The signers represented virtually every type of clean energy - wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, nuclear, combined heat and power, and biomass - and reflected the industry's concern that a loan guarantee program for clean energy projects approved in the stimulus package was stuck in the federal bureaucracy, as has been a similar loan program that predates the stimulus. The letter, seen by Green Inc, cited "disagreements" between the Department of Energy and the Office of Management and Budget.

The wind industry has accused the government of "sabotage" over a proposed fourfold tax increase that could lead to the scrapping of up to half Britain's 150 onshore projects. The hike has infuriated energy groups, which are warning of a wholesale retreat from the struggling sector just weeks after the government unveiled a package of aid measures designed to support it.

Spain plans to change rules on state aid for renewable energy generators, an industry ministry spokesman said on Friday, arousing fears in the sector that its lucrative subsidies may shrink. Under a new regulatory framework that has not yet been finally decided, the government could also change its targets for installed wind capacity, which are now at 20 gigawatts by 2012, rising to 40 GW in 2020, the spokesman said.

Several mob-linked wind projects later were found to be poorly built, and some are now off-line. "This is the amazing thing, that developers got public money to build wind farms which did not produce electricity," Roberto Scarpinato, a veteran anti-Mafia prosecutor in Sicily, told the Financial Times newspaper.

Lost financing, low prices for natural gas and political uncertainty have stymied a potential boom in the U.S. wind power industry this year. Investment in new wind power capacity that exploded from $3 billion in 2005 to $17 billion in 2008 was projected to fall to $13 billion this year. The fallout for the U.S. industry, the world's largest producer of wind power at 28,000 Megawatts, could usher in a period of consolidation, analysts said.

Project delays and cancellations across the renewable energy industry mean that this year's gathering at the world's biggest annual wind energy conference and exhibition will be keen for word of stimulus funds to help get projects back on track. Investment in renewables has been delayed or even withdrawn as the credit crisis has stemmed the flow of capital.

A Friday ruling by the State Supreme Court Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department, invalidated the 12-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes deal given to the power generator by the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency in October 2006. ...The IDA had granted the power company a 12-year, $192 million PILOT in exchange for the company's promise to pursue a shot at building a state-subsidized clean coal plant under former Gov. George Pataki's Advanced Clean Coal Initiative.

The U.S. wind power industry has huge potential, both onshore and off, but it's clearly looking for a hand from the government ...But will all that money be enough? Like most businesses these days, Clipper and other wind power companies have been hit by the down economy.

The town of Freedom continues to work on the question of how to tax three wind turbines built last fall. Before any taxes can be levied, the town must decide how much the development is worth. In a statement submitted to the town, Beaver Ridge Wind LLC - named for the location of the wind development - declared the cost of the turbines to be $9,765,826, or $2,170 per kilowatt.

The intent to prevent California's utilities from using out-of-state wind and solar generation to meet the new 33% RPS requirement is not obvious from the provisions of the bills. The exclusion results from a change in the requirements concerning the "delivery" of generation to California. Under California's current RPS legislation, in order to qualify as an eligible renewable energy resource such that California's utilities can count that generation against their RPS requirements, out-of-state generators are required to deliver the electricity to California simultaneous with its generation.

Austin Democrats are hammering out a compromise with party leadership that would boost wind tax revenue for townships at the expense of school districts. Reps. Robin Brown and Jeanne Poppe have been fighting to restore a wind tax benefit for schools set to expire on July 1. Last year, Minnesota schools received $146,000 from the wind energy production tax.

Town Councilor Rod Carr recused himself from a 4-2 vote awarding First Wind of Massachusetts a 20-year tax break Monday after he was accused of a conflict of interest in working as a paid lobbyist for landowners who would benefit from the project. ...Carr denied any unethical conduct, saying that he was "really disappointed" at being accused after more than 20 years of honest public service to the town. He recused himself after a 15-minute recess in which he unsuccessfully attempted to telephone his attorney for advice.

With economic breezes no longer at its back, Iowa's wind energy industry hopes the three-year renewal of federal tax breaks will regenerate the momentum that has made Iowa the nation's second-largest wind producer. "The renewals of those tax incentives will be a huge help to us," said Estherville insurance man Al Blum, who is putting together wind farm projects in Emmett and Dickinson counties.

Property values are soaring in this West Texas community, and the reason is obvious. Looming on the northern horizon, hundreds of new wind turbines dot the once-barren hills. Ordinarily, much of the tax dollars generated by the turbines would go to the state's "Robin Hood" school finance plan, which requires property-rich districts to share their wealth with those less fortunate. But that won't happen in Sterling City, at least not if school officials have their way.

Many of the north country's 165 businesses that receive Empire Zone tax breaks could lose the benefit under the state's new budget agreement. State officials say the Empire Zone program is being abused by companies that are getting tax breaks without generating new jobs. ...In the new regulations, a measure is included to kick out businesses that have not matched dollar-for-dollar wages and capital investments with the tax breaks they received.

A consulting firm will propose a tax-increment financing zone for representing Beaver Ridge Wind during a meeting tonight. Selectman Ron Price said Tuesday that the select board and the public alike will be able to comment on the proposals. The meeting in the basement of the Freedom Congregational Church begins at 6. Price said that Eaton Peabody of Augusta has put together TIF plans on behalf of the town.

Energy companies have warned the government that unless they get £2 billion in "immediate" state aid several offshore wind farms will be scrapped - and this would leave Whitehall's pollution-reduction targets in tatters. Companies have put off giving the green light to several big projects, such as the £3 billion London Array in the Thames estuary and Npower's £2.2 billion Gwint y Mor farm off the coast of Wales, until the government decides whether it will stump up more cash to offset building costs that have doubled in the past three years.

The Sargeant, Minn., resident said many of his fellow farmers signed agreements to have the wind turbines on their property, thinking they were helping their local school districts. But starting July 1, those dollars will no longer mean a boost in local school funding. And that has Gronseth upset. "The more I talked to people about this I just said, 'Enough is enough.' So I offered to help," he said.

Sixteen residents crowded into the tiny Freedom Town Office for the most recent meeting of the Board of Selectors after word circulated that Selectman Ronald Price, who owns the land under the turbines, had called a special meeting with representatives of Eaton Peabody, a law firm hired by Competitive Energy Services, the parent company of wind developer Beaver Ridge Wind. The meeting was on the subject of establishing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for the turbines.

Two major wind energy projects in New Brunswick have been put on hold indefinitely, putting a wrench in NB Power's plans to use significantly more wind energy by 2010. ..."It has made liquidity for capital projects scarce," said Eric Schneider, a spokesman for the company. Schneider said that it's "far more expensive to build and get financing in the market situation we're dealing with right now."