Mitsubishi Power Systems announced it would bring 400 new jobs to Fort Smith with a new, $100-million wind turbine plant, but the U.S. International Trade Commission may rule against the move. ...General Electric, Mitsubishi's top competitor, is trying to block the plant. Several area lawmakers are asking the trade commission to consider their plea for Mitsubishi.

General Electric Co.'s effort to keep wind turbines made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. out of the U.S. may hinder Arkansas's plan to become the "Silicon Valley of wind manufacturing." The state has spent two years luring wind-related manufacturers, including Denmark's LM Glasfiber AS and Germany's Nordex AG. In October, Mitsubishi announced plans to build a $100 million wind-turbine assembly plant.

The idea sounds like fantasy at first - placing 180,000 underwater turbines along 500 miles of the Mississippi south of St. Louis and converting river currents into electricity. Yet a Massachusetts-based company hopes to do just that by 2013 and has secured preliminary permits from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for 55 proposed sites in seven states - including nine in Arkansas.

Members of the Planning Board on Thursday heard an extensive wind research report with preliminary regulations from county planner Courtney McNair. McNair emphasized in an interview following the meeting that these are very preliminary and it could be up to three months before the Planning Board decides to have Butler draft an ordinance on wind turbine regulations. ...There are several factors being looked at - from the color of the turbines to their height to setbacks from other property.

LM Glasfiber, a wind blade manufacturer, has announced that it will halt production at its facility on Scott Hamilton Drive in Little Rock, laying off about 150 workers. The company blames the nationwide credit crunch and delays in wind projects. A press release says the company is preparing for "weaker growth in the short term."

It's too soon to say how members of the Arkansas Property Rights Association will view the project, said Don Day, the group's president. "I doubt there will be a lot of opposition," he said. "I would think the people of Arkansas would recognize the need for alternative forms of energy. I think they would probably approve it." On the other hand, he said, environmentalists don't want the wind towers in their own backyard. Dan Scheiman, bird conservation director for Audubon Arkansas, said the group would keep a close eye on the project. "The National Audubon Society is in favor of wind farm energy. But our stance is, wind farms need to be properly sited and need to be sure there's not an extreme amount of take," he said, referring to birds being misplaced, killed or their habitats negatively affected.

They're there to see the Bluegrass Ridge Farm, the first commercial wind farm in Missouri. It's enormous, a commanding and surreal presence that changed the landscape of the northwest Missouri town. ...As the turbines' massive blades cut through the wind, it sounds a bit like a rumbling jet passing overhead. It's way more than Charlie Porter bargained for. Porter, who owns 20 acres in King City, has no turbines on his property but several near his home. Those turbines, he said, "have ruined our lives." "If you don't live underneath one of them and you drive down the highway, they look kind of neat," Porter said. "But for us, it's been a nightmare. They've ruined the equity in our home. The noise keeps us up at night. The shadows invade our home." Other concerns about wind farms include disruption to the land, visual blight and the risk they pose to birds.

Before we put "The Windy State" on our license plates, let's note that only one of these plants - LM Glasfiber - is up and running, and lately it's been turning out almost as many announcements of layoffs and cutbacks as it has windmill blades. The others, also afflicted by economic downturn, are moving slowly, if at all, toward actual production.