Below is a short video documenting the National Anti-Wind Conference which took place in Welshpool last Thursday. Speakers included Struan Stevenson MEP, Glyn Davies MP and Chris Heaton-Harris MP.

The conference was the first of three anti-wind conferences, the next of which will be held in Scotland later this year. The videos provide a succinct summary of the wind farm folly which is currently engulfing the UK. There is input from politicians and local communities.

What a day!  An army of supporters took to the streets in Dublin yesterday (21/06/13) starting at Christchurch Cathedral and growing in numbers until it descended on Dublin Castle where a 2 day Renewable Energy Conference was taking place.
Below we have some images from the day (some images on loan from other groups- you know who you are!).
It was great to meet other groups and share stories and advice.  This is a global problem, and on a closer scale one that is affecting all of our beautiful island.
Great to see you all and lets keep this movement going until we stop this madness!

Here, Here! The truth is starting to filter through, how long before the scam that is Wind Subsidy Farming is held up for what it really is- greed

Credit:  By Victoria Allen | Scottish Daily Mail | 25 May 2013 | ~~

A family whose lives were made a misery by a neighbour’s noisy wind turbine have become the first in Scotland to get a court order to shut it down.

Retired civil servant Aileen Jackson, 54, was left powerless when her neighbour built a 64ft turbine only 300 yards from her house.

It kept her family awake every night, producing the noise of a ‘small helicopter’ and leaving them exhausted.

The farmer next door, who was selling the energy produced to the national Grid, refused to switch the machine off.

So Mrs Jackson became the first person in Scotland to fight a turbine in the courts – with the legal fees covered by her home insurance.

The farmer, from the Renfrewshire village of Uplawmoor, did not contest the noise abatement order and backed down. This week, a permanent court order was made to prevent him turning on the turbine again.

Campaigners hope the case will set a precedent for householders whose lives are blighted by turbines. Individual windmills are springing up across the country as landowners seek to cash in on the subsidies available.

Mrs Jackson said: ‘We became increasingly desperate after a two-and-a-half year fight against this turbine.

‘Smaller turbines are actually noisier than the big wind farms because they spin faster, creating a different character of sound. This one sounded like a small helicopter in what had been a completely peaceful, rural place.

‘Every time the prevailing wind was in our direction, we heard it, even with the windows shut.

‘We couldn’t sleep and my son quit his third year of university because he couldn’t work through the exhaustion.

‘My husband, an HGV driver, was worried he would fall asleep at the wheel and cause an accident.’

Mrs Jackson, 58-year-old husband William and sons Andrew, 26, and Brian, 25, first tried to get a noise abatement order through east Renfrewshire Council. But because the turbine fell within the acceptable decibel level under planning conditions, it was not granted.

The family could no longer sit in their conservatory or have people to stay because the turbine was so loud and even their six horses were initially frightened by the noise.

They made the decision to contact a solicitor and apply through the courts for help. The farmer decided not to fight the application and switched off the noisy machinery.

On May 20, in a ground-breaking step, the court made a permanent order to prevent ‘any recurrence of the noise nuisance’ from the turbine at Mid Uplaw farm. It has effectively banned the owner from ever switching it on again.

‘The relief and the peace when the turbine was switched off were remarkable,’ Mrs Jackson said. ‘It was really emotional after almost three years living with the noise.

‘I just want people to know that they are not too small to fight these turbines, that they don’t need money because their home insurance can cover it, and that they can be successful.’

The Hastie Stable Faculty of Scottish Advocates put the details of the ground-breaking case on its website. Its statement reads: ‘In an interesting application thought to be one of the first of its kind in Scotland, John Campbell, QC, was instructed to make an application to a sheriff for a noise abatement order.

‘The environmental Protection Act 1990, section 82, provides a little-known but simple method for members of the public to do this for themselves.’

Graham Lang, of campaign group Scotland Against Spin, said: ‘Many people in Scotland are being forced to put up with excessively noisy turbines.

‘Aileen Jackson’s refusal to give up and her pioneering case now offer many others a way out of their misery.’

The turbine owner, Campbell Erskine, could not be reached for comment.

Source:  By Victoria Allen | Scottish Daily Mail | 25 May 2013 |

https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/05/26/peace-at-last-for-family-who-won-court-battle-to-silence-turbine/

Applause broke out the Fairhaven Town Hall (Massachusetts), after the Board of Health voted to shut down the Fairhaven wind turbines from 7 at night until 7 every morning, effective immediately.

The Health Department received over 400 complaints.

 "What people are experiencing is chronic sleeplessness, being woken up in the middle of the night. They are experiencing headaches. What's really, really hard for some of the families is that some of the children are affected" said Louise Barteau, a wind turbine opponent.

The decision brought tears to some who've fought the turbine battle for years.

Dawn Devlin, a wind turbine opponent said, "It's enough for now, so that for the people who are affected, can get some sleep and get healthy again."

ABC6 Chief Political Reporter Mark Curtis said, "For now the shutdown of the wind turbines is a temporary solution, from  7 p.m. to 7 a.m. But if the developer does not find a permanent solution to the noise problems, they could be shut down for good."

The developers of Fairhaven Wind - which operates the turbines – attended the meeting, but declined our request for an interview.

In a surprise move the Board of Selectmen voted that Fairhaven Wind had breached its lease because of noise violations, and it has 30 days to fix them.

Dr. Barbara Acksen, from the Fairhaven Board of Health said, "We had been told that if the DEP found that the turbines were in non-compliance, that they would direct the Select Board to shut them down, and I was very surprised that they didn't."

Testing showed that the wind turbines were too loud, especially at night.Story Source: http://www.abc6.com/story/22552708/fairhaven-wind-turbines-ordered-off-at-night?auto&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8976960

A renewably energy company has proposed a new initiative which offers discounts to residents living near wind farms.

RES says homes and businesses could save £200 per year on their electricity bills.

Environment Minister Alex Attwood is backing the scheme.

The SDLP minister said: "I welcome this initiative from RES. I believe renewable energy is the single biggest economic opportunity for this island and that the transition to a low carbon economy can be developed in a way that respects and benefits local communities.

"I am committed to ensuring that communities living near wind farms gain the right community benefits from hosting renewable energy developments."

Up to 600 local customers could benefit from the proposals, RDS says - and would receive the payout regardless of who their electricity supplier was.

The Larne-based firm has planning applications at Altaveedan near Loughguile, Co Antrim, Barr Cregg near Claudy and Craiggore near Garvagh, in Co Londonderry.

RES said householders and business owners would get the payout regardless of who their electricity supplier was.

Lucy Whitford from the company said: "We are committed to delivering genuine benefits to the communities that host our wind farms and believe that today's launch will be widely recognised as setting a new benchmark for the industry.

"From consulting with communities near both existing and potential development sites, it became clear that being able to reduce electricity bills was a practical benefit that communities would be really keen to see.

"The schemes launched today will see hundreds of residential, business and community properties qualify for an annual discount of £200 per year off electricity bills and continue for the lifetime of the wind farm - around 25 years."

But the payout isn't swaying favour with everyone, as Loughguile resident Barbara Laverty told UTV she doesn't want to see wind farms near her home.

"We're being paid to have them, we don't need them we don't want them, we just want the place to be left in peace," she said.

"We have to live here, they could have put them somewhere where they're not going to obstruct people to and from work, where they're not going to take away from a scenic area."

Story from: http://www.u.tv/news/Plan-for-200-wind-farm-discount/9ed6f502-1bae-4454-a2a0-1e672360c6fd