind farm at Clatto Hill, The Courier can exclusively reveal.

24th November 2004 ITV Wales: Howells hits out at wind farm " madness" UK Government minister Kim Howells, MP for Pontypridd, has attacked the growth of Windfarms as " madness" and says people should use less energy instead. His comments come as plans are considered for a new wind farm near his constituency. The Assembly Government wants 10 percent of our electricity to come from renewable sources like wind power by 2010. Thats likely to mean hundreds more wind turbines on our hilltops.

24th November 2004: PROTESTERS LOBBY EXHIBITION HELD BY DEVELOPERS Campaigners fighting plans to build giant turbines 328ft high in the heart of the Devon countryside have been lobbying exhibitions held by the developers of the proposed wind farm. The exhibitions are being staged by Renewable Energy Systems at places including Spreyton and Bow to explain the plans for a wind farm of between ten and 19 wind turbines in the Den Brook valley, near North Tawton.

A spokesman at the exhibition held in Spreyton Village Hall said the purpose was to act as a consultation prior to submitting a formal planning application to West Devon Borough Council in the spring. Although no firm details have yet been drawn up, the plan is to build either ten turbines 328ft high or 19 turbines 262ft high. Yesterday, members of the Den Brook Valley Action Group (DBVAG) said the exhibition had not given them the information that everybody in the area wanted, which was the precise location and size of the wind turbines. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon)

24th November 2004: WINDFARM COMPANY TO FACE ANGRY RESIDENTS A national power organisation which plans to build three giant wind turbines in South Devon has announced it will attend what is expected to be a heated public meeting to discuss its controversial proposals. There had been concerns that power would not attend the meeting. Then residents understood representatives would be there simply to "gauge public opinion." (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon)

23rd November 2004 Manchester Online: Wind farm storm inquiry begins SCOUT MOOR: Site of the proposed wind farm A PUBLIC inquiry into a plan to build a giant £50m wind farm on moor land near Rochdale was starting today. The scheme for Scout Moor and Knowl Moor has caused uproar and the three councils, Rossendale, Rochdale, and Lancashire county council, have voiced strong objections. The proposal is for 26 turbines, each two-thirds the size of Blackpool Tower, to supply power to the National Grid. All three councils have already rejected the plans and furious campaigners, who have the support of ecologist and TV personality David Bellamy, claim the turbines would be a "blot on the landscape".

22nd November 2004 Western Morning News: FURY AS COUNCILLORS AGREE TO TURBINES ON THEIR LAND Residents of a small community in North Cornwall are seething after discovering that two councillors - including a parish council chairman - have agreed that three wind turbines can be built on their (own) land. The discovery of plans to build three 80 metre high turbines between Crimp and Shop, near Morwenstow, initially left many people stunned.

But their shock turned to anger when they found out that North Cornwall district councillor and Morwenstow parish councillor Ken Boundy and Morwenstow parish council chairman John Vanstone, who is also the parishs chairman of planning, had agreed for their land to be used if the development is given the go-ahead.

22nd November 2004 Western Morning News: COUNCIL SCRAPS WIND TALKS A parish meeting to discuss plans to build three wind turbines on farmland in Devon has been cancelled. The meeting about powers plans to build giant turbines in Goveton, in the South Hams, was due to take place in East Allington village hall on Thursday, but it has been cancelled because of the organisers fears of being inundated with people opposing the plans from outside the parishes involved. They said that for "health and safety" reasons the meeting would not go ahead because the hall could only hold 120 people.

22nd November 2004 The Times: Clean-coal technology could cut CO2 bill by £3 billion BRITAIN could cut the cost of reducing greenhouse gases by £3 billion if it fitted clean-coal technology to its ageing power stations, rather than building wind farms.

Some 2,000 wind turbines will be put up in Britain over the next six years at a total cost of approximately £9 billion as power companies seek to comply with a government demand to increase supplies of renewable energy.

However, Mitsui Babcock, the British-based power station manufacturer, is urging the Government to invest in clean-coal technology, which it argues could be fitted to the UKs 16 coal-fired power stations for only £6 billion.

One of the major points DART are trying to make.

21st November 2004 Sunday Herald: Giant pylons plan sparks official protest The National Trust for Scotland has joined the growing chorus of protest against plans to erect giant pylons across the Highlands to bring renewable electricity from the Western Isles. Alarmed about the damage a long line of 50-metre pylons would inflict on the landscape, the influential conservation organisation has launched an unusually strong attack. It has condemned the way the plans are being promoted by a subsidiary of the power company, Scottish and Southern Energy, as “wholly unsatisfactory”and “unacceptably piecemeal”.

19th November 2004 EDIE: Cost of Kyoto five times above EU estimate Implementing the Kyoto protocol might hit the EU economy five times as hard as predicted by the European Commission, according to research presented by pan-industry lobby group UNICE on Thursday. The group called for a radical change in the EUs climate change policy.

Whos paying? You are.

19th November 2004 Shetland News: Executive should jump start Stingray SHETLAND MSP Tavish Scott has called on the Scottish Executive to pump in money to help re-start the Stingray tidal energy project. The ambitious project was put on hold earlier this month because it could not raise enough cash take the Stingray generator to a pre commercial state. Northumberland-based company The Engineering Business had successfully tested its 150 kW prototype in Yell Sound, in Shetland, in 2001 and 2002.

19th November 2004 Shropshire Star: MP calls for inquiry over wind turbine plans Plans for a wind farm on land in Mid Wales should go to a public inquiry and be examined by an independent inspector, MP Roger Williams has said. People living in or near Beguildy and Llanbadarn Fynydd have contacted the MP for Brecon and Radnorshire over Assembly plans to site 16 turbines near their homes.

19th November 2004: PUBLIC CONNED OVER NEED FOR TURBINES The Government is trying to appear "green" and the wind industry is promoting its turbines on the false premise of saving our planet while taking massive subsidies from taxpayers. It is a winning situation for a few and an irretrievable loss for the majority.

We are being conned, and the consequences are a potential environmental disaster.
(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon)

18th November 2004 Daily Echo: Old water mills idea for green electricity REVIVING Purbecks water mills in order to produce environmentally-friendly electricity has been raised as a suggestion in the face of fears over global warming.

18th November 2004: Packed hall voices objections to proposed wind farm WELL over 100 people packed Shoresdean Village Hall last Wednesday to object to the proposed Moorsyde wind farm. People from Ancroft, Shoresdean and Duddo agreed to form the Moorsyde Action Group (MAG), which will co-ordinate local efforts to oppose the developers and argue a local case against the planning application. More information on Your Energy here:

17th November 2004: Wind industry says revisions needed if Welsh target is to be reached There must be an “urgent and significant upgrade of grid infrastructure if Wales is to add 800 MW of wind by 2010.

So even more £millions into the grid system to support an already heavily subsidised minor source of electricity - still no benefit to climate change...

17th November 2004: MINISTER RESTATES CASE FOR MORE WIND POWER Energy minister Mike OBrien yesterday restated the Governments backing for wind power, and said the West country should play its part by hosting its share of Windfarms. Mr OBrien insisted that only wind turbines were sufficiently advanced among renewable technologies to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a target date of 2010. That is the date that has been set for the UK to produce ten per cent of its electricity from renewable sources under the Kyoto Protocol.(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

You can "restate the case" as much as you like (especially if you do not actually show any figures that prove it). The most feebly numerate can work out for themselves that UK Wind Power will do nothing for Climate change and cost UK taxpayers a fortune.

17th November 2004: YOULL HAVE WIND POWER The Energy Minister Mike OBrien yesterday signalled the Governments determination to push ahead with on-shore wind power in the West country despite growing protests in rural communities. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

What arrogance. Its OK to subvert Democracy to save us from Global Warming? Wrong on both counts.

17th November2004: VILLAGERS DENIED TURBINES EXPERT Angry villagers have been told they will not be allowed to have a technical expert representing them at an upcoming meeting about controversial plans to build three 100-metre high wind turbines. Residents from Goveton, in the South Hams, say the situation is "unsatisfactory".(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

It seems that even the Democratic Process will now be abused to force us to "Embrace Wind"

15th November 2004: WIND TURBINE CASE TO GO TO EUROPEAN COURT The European Court is to be asked to intervene over controversial plans to build three giant turbines, in what would be Devons second commercial wind farm....They believe their human rights will be violated by the construction, by West Coast Energy, so close to their home, as their property could be devalued by up to 50 per cent.(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

13th November 2004: Daily Telegraph: A green land may not turn out to be so pleasant and will cost us all The Governments target is that 10 per cent of our electricity should come from "renewable" resources by 2010. This would require about 25,000-30,000 wind turbines across the country.

12th November 2004:BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT THEIR CREDENTIALS The WMN asked for a statement from all the members of the BWEA who also sit on the Renewable Advisory Board.(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

12th November 2004:PLANNERS URGED TO TURN DOWN RENEWAL A plea for planning permission to be withdrawn from a wind turbine in Devon will be made to Torridge planners next week. The proposed turbine at Swingdon, Ashwater, near Holsworthy, was granted planning permission at appeal in 1994. It was renewed in 1998 and varied to increase the height to 226ft to the blade tip in 1999. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

12th November 2004:WIND BUSINESS LEADERS HEAD GREEN BOARD Eleven of the 18"appointed" members of the agency that advises the Government on the "green" energy needed to combat global warming, work for private companies with heavy financial interests in wind technology, the WMN has learned. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

11th November 2004: The Independent Residents Battle Pounds 480m Wind Farm Plan PLANS SUBMITTED by the Irish energy company Airtricity yesterday to build a pounds 480m,173-turbine wind farm on hills overlooking three small villages in South Lanarkshire were condemned by local residents as environmental vandalism.

11th November 2004: WINDFARM PLANS SLAMMED BY CPRE PLANS for what would become Devons biggest wind turbine site have been condemned by an environmental lobby group, which said the proposal was in fact a "massive industrial development". ..."A household is a meaningless unit for expressing wind farm output. We need to be told the true likely input of electricity from this wind farm into the grid and the data on which it is based,"... (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

10th November 2004: Western Mail Bellamy begs Assembly for wind of change CONSERVATIONIST David Bellamy has urged the National Assembly to reconsider its decision to allow the building of massive wind turbines off Porthcawl. In an open letter to AMS, Dr Bellamy describes the performance of wind power in meeting Britains energy needs as "disastrous".His letter comes as Bridgend Council considers whether to launch a legal challenge to the decision to erect 30 giant wind turbines, each the height of the London Eye, 3.5 miles off the coast at Scarweather Sands.

10th November 2004: RESIDENTS DEMAND TO BE HEARD ON TURBINES Residents of a West country parish earmarked for three 100-metre high wind turbines have called for a survey of the area to determine peoples views on the controversial plans. Also in the article "HOUSE PRICES WILL FALL, WARN SURVEYORS" and "TURBINE PLAN CAUSING BAD BLOOD AMONG NEIGHBOURS" (Articles reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

6th November 2004: The Independent Wind turbines: insensitive planning can cause serious damage At its recent bi-annual Council Meeting, Europe’s leading heritage conservation organisation criticised governments for causing serious damage to the environment by focusing too heavily on giant high wind turbines, both on and offshore.

5th November 2004: KNABS RIDGE WIND FARM : HARROGATE. Harrogate Borough Council Planning Committee voted last night by 12 votes to 1 abstention (none for) AGAINST the NWP proposal to build 8 wind turbines each 320 feet high. Stage 1 is now complete. Next August there will be a public enquiry to determine the tandem application.
A good day for democracy in the N.E. of England.

5th November 2004: The Times: Kyoto will be rained on ...More over, we know that the Kyoto Protocol will do nothing about climate change: at the most it will delay changes by two years over the next century. To declare otherwise is to mislead.

5th November 2004: WIND TURBINE LORRY GETS STUCK IN LANE Furious anti-wind turbine campaigners have described how a lorry which will be used for transporting wind turbine components into the West country became jammed in a rural lane during a trial run to Devons first wind farm.(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

4th November 2004: ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS "Political electricity" "In recent years, the little country Denmark has gained a certain amount of fame with its wind turbines. No, they dont get much electricity from them. They sell them to suckers."

3rd November 2004: DONT LET IT HAPPEN IN ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE Dont go down the same route as Germany or you could bitterly regret the devastating effect son the English countryside and its communities. That is the stark message from Germanys leading protester against Windfarms.(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

2nd November 2004: The Western Mail Kyoto makes UK energy policy all wind ...Sea levels and average temperatures may be rising slowly, but both were higher 1,400 years ago, before the Little Ice Age, and there is ample historic evidence for violent climatic events.

One informed commentator recently described the Kyoto Protocol as the most expensive confidence trick pulled on the world since Yalta - certainly it seems perverse to impose hugely expensive measures to tinker with a single climate factor.

2nd November 2004:Yorkshire Today WINDFARM project in Yorkshire is likely to be thrown out this week A final decision on the siting of eight 300ft-tall wind turbines only the width of the A59 outside the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty will be taken by the Secretary of State after a public inquiry, but Harrogate Council is expected to reject the £6m scheme on Thursday.

1st November 2004:   Against the odds, Fife Councils Environment and Development Committee turned down the Planning application from Scottish Power to build 17 three hundred foot tall turbines on Clatto Hill in Fife. The vote was 10 to 6 against the proposal. This was despite a recommendation from their planning officials to accept the application. Remarkably, in the planners report, the assertion was made that there were no significant departures from the development plan. The Clatto Landscape Protection Group, had asserted in their objection that there were at least 9 policy departures involved. And in the Committee meeting, the councillors agreed.

The Clatto Landscape Protection Group hope that this result for them gives to others campaigning against inappropriate proposals in their localities.

1st November 2004: Queen Goes for Green PowerTHE Queen was the toast of the green movement yesterday after it emerged that an innovative hydroelectric power scheme is to be installed at Windsor Castle.

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October 2004

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29th October 2004: DART Committee at the DCC meeting.

29th October 2004: Wind farm plan blows out (478kB)"Wind turbines will not stop global warming" said DARTs Dr. David Pope (Article reproduced here by kind permission of the Blackmore Vale Magazine)

28th October 2004: Wind Farm blown out (109kB)An application for nine wind turbines in the Winterborne Valley has been thrown out in the face of overwhelming opposition from residents, councilors and officers.(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Daily Echo.)

28th October 2004: WINDFARM PLAN IS TOTAL FRAUD The campaign to halt a "monstrous"windfarm proposal in the South Hams has received a boost from the West countrys highest profile protester.(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

26th October 2004: ON TUESDAY 26th OCTOBER 2004 The Development Control Committee (DCC) of North Dorset District Council (NDDC) voted against the planning application by "Your Energy Ltd." for 9 wind turbines in the Lower Winterborne Valley. Download our October Newsletter for the full story.

25th October 2004: Cambridge News More opposition to wind farm bid MORE than 80 per cent of the parish councils consulted over the proposed A14 wind farm have objected to it.

24th October 2004: Sunday Herald Battle brewing as RSPB objects to Lewis wind farms POWERFUL conservation groups and energy multinationals are about to be pitched into battle over plans for the world’s biggest wind farm on the Isle of Lewis. In an environmental clash to rival any that Scotland has seen, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Scottish Natural Heritage will be trying to stop British Energy and AMEC erecting 234 massive wind turbines across 40 kilometres of bog around Stornoway.

23rd October 2004: The Independent Greens say wind power must be kept away from beauty spots The Greens yesterday came out against the siting of wind farms on natural beauty spots, saying locations such as the Devon coastline and Loch Ness were under threat. The Government was instead urged to consider a range of alternatives...

22nd October 2004: REF PRESS RELEASE REF Calls for Revision of Renewables Obligation System The Renewable Energy Foundation (REF) today urged the government to revise the Renewables Obligation Certificate System (ROCs) to distinguish between low, high, and premium value renewables.

22ndOctober 2004: At a meeting of the planning committee of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council the application for the UGLOW WIND FARM was defeated unanimouslydue primarily to the efforts of the action group of EDGWORTH AND LOCAL RESIDENTS and COUNTRY GUARDIANS. DARToffer their congratulations.

21st October 2004: Park guardians plea over wind farms By Andrew Forgrave, Daily Post. SNOWDONIA, the jewel in the crown of rural Wales, could be scarred by up to a dozen giant wind turbines, critics claimed last night.

17th October 2004: Daily Telegraph: Giant blades are slicing prices Homeowners on the damp expanses of Romney Marsh in Kent have long had to contend with the presence of Dungeness nuclear power station, asking themselves what would happen if it blew its top. Rather less might they have suspected that they would one day find themselves cursing the nuisance posed by "green"renewable energy.

17th October 2004: The Times: Green energy firms ratchet up customers bills GREEN energy companies have increased customers’ bills by up to 10%and blamed rising oil and gas prices — even though the power they supply comes from renewable sources. The price hikes have surprised many environmentally conscious consumers, who assumed that buying green electricity would shield them from fluctuations in the fossil fuels market as well as tackling global warming.

14th October 2004: Oldham Advertiser National Conference, April 2, 2005 Saddleworth Moors Action Group in association with Country Guardian ANTI-wind farm campaigners are to host their second national conference as the battle to keep giant turbines off Denshaw Moor continues apace.

14th October 2004: MORE RESEARCH NEEDED INTO TURBINE NOISE   Dr Amanda Harry, who has produced ground-breaking research on the effects of noise from turbines on people living near the Bears Down site explains why she is taking her investigation further. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

14th October 2004:WINDFARM PLANNERS TO BE INDOCTRINATED   Within days of work starting on Devons first giant wind farm, planners across the region are being invited to a conference that has been denounced as a "pure propaganda exercise".(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

13th October 2004: TWO WORLDS COLLIDE IN A BATTLE FOR THE COUNTRYSIDE “If this can happen in Bradworthy against the determined protests of the local community, then no fields or cherished vistas in the West country are safe or sacrosanct’ (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

13th October 2004 News Wales Swansea tidal energy project gets backing Plans for a pioneering tidal energy project in Swansea Bay have been detailed and confirmed by an independent report from leading engineering firm, WS Atkins Engineering. ..and will be the UK’s most competitive renewable power source producing electricity at 3.4p per kilowatt-hour from the relatively small (60 MW)Swansea Bay project.

13th October 2004 News Wales Tidal lagoon power could give Wales a competitive edge Friends of the Earth Cymru says that significant quantities of low cost renewable electricity generated by tidal lagoons could give the south and north Wales economies a competitive edge by 2020.

13th October 2004 The Independent Greens split by battle over Romney Marsh wind farm The increasingly bitter conflict over giant wind farms came down from the hills to the lowlands of south-east England yesterday. A public inquiry opened into the first big wind power development to be planned for the traditional English countryside: a scheme to site 26 turbines, each 350ft high, on the sweeping landscape of Romney Marsh in Kent. The scheme was put forward by Npower Renewables, a subsidiary of RWE, a German energy company.

12th October 2004 The Daily Telegraph: Battle lines drawn over giant wind farm plan for marsh Rival environmental groups will square up to each other today in round one of a battle to build the South-Easts first onshore wind farm.

11th October 2004: Battle Against Massive Dorset Turbines Dorset CPRE and DART (dorset against rural turbines) have combined to fight the proposed industrial Windfarm at Lower Winterborne, which is being considered by the North Dorset District Planning Committee on October 26.

10th October 2004 The Times: Marsh is front line in wind farm wars PLANS to build giant wind turbines on the historic Romney Marsh are to be thrust into the frontline of the battle by campaigners to prevent wind farms "scarring" the countryside.

8th October 2004 Scoop New Zealand Wind Turbine Noise Testing A Fiasco Wind Turbine Noise Testing A Fiasco The absurd conclusions drawn from a recent test program to ascertain the noise levels of Windflows experimental turbine at Gebbies Pass near Christchurch shows the dubious processes by which these projects are pushed through.

8th October 2004: Kent wind farm rejection may be overruled Objections to a wind farm by local authorities in Kent may be overruled after Kents Green MEP Dr Caroline Lucas stepped in last week.

7th October 2004 News and Star: Why Npower have it all wrong over Windfarms It is only in the interest of Npower to have their blots on the landscapes of Britain, as just recently it has been disclosed that a developer in Wales will be paid a subsidy of £17 million per year from the taxpayers pocket.

7th October 2004: Now is time to renew the fight Will Windfarms help us to save the planet? That is a proven fallacy. There is nothing progressive about giant turbines which destroy the local environment, damage the health of people living nearby, and do nothing to redress climate change. There is nothing progressive about government policies which shamelessly sideline local democracy so that the big business interests of the wind power lobby can make a quick fortune. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

5th October 2004: Facts blow turbine case out of water Plans to install 22 wind turbines in North Devon have been submitted to the DTI. All residents and visitors to the area should be made aware of the following: Wind turbines will not prevent global warming. Wind turbines will not provide enough energy to power the nation. Wind turbines will not produce cheap electricity.(Letter reproduced by kind permission of the author Mr. Ivan Buxton and the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

4th October 2004 Queensland Courier Wind energy not resident-friendly RURAL residents in two states cant sleep at night because of noise from a Queensland Government-owned corporations alternative energy projects.

September 2004

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25th September 2004: GOVERNMENT WEIGHS UP GIANT WINDFARM PLANS   A planning application to build the biggest wind farm the West country has ever seen has been submitted to the Government - including plans for two more turbines than originally expected. A map has now been drawn up showing the locations in North Devon of 22 turbines - each at least 360ft high - which would spread over six miles and be visible from the Welsh coast. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

25th September 2004 The Daily Telegraph Alternative views need to be recognised Dr Madhav Khandekars excellent and revealing letter "...With the exception of the behaviour of some of the British delegation, the Moscow seminar was the kind of open debate and public reassessment of climate science that is long overdue..."

24th September 2004 Wakefield Today Wind farm stirs panic RESIDENTS campaigning to stop a wind-farm in Denby Dale have been told not to panic by a parish councillor.

24th September 2004 West Cumberland Times and Star Council swamped by wind mast protests Staff at Allerdale council are struggling to cope after receiving 2,000 letters of objection to plans for two wind farms.

24th September 2004 The Times Political action on climate change A letter from Lord Lawson of Blaby and others "...They would make all of us significantly and increasingly worse off. There are no worthwhile gains to set against these costs..."

23rd September 2004: Race is on to pioneer tidal electricity scheme AN INVESTIGATION into using Portland Race to generate electricity has been called for. The tidal energy could be used to supply the area with power in the next decade.

23rd September 2004 The Stornaway Gazette: Survey cites negative impact on Isles tourismMore than half of the 276 respondents to a local visitor survey, carried out in north-west Lewis, believe that any wind farm development in the area will discourage tourists from visiting the island.

22nd September 2004 Selby Today: BAD WIND? TURBINE PLAN UNDER FIRE FEARS concerning wind farm plans have forced some residents living near the proposed site to consider moving.

21st September 2004: NOISY NEIGHBOUR ON THE HORIZON New research has backed up claims that the noise from wind turbines could pose risks to health that have largely been ignored. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

20th September 2004 The Daily Telegraph Theres pain but little gain from the climate change agenda And what are the benefits of struggling to meet the current carbon targets, the centrepiece of the current climate change policy, for Britain? The answer is little, if anything...

20th September 2004 The Daily Telegraph Afraid of global warming? Chill out If man-made CO2 was causing a rise in sea levels, wed surely notice some effect over the past decade and a half. His best guess is for a rise of a couple of inches in sea level by the end of this century, which hardly threatens life as we know it...

19th September 2004 BBC News Turbulence over turbines in Cumbria In the blustery northwest corner of Cumbria, wind farms are becoming part of the landscape.

18th September 2004 The Scotsman Scottish Power hid hike in charges to deceive customers The move means household gas bills across the UK will rise by 11.8 per cent and electricity by up to 8 per cent for the companys 4.5 million customers from 1 October.

17th September 2004 Harrogate Today Windfarms: the way of the future or a complete sham?  THE DEADLINE for initial objections to plans for the Knabs Ridge wind farm passed this week.

17th September 2004 Isle of Wight County Press FIGHT AGAINST MONSTERS ON THE WELLOW HORIZON Veteran environmental campaigner and TV personality David Bellamy put his best foot forward and rallied more than 300 Wellow "troops" fighting the local seven-turbine wind farm plan.

16th September 2004 This is North Scotland DECISION SOON ON FARMERS WINDFARM PLAN A Wind farm plan for a scenic Mearns hilltop, which has drawn a record number of letters of objection and support, is due to be decided next week.

16th September 2004 The Daily Post A forest of turbines? Prof Peter Cobbold explains why plans for 100 giant wind turbines in Clocaenog would destroy a quarter of the forest.

16th September 2004 This is Lancashire National Trust backs anti-turbines campaign A CAMPAIGN to stop two large wind turbines being installed on the moors above Edgworth has received the backing of the National Trust.

14th September 2004: Battle Against Massive Dorset Turbines Dorset CPRE and DART (dorset against rural turbines) have combined to fight the proposed industrial Windfarm at Lower Winterborne, which is being considered by the North Dorset District Planning Committee on October 26.

7th September 2004: Dr. John Etheringtons Letter to the Western Mail ...the total saving by wind is less than a thousandth of UK CO2 emission...it is quite impossible for it, or the proposed extra wind generation by 2010, to alter climate change.

4th September 2004 This is South Wales TORIES BOOST PRESSURE IN ANTI-TURBINE LOBBY Conservatives in Swansea and Gower are helping to keep up the pressure to halt plans for a wind farm on common land south of Ammanford. Hundreds of people have readily signed a petition opposed to the development...(Letter published here with Dr. Etheringtons kind permission)

4th September 2004 The Daily Telegraph Islanders in uprising over wind farm plan Marion MacLeod and Anne Campbell are standing on the edge of a sprawling expanse of purple heather and peat bog, swatting at midges and trying to describe their fears.

3rd September 2004 This is North Scotland BELLAMY HITS OUT AT PEATLANDS WIND PLANS
He accused Western Isles councillors of staging the "Clearances all over again" after "waving through in just 60 seconds" a small wind farm between Pentland Road and Barvas hills. Mr Bellamy said: "These are 11 councillors who turned round and said we will trash the heritage of 6,000 years of sustainable living."

3rd September 2004 The Hebridean David Bellamy enters wind farm debate Mr Bellamy said: "The Outer Hebrides are one of the most special places in the world and to even contemplate industrialising these treasured islands is a scandal.

2nd September 2004 Isle of Wight Today DAVID BELLAMY TO LEAD ANTI-TURBINES MARCH THE campaign against plans to site seven giant wind turbines at Wellow is gathering pace with naturalist David Bellamy preparing to join the battle.

1st September 2004 This is North Scotland ISLES COUNCIL COULD FACE EURO COURTS OVER WINDFARM DECISIONWestern Isles planners could end up in the European courts after approving a controversial wind farm. At least two legal complaints are likely to be lodged against the council.

September 2004: The DORSET CPRE Objection Letter to NDCC ...The romantic notion held by many that wind power is free energy - free of CO2 is misleading and not factually correct...

August 2004

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31st August 2004 South Wales Evening Post Hope as Families join Bellamy Wind Protest

31st August 2004 Western Mail Wind-turbine scheme decision a "worrying precedent" A DECISION by AMS to back a massive offshore wind turbine scheme off Porthcawl had set a worrying precedent, a Tory parliamentary candidate said yesterday.

31st August 2004 This is North Scotland DECISION ON WINDFARM IS VITAL FOR ISLES The Western Isles Council will today decide on a wind farm proposal which could have far-reaching consequences for Lewis.

DART have since learnt that this Pentland Road was approved by Western Isles Council (in about 60 seconds) on Tuesday 31st August. The 6 turbine wind farm site is on the Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area, and RAMSAR site, and is within the core range of Golden Eagles, which are a protected species on the SPA. Recent objections, particularly in respect of the violation of European NATURA 2000 legislation (SPA)were not considered. Scottish Natural Heritage originally objected but then withdrew, apparently on the grounds of a one day walk with a spaniel to survey grouse numbers, and unsupported hearsay from unidentified" wildlife consultants" working nearby. On this basis they concluded" This, combined with the lack of prey species found within the wind farm area, would suggest that the predicted core range stated in these does not reflect the eagles actual range use." The original Eagle Survey was carried out over two months, rather than the 12 - 18 months which is recommended in SNHs own guidelines. SNH objected to the conclusions of the developers EIA , and eventually discredited it altogether on the basis of their own findings from a survey lasting 8 hours and a "chat". In the coming weeks it is expected that AMEC and British Energy, operating under the name of Lewis Wind Power, will submit a planning application for 240 turbines on the same SPA. RAMSAR reports it as being "one of the largest and most intact known areas of blanket bog in the world". A further 250 turbines are planned just to the south by Scottish and Southern and a private developer.

18th August 2004 Country Life Blow the Wind Northerly (626kB) "The Skyline of Orkney is now marred by turning blades, diminishing the sense of the immemorial that gives the archipelago its special character."(Article reproduced by kind permission of Country Life)

31st August 2004 Peterborough Today ENVIRONMENT: Bellamy blows in for protest TV naturalist David Bellamy has thrown his weight behind a bid to stop two Windfarms being built near a village.

28th August 2004: I will go on planting oaks David Bellamys letter in the Sunday Telegraph, replying to the BWEA. (Letter reproduced by kind permission of David Bellamy).

26th August 2004: RETREAT ON WINDFARMS DENIED The government last night denied reports that it was about to scrap plans to build hundreds of giant windfarms across the country. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

24th August 2004 Forres Gazette Public backing for wind farm project PROPOSALS for a wind turbine farm on the outskirts of Forres provoked widespread interest from the public who attended a special display in Forres. (DART wonder whether this support will continue when the true cost of Wind Electricity becomes known locally.)

24th August 2004 Forres Gazette Too expensive to build at sea
FORCE 9 Energy director David Butterworth had hit back at critics who say that wind farm projects should be built at sea only. He told the Gazette this was unrealistic due to difficulties in construction at sea and the immense cost. "Companies such as Powergen who have built wind farms at sea have benefited from huge Government subsidies, " he said.

24th August 2004 The Guardian Wavepower delivers electricity to grid
The first wave-power machine to supply the national grid has been operating successfully for a week in Orkney at Emec...

23rd August 2004 This is North Scotland WESTMINSTER ENERGY POLICY A SHAMBLES The Governments energy policy was said to be in a "shambles" last night following reports that it could scrap proposals to build huge pylons through Scotland to link Hebridean Windfarms to the national grid.

23rd August 2004 This is North Scotland MACAVEETY URGED TO BACK TOURISM Tourism minister Frank MacAveety has been challenged to support the tourism industry in Lewis in the face of proposals to build Europes largest wind farm.

23rd August 2004 The Scotsman 200-mile power-line scheme dropped THE government has abandoned plans to erect electricity pylons through a 200-mile corridor of Scottish countryside following outrage from protesters.

23rd August 2004: COUNCILLORS GAGGED FROM SPEAKING ON WINDFARMS A Campaigner opposing plans to build a 12-turbine windfarm on the West country coastline has slammed legislation preventing district councillors from discussing the proposal at a meeting. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

23rd August 2004 Cambridge News Battle hots up as wind farm plan is submitted THE gloves are off in the battle over a planned wind farm near Cambridge after the firm behind it finally submitted a planning application. Electricity company Your Energy announced it was planning to put up 16 wind turbines on farmland next to the A14 at Boxworth earlier this year but has only now put in an official application to South Cambridgeshire District Council.

22nd August 2004 The Times Protesters halt march of the pylons THE government is set to abandon plans to erect electricity pylons through a 200-mile corridor of Scottish countryside following outrage from protesters including Gabby Logan, the sports presenter, and her rugby-playing husband, Kenny.

18th August 2004 The Herald Windfarm ruling angers campaigners ANTI-WINDFARM campaigners warned that the Highlands was on the edge of environmental disaster after councillors granted planning permission for 17 turbines beside an area of protected landscape.

18th August 2004: MASSIVE SUPPORT FOR WMN PETITION A Western Morning News petition has revealed the high level of opposition to Windfarms, as Andrea Kuhn reports and readers letters (right) confirm. Almost 3,000 people from Devon and Cornwall have added their name to the Western Morning News wind farm petition.(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

18th August 2004: SCIENTIST SENDS OUT A MESSAGE TO THE WORLD
Professor James Lovelock is used to being an outsider who has been regarded as everything from a scientific prophet to pariah.(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

18th August 2004: Flaws in the Wind CLOUT (Conwy Locals Opposing Unnecessary Turbines)s letter to the Liverpool Post. (Reproduced by the kind permission of CLOUT).

18th August 2004 The Daily Telegraph Whitehall is told to cut red tape for wind farms The Cabinet Office has intervened in the commissioning of offshore wind farms in an attempt to speed up the process.

16th August 2004 The Guardian: Dont deny countrysiders the right to self-expression It benefits no one when the rural minority is gleefully trampled underfoot.

12th August 2004 Stornoway Gazette Survey results reject AMEC proposal Almost 90 per cent of people who took part in a community survey in North Lewis voted against Amecs proposed wind farm development in the area.

3rd August 2004: £50M TO BOOST WAVE ENERGY PROJECTS Projects to harness tidal power off the West country coastline are to benefit from a share of a £50 million cash fund, the Government announced yesterday. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

2nd August 2004 Reading Chronicle "Towering turbine is simply far too big" AMID all the glossy publicity material issued to promote the idea of Readings first wind turbine one thing was hidden away: just how big the thing will be. At a height of 400 feet, the turbine would tower overall of Reading.

2nd August 2004 The Times Windfarms will need new pylons THOUSANDS of electricity pylons will be needed in some of Britains remotest and most unspoilt areas if wind farms and tidal energy are to become significant source of power, industry experts have warned.

July 2004

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29th July 2004 The Economist Ill Winds Wind farms disfigure the countryside and threaten to cost £1 billion a year. Apart from that, theyre great.

27th July 2004 Birmingham Post Wind turbine threat to landscape The Midland countryside could become littered with giant wind turbines under new plans set out in an energy strategy for the region, campaigners have warned.

27th July 2004: WAVE POWER COMES CLOSER TO REALITY The prospect of generating electricity from the waves off the coast of Cornwall came closer yesterday with the announcement of a major study to work out how to feed the power back to shore.(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

27th July 2004: REF SEEKS ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY West country broadcaster and countryside campaigner Noël Edmonds yesterday welcomed the backing of the Conservative Party and the Sunday Times in the fight against the wide scale development of Windfarms. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

27th July 2004: TURBINE PLANS WILL SOUR PUBLIC ATTITUDE TO GREEN ENERGYTory leader Michael Howard yesterday pledged that the Conservatives would put the brakes on the massive expansion of onshore windfarms - as he called for a "new approach" to renewable energy.(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

27th July 2004: Letter to the Western Mail...Wind power, in the most unlikely event of its ever supplying 10% of UK generation, will displace between 2% and 3% of our total CO2 emission. This is less than 1/1000th of total world CO2 emission. (Letter reproduced by kind permission of Dr. John Etherington)

26th July 2004 Western Mail How the pollution from this War of the Winds makes my blood boil Plans for a wind farm off the South Wales coast at Porthcawl, and visible across the entire Swansea Bay, have brought widespread criticism. Writing here after the scheme was approved by the National Assembly, Professor Niall Ferguson outlines his opposition to the turbines.

25th July 2004 The Sunday Times Why the wind farms should be blown away Is the race for wind power driven by greed more than environmental concern? Jonathan Leake and John Elliott report on a secret gold rush.

25th July 2004 The Sunday Times Tories pledge they will slow down the wind farm revolution MICHAEL HOWARD, the Tory leader, is to announce tomorrow that the Conservatives will rein in the governments controversial expansion of wind farms if they win the next general election.

23rd July 2004 National Review Online Sir David Kings Queenie Fit: Shutting Down Dissent ...Yet the delegation from one major Western power behaved in a most undiplomatic fashion. The way the science was being presented was inconvenient to their political agenda, so they tried to get the scientists they disagreed with silenced...

22nd July 2004: WIND ENERGY WILL BE NEEDED More "Head in the Sand" Politics. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

20th July 2004: WINDFARM PROTESTERS CELEBRATE A VICTORY: LOOT is proud to announce a further victory in Lincolnshire against wind turbine developers. The residents group of Nocton Fen (Near Lincoln)and supported by LOOT successfully defeated an application by RES to site a wind Mast at Nocton Fen when it came before North Kesteven District Councils joint planning committee this afternoon.(July 13th)

18th July 2004 The Daily Telegraph Charge of the wind farm brigade threatens heart of Tennyson Country:BY Chris Logan - "The site earmarked for the wind farm is surrounded on three sides by land designated as having outstanding natural beauty. Campaigners fear that the noisy turbines will destroy tourism and harm wildlife."

16th July 2004 The Daily Telegraph Wind farm claims are so much hot air: By Niall Ferguson - "Not only will it do virtually nothing to halt global warming, but it will also impose major economic burdens on ordinary Britons as both taxpayers, energy consumers and property owners. The sole beneficiaries of this misconceived policy will be a few power companies and their friends in high places."

16th July 2004 The Courier (Perthshire & Fife) Turbine plans cause anger ANTI-WINDFARM campaigners have expressed their anger after plans were released to build 30 wind turbines on the Ochils - with some standing at nearly 100m tall.

16th July 2004 Farmers Weekly Turbines to land farmers in court? FARMERS HAVE been warned they could face legal action from people claiming damaged health from the low-frequency noise emitted by wind turbines.

15th July 2004: FOUNDATION WILL CHAMPION CAMPAIGNERS CAUSE The Renewable Energy Foundation today sets out its campaigning agenda by calling for an "overall energy policy that is balanced, ecologically sensitive and effective".(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

15th July 2004: TIME TO RETHINK GREEN ENERGY A new national campaign group today takes up the cause of scattered wind farm protesters as it calls for a radical overhaul of Britains energy strategy. The Renewable Energy Foundation (REF) will be led by the businessman and broadcaster Noël Edmonds, who ignited a fierce debate about wind power with a series of articles in the Western Morning News last November. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

15th July 2004: NATIONAL CAMPAIGN CALLS FOR A REVIEW OF RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICY The Renewable Energy Foundation (REF), which launched today, has called for an immediate cross-party review of UK energy policy. The mission of the organisation is to encourage the development of renewable energy and energy conservation whilst safeguarding the landscapes of the United Kingdom from unsustainable industrialisation. In pursuit of this goal, REF highlights the need for an overall energy policy that is balanced, ecologically sensitive and effective. The REF Brief can be downloaded here also.

13th July 2004: Climatologist Exposes Cracks In Global Warming Foundation A new report from the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) exposes serious problems with the historical climate trends reconstruction published by the United Nations Inter governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) -- the primary evidence used by policy makers and activists who espouse the theory that human activity is causing catastrophic global warming.

12th July 2004: AMECor AMEN Murdo Morrisons letter to the Stornoway Gazette this week on the proposed Wind Power Station developments on Lewis. Seldom better put than this. Published here with the authors kind permission.

12th July 2004 The Moscow Times Illarionov Attacks Britain, Vows to Bury Kyoto President Vladimir Putins personal adviser on all things economic last week accused British Prime Minister Tony Blairs government of declaring" all-out and total war on Russia" ......to force it to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

12th July 2004 The Scotsman Energy answer is still blowing in the wind By BRIAN WILSON: SHORTLY after reading the report on renewable energy by the enterprise committee of the Scottish Parliament, I happened to bump into a leading figure in Scotlands wave-power industry. Our shared understanding was that the small unit built into the rock-face at Portnahabhainn on Islay is probably still the only grid-connected wave-powered generating station in the world.

12th July 2004 The Scotsman SNP warns of millions lost to electricity projects RENEWABLE electricity projects in Scotland are under serious threat because changes to the electricity trading arrangements will introduce a punitive levy on generators north of the Border, it was claimed yesterday.

11th July 2004 The Times Windfarms whip up division in Whitehall "A LEADING government scientist has criticised the Windfarms springing up across the country as "bloody eyesores" and has said they will never supply more than a fraction of Britains energy needs.

9th July 2004 Daily Mail Global warming? What a load of poppycock "The link between the burning of fossil fuels and global warming is a myth. It is time the worlds leaders, their scientific advisers and many environmental pressure groups woke up to the fact." Dr. David Bellamy

8th July 2004 The Courier (Perthshire & Fife) Council objects to wind farm plans WITHOUT A dissenting voice, Perth and Kinross councillors yesterday decided to take their opposition to the first of the planned Perthshire wind farm applications to come before them to a public inquiry.

6th July 2004 Perthshire Advertiser Abercairney plan heading towards Executive inquiry

5th July 2004 The Guardian Storm of protest over planned wind farm Up to 400 people protested yesterday against plans for one of the biggest windfarms and some of the tallest turbines ever planned for England, staging walks to show how the scheme will blight views from two national parks.

2nd July 2004: WARNING OF THREAT TO OTHER ENERGY OPTIONS The Governments obsession with Windfarms may be hindering the development of other forms of renewable energy, a report warns. The Scottish Parliaments enterprise committee suggested that the Governments "dash for wind" had led to other forms of renewable energy, such as tidal power and biomass, being ignored. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

1st July 2004: JOURNAL POLL LOOKING LIKE WIND FARM NO' An overwhelming percentage of Journal readers are so far against the proposed wind farm development at Fullabrook Down- but theres still a week to go. The results of our phone poll on the controversial plans so far reveals that a staggering 81% of readers do not want the proposed development to go ahead. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

1st July 2004: JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN TO STOP THE MONSTER WIND TURBINES We have followed with mounting alarm the development of the Devon Wind Power plans to raise 20 monster turbines of 361ft each around Fullabrook Down... (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

1st July 2004: MPs GET TOGETHER AGAINST FLAWED ENERGY SCHEMES Two Devon MPs have joined forces to challenge Government policy on renewable energy projects they believe will have a negative impact on the region. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

1st July 2004 The Courier (Perthshire & Fife) MSPs blast proposed forest of wind farms PLANS TO BUILD a forest of giant wind turbines across Scotland to meet ambitious green energy targets were blasted by a cross-party committee of MSPs yesterday.

1st July 2004 South Wales Guardian Wind protesters take to the road A GROUP of anti-wind turbine protestors are stepping up a gear in their campaign to stop the Amman Valley landscape being blighted.

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June 2004

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30th June 2004 Selby Today WINDFARM FIGHTERS PLANS BLOW Community Against Rusholme Turbines (CART) spokesman Neil Cranswick said: "Wind power developers go to great lengths to convince local residents a prospective site will not cause any problems. "What they do not make clear is the realities of living with turbines as neighbours and the effect they have on both the local environment and local residents lives."

28th June 2004: Landowner withdraws from wind farm project PLANS for a major wind farm in Cornwall have been put on hold after a landowner pulled out of the project in the face of local opposition. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

28th June 2004 Perthshire Advertiser Protesters raise their voices PROTEST groups have slated Perth and Kinross Councils plans on Windfarms - claiming they didnt get a fair hearing.

30th June 2004 Cambridge News TV botanist joins in wind farm protests CONSERVATIONIST David Bellamy has given his support to a campaign against a wind farm next to the A14 near Cambridge.

27th June 2004 South Wales Evening Post PROTESTERS SOUND OFF IN NOISY WINDFARM PROTEST A Group of 23 cars descended on the site of a proposed wind farm and blasted out the noise they claim it would make. It was part of a concerted campaign against plans for 23 turbines on land at Mynydd y Gwair.

25th June 2004: HIGH COURT BATTLE TO BLOCK WINDFARM PLAN Opponents of a controversial wind farm plan have launched a High Court bid to derail the development. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

June 25th 2004: Turbines "would spoil landscape" - county planners decide(547kB)
Wind turbines near Winterborne Zelston would spoil one of Dorsets key assets. (Article reproduced here by kind permission of the Blackmore Vale Magazine)

24th June 2004: PLANNING LAWS COULD EVADE PUBLIC INQUIRY Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is under pressure to pledge that plans to build the biggest wind turbines ever seen in the West country will be "tested" at a public inquiry before they are approved.(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

24th June 2004: West Cumberland Times & Star WINDFARM THREAT TO COASTAL BEAUTY SPOT THE BEAUTY spot and tourist attraction of Allonby has been targeted for 16 wind turbines. There is already outrage at the plan by Dutch company Nuon...

24th June 2004: HUMAN RIGHTS CLAIM AGAINST TURBINE PLANS The fight against a recently-approved wind farm has been taken to Europe after residents living near the proposed site claimed their human rights had been affected.(Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

24th June 2004: TURBINES WONT CUT GREENHOUSE GASES A Letter by Dr. J Etherington ......"it is a falsehood that wind turbines in Britain could make a difference to CO2 emission sufficient to alter global atmospheric concentration and influence climate change."(Shown here with Dr. Etheringtons kind permission).

24th June 2004 The Courier (Perthshire & Fife) Anger over lack of say in debate on wind farms. OPPONENTS OF wind farms in Perth and Kinross were furious yesterday when they were denied the opportunity of presenting their arguments to councillors.

23rd June 2004 Lincolnshire Echo INSPECTORS THROW OUT WIND TURBINES APPEAL Wind farm protesters across Lincolnshire were celebrating today after a planning appeal to install 20 wind turbines was rejected. Do you agree with the inspectors decision to refuse the wind farm at Orby Marsh? Write to "Your View", Lincolnshire Echo, Brayford Wharf East, Lincoln LN5 7AT. Or e-mail yourview@lincolnshire echo.co.uk

23rd June 2004: BERNARD INGHAMs excellent article in the Yorkshire Post (Article reproduced by kind permission of Sir Bernard Ingham).

23rd June 2004 LOOT (Lincolnshire Opposed to Onshore Turbines) Press Release THE ORBY MARSH WIND FARM - THE PLANNING DECISION. The Planning Inspectorate have agreed with Loot and REFUSED THE APPEAL AND THEREFORE PLANNING PERMISSION IS DENIED. MAIN REASON FOR REFUSAL IS ON SCALE OF DEVELOPMENT.

22nd June 2004 This is North Scotland Major Blow for Plan to Build Europes Biggest Wind farm. Highland councillors have dealt a body blow to plans for Europes biggest wind farm by refusing to give the go-ahead for testing equipment.

21st June 2004: Famous activists speak at meeting SADDLEWORTH was the focus of the national wind-farm debate as local campaigners hosted an anti-turbine conference.

Hundreds of activists and experts from as far away as Scotland and Cornwall descended on Uppermill Civic Hall for the event staged by the Saddleworth Moors Action Group, on Saturday. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Oldham Evening Chronicle).

"FORCE 10 - Political will v landscape protection" by Elizabeth Mann. One of the Key Presentation sat the conference. Also here:
SMAGs 21st June Press Release.

June 22nd 2004: "CPRE DCC Energy Target Appeal June 2004 - Press Release"
Dorset CPRE and DART (Dorset Against Rural Turbines) are appealing to Dorset County Council to set realistic and achievable renewable energy Targets. The Renewable Energy Conference recently held by the County Council failed to take account of the fact that the 2 massive windfarms at Muston Down and Portland Harbour have both been withdrawn. The Appeal believes that the draft targets in the County Policy are not achievable.

June 17th 2004: "Blow for wind farm plan as refusal recommended." County Planners are recommending refusal of plans for a wind farm in the Winterborne Valley. (Article reproduced here by kind permission of the Western Gazette)

17th June 2004: WINDFARM POLICY WILL COST US MILLIONS Government plans for a massive increase in the number of Windfarms will push up electricity prices and do little to tackle global warming, a devastating new report has warned. The report, "Tilting at windmills: the economics of wind power", concluded that the Governments "preoccupation" with Windfarms will cost consumers billions of pounds but "make no substantial contribution" to reducing the carbon dioxide emissions blamed for global warming. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

14th June 2004 Cambridge News online Wind farm campaigners being ignored. VILLAGERS campaigning against a proposed wind farm by the A14 say they are being ignored by the district council.

11th June 2004 This is North Scotland RESIDENTS IN WINDFARM ROAD SHOW DISPLAY ROW A Row has broken out over the Amec roadshow in Lewis, which is presenting plans to build a controversial £400 million wind farm.

10th June 2004: WIND FARM IS ON TWO SITES Exhibitions outlining the plans for a massive wind farm in North Devon have revealed the full extent of the development -which effectively occupies two sites about one kilometre apart. Devon Wind Power is planning to submit proposals to build 20 wind turbines each 110m tall to the Department of Trade and Industry in July. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

June 10th 2004: "Time to Cash in on Renewable Energy" "Setting up wind turbines in north and west Dorset could be a profitable business, a club was told at a recent meeting."

DART wonder whether profit is the main concern for some pro-wind lobbyists?

June 2004 Update: Proper polling & the continuing concerns of the communities involved show overwhelming opposition to "Lower Winterborne" Wind Power Station proposal. Most recently, the Parish Council has written yet again, to the farm company concerned, M Hooper & Sons Ltd., seeking a meeting to voice the widespread concerns of their electorate.

8th June 2004 The Scotsman Council responds to concerns over wind-farm storm. GROWING concern over the visual impact of wind farms on the Borders landscape has resulted in new guidelines for future developments.

7th June 2004: REGION MUST HAVE ITS VOICE HEARD OVER WINDFARM PROPOSALS A leading anti-wind farm campaigner has called on the West country to "get its voice heard" in opposition to the proliferation of on-shore turbines. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

4th June 2004 Several excellent articles from the Western Morning News
COMING TO A FIELD NEAR YOU
BATTLE LINES ARE DRAWN AS THE TURBINE SPECTRE LOOMS
WINDFARMS NO USE IN THIS ENERGY CRISIS
WINDFARMS RUIN OUR LANDSCAPE
WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT WIND TURBINES
DESECRATION JUST CANNOT BE JUSTIFIED
TRUST IN PLANNING SYSTEM
(These articles reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

3rd June 2004: WINDFARM PLAN FOR COAST SPARKS ANGER Campaigners have vowed to fight plans to build a 12-turbine windfarm on the West Somerset coastline. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

3rd June 2004 Isle of Wight County Press WINDFARM OPPONENTS FEAR FOR QUALITY OF LIFE
By Jon Moreno. WIND Developers Your Energy faced a storm of protest from objectors to its controversial £10 million plan for a wind farm in Wellow.

1st June 2004 The Courier (Perthshire & Fife) New phase in bid to halt wind farms. THE KINROSS-BASED political party fighting against plans for the "utter desecration" of Scotlands countryside has stepped up its campaign.

May 2004

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27th May 2004: PLANS FOR GIANT WIND TURBINES Proposals for 20 wind turbines - each three times the height of Barnstaple Civic Centre - are creating a furore in North Devon. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

27th May 2004 Private Eye ILL WIND

27th May 2004 The Guardian Officials try to hide rise in transport pollution. By Paul Brown - Environment correspondent. Official figures showing sharp increases in gases responsible for climate change from air and freight transport were removed from the Office of National Statistics(ONS) report on the environment last week after pressure from the Department for Transport.

27th May 2004 The Guardian Officials try to hide rise in transport pollution. Official figures showing sharp increases in gases responsible for climate change from air and freight transport were removed from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) report on the environment last week after pressure from the Department for Transport.

27th May 2004 West Cumberland Times and Star TURBINES TAKE OVER. TEN NEW sites in Allerdale are being considered for wind farm development and Allerdale councils planning chief fears there is no way to stop a march of turbines into the countryside.

26th May 2004 The Shropshire Star Developers vow to consult on wind farm. Developers hoping to build a huge wind farm near Oswestrys Old Racecourse today promised that "people power" would determine whether they go ahead with the scheme.

26th May 2004: OPPONENTS AGHAST AT PLAN FOR RECORD 360FT-HIGH TURBINES The largest wind turbines yet seen in the West country are being proposed for a wind farm in North Devon. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

26th May 2004: GIANT SON THE MARCH AGAIN The spectre of two giant Windfarms bigger than anything the West country has yet seen was overshadowing two rural areas last night. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

24th May 2004 The Daily Telegraph Climate change is a great opportunity By Neil Collins

22nd May 2004 FRESH FEARS OVER NEW TURBINE PLAN The possibility of a major wind farm development of up to 25 turbines 278ft high has galvanised a group of remote communities in North Cornwall to launch a campaign to try to nip the plan in the bud. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

19th May 2004 The Guardian Scientists hand Putin weapon to kill Kyoto treaty

19th May 2004 TURBINES ARE PART OF A WIDER SOLUTION' Onshore wind turbines are not being promoted to the exclusion of any other form of renewable technology, the Government department responsible for Britains energy policy has affirmed. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

18th May 2004 The global warming scam As Russias Academy of Sciences declares: The Kyoto Protocol has no scientific foundation, further evidence reveals that the polar regions are actually getting colder.

17th May 2004: HERE COME THE GIANT TURBINES From her garden, pensioner Marie Hutchings enjoys some of the finest views in Devon- increasingly precious as the time approaches for work to begin on the countys first commercial wind farm. Also included here "PLAN COULD RESULT IN EVEN MORE TURBINES"Villagers at Week St Mary near Bude are gearing up for a campaign against plans that could see as many as 25 wind turbines built in their area. (Articles reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

15th May 2004: GIANT TURBINES PLAN GIVEN THE GO-AHEAD Controversial plans to build three giant turbines for what will be Devons second commercial wind farm have won the go-ahead after a public inquiry. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

14th May 2004: COUNTRY LIFE CONDEMNS MONSTROUS TURBINES Country Life has joined the campaign, begun by the WMN, to highlight the environmental drawbacks of rural Windfarms. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

14th May 2004 The Courier (Perthshire & Fife): Massive wind farm plans go to Holyrood PLANS FOR Perthshires largest wind farm have been submitted to the Scottish Executive.

14th May 2004 County Echo (North Pembrokeshire): Dr. John Etheringtons Letter as published A few weeks ago four primary school children wrote to the County Echo concerning the problem with the wind turbine at Caerfai, St. Davids(26 March). Their letter was written following a visit to Ysgol Bro Dewi by local eco-activists. Dr. John Etheringtons letter is reproduced here with his kind permission.
(DART would point out that The Schools Act makes it illegal to present information to school children in an unbalanced and biased form.)

13th May 2004: "Ten glorious landscapes: can they be saved from wind-farm madness?" (Article reproduced by kind permission of Country Life).

11th May 2004 The Times: Black-outs loom as chaos halts investment plans. Demand for energy is rising but power firms are paralysed by a lack of clarity over regulation. By Lucinda Kemeny

11th May 2004 The Times: Time for the climate doomsters to face reality by Bjorn Lomborg

9th May 2004 The Sunday Telegraph: These Hollywood special effects may cost the world $15 trillion By Bjorn Lomborg

6th May 2004: "HOWARDS WAY WITH WINDFARMS"
(Article reproduced by kind permission of Country Life). Michael Howard MP, leader of the Conservative Party, has recently been elected vice-president of an action group in his constituency who are protesting against a proposed wind farm installation.

4th May 2004 Bellamy in wind farm plea A HEARTFELT plea for the abandonment of wind farm projects in Scotland was delivered by veteran environmentalist Professor David Bellamy in Perth last night.

April 2004

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30th April 2004: THIS GREEN TOKENISM IS NO REAL SOLUTION
Wind turbines and their potential effects have proved a divisive issue. Here, Sir Bernard Ingham, argues that Windfarms are an ineffective and uneconomic response to climate change. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

30th April 2004: JONATHAN DIMBLEBY TO CHAIR ENERGY CONFERENCE
Supporters and opponents will take part in a highly-charged debate on July 7 on whether wind power is the energy of the future. (Article reproduced by kind permission of the Western Morning News and This Is Devon).

28th April 2004 The Scotsman Lairds revolt against wind-farm plan THE Queens representative in Kincardine is leading a campaign to prevent a spectacular panorama overlooking one of the main gateways to Royal Deeside being ruined by a massive wind farm.

September 20th 2003: DART Press Release.

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