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"The world's largest home-furnishings chain, Ikea, is set to buy a wind farm in Ireland from Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd, Bloomberg has reported. This is part of a plan by Ikea Group to invest $2.5 billion in wind and solar assets by 2015. The 7.65 megawatt wind farm, being built by Mainstream, is expected to begin generating power by 2014. Ikea will take ownership at that point."

"There is no reliable or consistent evidence that proximity to wind farms or wind farm noise directly causes health effects. That's the finding of the National Health and Medical Research Council's (NHMRC) much-anticipated draft systematic review of the evidence on wind farms and human health, released yesterday. This report takes the number of reviews published on the issue since 2003 to 20. And all have reached the same broad conclusions."

"AN INDEPENDENT study of wind farms and noise is among the first environmental ­priorities of the Abbott government. Incoming Industry Minister Ian ­Macfarlane said he would begin talking to wind farm operators before parliament sits in November to discuss the scope of the inquiry and a law to establish real time monitoring."

"Macarthur wind farm - the largest in Australia and the southern hemisphere - was officially opened in south western Victoria on Friday by the local member and state premier Denis Napthine. The 420MW wind farm, built at a cost of $1 billion by AGL Energy and New Zealand company Meridian, is the biggest single investment in renewable energy in the country since the Snowy Mountain hydro project was completed in the 1970s, the companies say."

"Floating offshore wind turbines could more than meet the electricity demands of the European Union, according to a new report (PDF) from the European Wind Energy Association, first reported by Business Green. In fact, offshore wind turbines could potentially supply over four times the electricity needs of the EU."

"The integration of wind energy generation into the electricity grid in South Australia is a success story. The gross statistic often quoted is the total electricity produced as a percentage of the supply. In the year to June 2012, the electricity generated by wind farms in SA amounted to 3,349 GWh, or 26% of the total supply. This was behind the 50% supplied by natural gas and ahead of coal's 24%."

The World Wind Energy Conference is winding up in Bonn, Germany with the special focus this year being 'Community Power - Citizens Power', recognising the power of the community energy model. We are delighted and humbled to have been awarded the prestigious World Wind Energy Award 2012.

"As I write these words, 7.4 per cent of the electrons powering my laptop come from wind farms - travelling at the speed of light between hundreds of silently whirring generators and the complex electronics in my computer. The output of wind farms over the past nine days - the span of National Science Week - has been particularly excellent, and it's worth diving into some data to have a closer look."

"Yesterday saw the launch by Prime Minister David Cameron of the world's largest offshore wind power plant, the London Array, located in the Thames estuary, approximately 20 kilometres off the Kent and Essex coast.  Owned, developed and built by a consortium consisting of Dong Energy, E.ON and Masdar (Abu Dhabi's state backed renewable energy company), it has a total capacity of 630 megawatts (MW) and will generate enough power to supply 500,000 British households with clean electricity.  It is estimated to reduce annual CO2 emissions by approximately 900,000 tons, equivalent to the emissions of 300,000 passenger cars. Construction involved over 75 organisations and 6,700 people."

"Blustery weather in the middle of August has sent a slew of wind energy records tumbling. NSW wind farms generated 35 gigawatt-hours of electricity in the week starting August 18, beating the previous high for the state by about 9 per cent, consultants Intelligent Energy Systems said."

"South Australia broke another wind power record during August, with the state's wind farms providing the equivalent of just under 40 per cent of the state's power, the Clean Energy Council said today. Clean Energy Council Policy Director Russell Marsh said August had broken records for wind power across the country, with South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales all hitting new highs during the period."

"The Australian state of Victoria is now one of the most difficult places in the world to build a wind farm."

"THE Victorian Opposition will overturn tough wind farm planning laws introduced by the State Government in 2011 if elected to power. Opposition planning spokesman Brian Tee said if elected next year, the Labor Party would repeal the setback that prevents developers building turbines within 2km of a house without the owner's written consent."

"The world's biggest wind turbine manufacturer is joining forces with environmental groups in a global campaign to rouse the "silent majority" of people who support renewable energy to fight back against what it claims is "misinformation" spread by some anti-wind activists that is threatening the industry."

"New laws toss energy jobs to the wind Andrew Bray, September 2, 2011

"Since the Waubra wind farm started generating power in 2009, the town has acquired a dubious reputation: the so-called `Waubra Disease' is now known internationally. But how much sense does it make? Whilst there's a small number of complainants among the population of 500, there are also 30 families hosting turbines on their land as well as many turbine neighbours -- including community leaders - who live happily with the turbines. Neil Barrett has been researching the Waubra situation for the past year. Whilst his attempts so far to understand the issues raised by complainants have been unsuccessful, it has become clear to him that the apparent good health and well-being of the turbine hosts and most of their neighbours deserves to be more widely known. "

But how much can wind farms and solar panels contribute to a solution? Are they really the best option for Australia's energy future? And what part does the media play in the communication of all of this? The Science behind the headlines event (22 May 2012) held by RiAus attempted to answer these questions by combining a panel of scientists with experienced journalists - led by RiAus Programs Co-ordinator James Byrne. Each of the participants' knowledge of their specific field made for a varied and vibrant discussion that covered a wide range of topics. Is the public really aware of alternative energy options?

"The Poatina hydro power station in Tasmania created 820,000 Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) for 2012 generation and was the largest creator of certificates for the year. The next nine largest LGC creators were all wind farms."

"Hawkesdale P12 College is a small, rural school of about 230 students from prep to year 12, located about 15 kilometres north west of the Macarthur Wind Farm, in SW Victoria. We have a history of excellent results at VCE level, award-winning teachers and an innovative ICT program. This letter is seeking support for our education for sustainability programs, specifically to allow the VCE Environmental Science class of 2014 to attend the Actions for Earth Global Youth Summit in January."

"Don't let all those Texas wind farms and massive installations of solar panels in California fool you. The U.S. is not the world leader in clean energy investment. China is. For the second year, an annual Pew Charitable Trusts report, "Who's Winning the Clean Energy Race?", shows that China is the world leader in clean energy investment, with $54 billion in investments in renewables in 2013, well above total U.S. investment of $36.7 billion."