5 January 2007
The soaring price of consumers' gas and electricity bills is cited as one of the reasons behind the increase in investment in renewable energy sources like solar power.
On an international scale, New Energy Finance estimates that £36 billion was spent globally on clean or renewable energy or technology last year, according to a report in the Financial Times.
A mixture of government support, high energy prices, carbon trading and concerns about the security of energy supplies have all paved the way for wind turbines to be built both off and on-shore, providing green electricity for thousands of local residents.
With 2007 marking the ten-year anniversary of the first Scottish wind farm, Scotland in particular has seen a boom in the number of wind farms planned and built over the last decade.
With 40 wind farms in operation in the country accounting for 40% of the Scotland's renewable energy sources, it appears that wind power is the way forward.
Not all consumers are enamoured with the idea however; a small community in Perthshire has taken issue with the turbines, claiming that the machines spoiled the natural landscape.
Speaking to the BBC, Gillian Wilson, chair of the Amulree and Strathbraan Windfarm Action Group, said: "I don't think the public appreciate the destruction caused by the construction of a wind farm. You are turning a rural landscape into an industrial one."
Ms Wilson went on to say that the wind farms were also damaging Scotland's tourism industry, since the turbines ruined the beautiful surroundings which she believed were the main draw for visitors.
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