German energy conglomerate E.On will build 83 wind turbines off the coast of Yorkshire that will provide up to 200,000 homes with clean energ. The utility operates 20 wind farm facilities in the UK. Paul Golby, the chief executive of E.On UK, said: "When built, this wind farm will play a vital role in the "ght against climate change."

The development comes amid criticism from some renewable energy organisations that many wind farms are not economically viable as many facilities are being located in inappropriate sites and thus do not catch enough wind.

Mr Golby said the new farm, which will produce about 300 megawatts of energy, would help in the drive to meet stringent renewable energy targets as set by the European Union, with the UK government under pressure to source 20 per cent of all energy from renewable sources by 2020.

PRO-GM FARMERS RIOT AGAINST JOSE BOVE

DISAGREEMENTS over the farming of genetically-modified crops turned violent in France last weekend when police used batons and tear gas to prevent a group of pro-GM farmers from disrupting an anti-GM rally led by celebrity protester Jose Bove.

The farmers were reacting to a series of incidents during the summer in which anti-GM activists have invaded farms and trampled "elds sown with GM maize. Bove and his followers claim a right to destroy the crops, which they say threaten the environment and put farmers under the control of multinational agribusinesses.

Monsanto has been supplying French farmers with a pestresistant strain of maize, MON810, for experimental use.

The French farmers' association favours a high-tech approach to agriculture. But Bove and his followers, who first came to prominence in 1999 when they destroyed a McDonald's franchise, insist on retaining traditional farming techniques.

WINDOWS ON THE FUTURE

IF ALL 25.6m homes in Britain and Ireland were fitted with energy saving recommended windows, CO2 emissions could be reduced by 12.8m tonnes every year thanks to reduced heating requirements. This equates to taking 840,000 cars off the road.

Kevin Richards of Senator Windows said A-rated windows could save Irish householders 500 a year on heating bills for a four-bedroom detached house.

New A, B and C energy ratings from the British Fenestration Rating Council replace U-value ratings, which calculated only the rate of heat loss through the centre of a glass window, and didn't take into account frame materials.