A major blade manufacturing plant in east Windsor appears to be only a starting point for global wind-power giant Vestas Wind Systems. The company, based out of Denmark, announced Thursday that it now has intentions to build a research and development center in the United States. "Today, Vestas is a technology enterprise. If we want to be market leaders, we have to be present and drive the development, where the market is. And that is, amongst other places, in the U.S.," said Finn Strom Madsen, president of Vestas Technology R&D in a press release. The center is expected to be operating in 2009 and could employ up to 80 people at full capacity in 2010.

In 2005, Tyrone Borough Forester, Paul Noll, of Noll's Forestry Services, Inc. wrote the Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Plan based on the 3,800 acre borough watershed property. Recently, Noll issued a recommendation/ suggestion summary report on the property concerning the possible Gamesa Energy USA wind farm installation and the issues that need to be addressed at the watershed property as a whole. ...In Noll's recent report, he stated that he would be "in favor of having the wind towers erected on the watershed property because you will be disturbing only a small area of the property, but the money you receive from the towers can be used to improve other areas of the watershed property."

It's back to the '70s for the south metro, as a new generation of major powerlines is being proposed for rural land -- and activists and farmers begin to meet. ...The companies are seeking state approval for a cluster of major lines. Two of them -- 345-kilovolt lines with towers as high as 150 feet, one stretching 230 miles west to South Dakota and the other 150 miles southward to Wisconsin -- would cross Dakota County. No specific pathway has yet been laid down, but the general outlines of the corridors -- mostly 10 to 12 miles wide -- are clear. Points of controversy are expected to include whether the lines are needed, whether they pose health risks and how much landowners should be paid.

...he also noted that there was a two-year waiting list for the turbines to be delivered due to the surging global demand for wind turbines and shortage of manufacturing capacity. This is one reason Wel is seeking a 10-year term longer than usual to give effect to any consents that are granted. It also means Wel can't determine exactly what machines will be used at the site, because they will be subject to price and availability.

A proposed wind farm project for Higgins Mountain is causing some concern for the operators of Ski Wentworth and others in the Wentworth Valley-Folly Lake area. "I want to make it clear that we are in favour of renewable energy and all of the benefits that come with it, but we do have some concerns about the proposal that will see 400-foot (120-metre) turbines being erected right across the valley from the ski hill," Ski Wentworth spokeswoman Leslie Wilson said Monday. Ottawa-based 3G Energy Corp. proposes to build 66 turbines along a seven-kilometre stretch of the Cobequid Mountains. They would be on a ridge on the opposite side of the valley from the ski hill. The project is among the largest ever proposed for Nova Scotia.

A project currently underway aimed at connecting Malta to the European electricity grid is gathering steam, with work aimed at determining the appropriate regulatory and operating framework in progress with a view to preparing the project to move from the feasibility to the implementation phase. ...With electricity generation accounting for 63 per cent of Malta's greenhouse gas emissions, the initiative will be crucial if Malta is to meet EU climate change directives, as well as the European Commission's target of achieving a 20 per cent reduction from 1990 carbon dioxide levels. While the Marsa Power Station is due to close down, Malta is also investigating the possibility of sourcing natural gas as an alternative to the liquid fossil fuels currently in use at the Delimara and Marsa power stations.

Kevin Luke of Buford-based Z-4 Energy Systems wants to develop a way to save wind energy for when the wind's not blowing. He's working on a commercialization plan for wind-powered water pumping, incorporating compressed air storage. Luke points out that wind is variable and energy storage is needed to provide controlled, consistent water pumping. He seeks to use air compressors, similar to those found commercially, powered by a wind turbine rotor. The driving force behind his efforts is that the wind blows at variable speeds and when there is not enough wind to turn the turbine, the stored air can continue to be used to pump the well. Currently, wind electric and solar powered systems use lead acid batteries for storage, which don't perform well in the cold weather and have a short lifespan.

George Gantz, a Unitil vice president, unveiled some company dreams this past week to reinvent the big regulated utility. He told Rep. Naida Kaen, D-Lee, and other stakeholders for "distributed energy" that Unitil would like to work itself out of business as a traditional energy retailer. Distributed energy, a new buzz word, is made by small generators scattered across the electric grid, often remote from the big power plants. ...Under existing law, that would be like McDonald's buying burgers from its patrons. But everybody would win if Unitil could claim the renewable energy credits a business or homeowner can earn under a new state law also sponsored by Fuller Clark. It rewards sustainable energy sources.

"I currently have, in Minnesota, 23,000 megawatts of interconnection requests for wind," says Moeller, who oversees new connections for MISO. Another 23,000 megawatts of future wind power in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin also is in line. In comparison, the entire Twin Cities metropolitan area typically draws about 6,000 megawatts of electricity out of the transmission system. While some have been on record for years, a sudden barrage of requests -- about 22,000 megawatts' worth -- has burst into MISO since Sept. 10. Minnesota's new renewable energy law, probably triggered some.

According to Malta’s autumn update of its National Reform Programme, the government is working with the German consultants on preparation plans that envisage a 200MVA electricity connection with Sicily. Such an interconnection would be coupled with more irregular sources of energy such as the proposed multi-megawatt offshore wind farm project as well as the generation of electricity from waste. ...The connection with the European power grid is integral for the emergence of the wind farm project. As the report, presented yesterday, states, “An interconnection to the European electrical network is unavoidable for the integration of an intermittent source of energy such as the proposed multi-megawatt offshore wind farm, given the stability issues that would otherwise arise in a small isolated system such as currently in Malta.”

As consumers, we pay the full market price for wind-generated electricity plus the value of renewable energy credits mandated by the Legislature. As federal taxpayers, we donate another two cents per kWh, and support the fast depreciation (tax savings) allowed wind installation entrepreneurs. Mars Hill’s units produce 1 percent of Maine’s electricity and 0.01 percent of New England’s. The Kibby Mountain proposal of 44 three-MW units is projected to produce about .37 billion kWh per year. The number of kilowatt-hours supplied by the wind is very small. The combined output from Mars Hill and Kibby Mountain would be about 5 percent of Maine’s or .5 percent of the total New England grid. The real cost of wind energy, if broken out on our electric bill, would be a shock.

The European Union has taken the lead on many climate change issues - from ratifying the Kyoto Protocol to passing laws to require and encourage the development of renewable energy. Why, then, are so many European energy companies looking to invest in the United States? For António Mexia, the chief executive of Energías de Portugal, the answer is simple. "The United States is the fastest-growing market in the world for wind power," he said. "If we want to be a leader, we have to be here." ..."In America you can put up a 200- or 300-megawatt wind park," Mexia said. "You can't do that in Europe" because of the lack of open space for such large wind farms. There is also more potential for growth in the United States, where wind farms account for barely 1 percent of installed generating capacity. In some EU countries, that figure is as high as 10 percent.

A year after a bitter congressional fight over offshore drilling for oil and gas, the Bush administration now wants to tap the ocean's winds, waves and currents as a source for alternative energy. This time, though, environmental interests are likely allies, not vocal opponents. ...The federal government will entertain bids beginning this week for companies to put testing equipment like meteorological towers in the ocean waters to gather data on wind, wave or current energy.

For $50,000, Oklahoma can get the same kind of comprehensive study Kansas got from Southwest Power Pool on the state's wind power resource. The plan could be finished by spring 2008 and would provide the guidance state leaders need to form a plan for new electricity generation and transmission upgrades. ...Bary K. Warren, director of transmission policy and compliance for the Empire District Electric Co. in Joplin, Mo., cautioned the group to keep projections for future wind generation development modest. Companies may put out press releases indicating their intent to build future capacity, but unforeseen developments may significantly limit the amount of wind generation that actually gets built, he said.

AWS Truewind, a Latham firm, will forecast winds 48 hours in advance under a two-year contract with the New York Independent System Operator to make it easier for turbine companies to offer more guaranteed power in advance. Forecasting also will make it easier to manage the grid by giving a clearer picture of how much wind power will be coming, which in turn should reduce the amount of power supplied from polluting sources like coal- and oil-fired power plants.

North Dakota's wind-power industry has grown dramatically in recent years and shows signs of continuing the upward trend. However, the industry also faces increasing obstacles in exporting electricity because of transmission bottlenecks. That was a message industry figures made in presentations Wednesday to the Empower North Dakota Commission, a new board that will help steer state energy-development policy, at North Dakota State University.

THE State Government's five mini wind turbines were put on city roofs as a political exercise and will not work effectively, a key association says. Alternative Technology Association SA branch president Alan Strickland has offered to put the Government in touch with experts who are prepared to assist with proper placement of the turbines. "I believe this has been a political exercise that wasn't properly thought out," he said. ...Each turbine is supposed to produce 1.5kW - or between a third to a half of a household's electricity requirements - under the right conditions.

The Project Hayes site, which received consent from the Central Otago District Council, is located to the south of Ranfurly on the Lammermoor Range, about 70 km north-west of Dunedin. The consent decision allows for the full proposal of 176 turbines generating up to 630 megawatts ...Dr Turner expressed concern that the HVDC link between the North and South islands is being poorly managed. "Not only is the charging regime unfair to South Island generators, it disadvantages new South Island generation projects - making them more expensive at the very time South Island security of supply is under real generation pressure.

OGE Energy Corp is prepared to build a new high-voltage transmission line to accelerate development of wind generation in Oklahoma, the utility company chief executive said on Tuesday. Oklahoma City-based OG&E Electric Services said new transmission is needed to unlock the potential for power to flow from future wind farms in the western part of the state to populated cities in the east. Chief Executive Officer Pete Delaney said OG&E, Oklahoma's largest electric utility, plans to significantly increase its wind production from 170 megawatts to 770 MW over the next five years to meet increased customer demand for renewable power.

Several new North Country energy projects are in the works, but questions remain on how to transmit to homes and businesses the power they would generate. Experts at an ad hoc energy stakeholders meeting held Oct. 16 at the State House in Concord generally agreed that construction on several proposed wind farms and wood-fired power plants in Coos County will take three to four years - and perhaps longer if New Hampshire hopes to convince other New England states to cover 90 percent of the costs. ...Donna Gamache of PSNH said the hard part is guessing which players are serious and have the stamina to wait out the regulatory approval process. She said what she called "the California model" would may be "the easiest way to absorb the risk." In California, a regional electric grid underwrote the cost to transmit new solar and geothermal power to the populated coast in the hopes that future developers would pay their share as they hooked into the lines. If PSNH tackles a project like that without state help, experts fear ratepayers would eat the stranded costs if too few plants came on line.