The Scottish Government wants to see a massive expansion of onshore wind farms.
It yesterday unveiled plans to install 20 gigawatts of onshore wind by 2030.
The industry has welcomed the move, but opponents have been left dismayed.
Scotland currently has just over nine GW of onshore wind installed.
Energy secretary Michael Matheson told Energy Voice: "Scotland has been a front runner in onshore wind and, while other renewable technologies are starting to reach commercial maturity, continued deployment of onshore wind will be key to ensuring our 2030 targets are met."
He added that onshore wind remains the cheapest form of renewable generation, adding that "technologies that take decades to deliver and are expensive for consumers, such as new nuclear fission, are not an acceptable solution".
Support welcomed
Mark Richardson, senior policy manager at Scottish Renewables, said: "The renewable energy industry welcomes the Scottish Government's support for onshore wind and the publication of its final onshore wind policy statement, which makes Scotland the best place in the UK to develop onshore wind projects.
"The policy statement sets out that Scotland's electricity demand will at least double within the next two decades and that developing more onshore wind could create 17,000 jobs and £27.8billion in GVA for the country's economy."
But Graham Lang, chair of the Scotland Against Spin activist group, argued there needs to be clear community benefits.
He added: "The Scottish Government supports wall-to-wall wind farms carpeting the Scottish landscape - resulting in damage to the visual and residential amenity of rural residents in sight and sound of the turbines.
"This causes adverse health effects for many of these residents.
"It appears the Scottish Government has not listened to the concerns expressed by many respondents to this consultation.
'Sad day' for democracy
"It's a sad day for democracy in Scotland and yet another example of suppression of rural voices.
"It's clearly evident that public opinion counts for nothing if it runs counter to the SNP/Green agenda.
" In Scotland, without demonstrable local support, no planning permission should be granted.
"Community benefit can buy local support - and often the community receiving the benefit is miles away and out of sight of the machines."