THE FUTURE of the windmill industry in Britain appears bleak now that Taylor Woodrow, the proprietor of the Wind Energy Group (WEG), plans to withdraw. Woodrow, one of the leading players in this sector, is reportedly considering selling the business.

The company, which had jointly owned WEG with British Aerospace till last year, had to shut down its three wind farms temporarily before Christmas after three of the 66 wind turbines were damaged in high winds. Added to this is the growing opposition from environmentalists, who claim that the windmills make too much noise