Johnson was among dozens of area residents seeking answers about the proposed CapX2020 project during an open house at Grandpa's Event Center in Cannon Falls. Earlier in the day, about 100 people stopped in for an open house for the project at the Oronoco Community Center. CapX2020 is a joint initiative of 11 utility companies -- including Rochester Public Utilities and Xcel Energy -- to build a $1.7 billion power line from Brookings, S.D. to La Crosse, Wis.

For Big Stone Wind, being at the cutting edge for community-owned wind power might bring the unkindest cut of all. The Big Stone County group is on the verge of axing its plans for a 20-megawatt wind farm. It was to be owned entirely by land owners and residents of the county. ... Olson blames the possible demise of the community wind power project on the high costs of completing the engineering studies required to access the electrical transmission grid, and to what he charges is Otter Tail Power's unwillingness to support community owned wind.

Minnesota Power's Taconite Ridge wind farm isn't producing nearly as much electricity as anticipated in recent months, with seven of the 10 wind turbines shut off for repairs. The $50 million project, built on 450 acres of land overlooking U.S. Steel's Minntac mine, came fully online early this summer. But this fall, inspectors with the turbine manufacturer discovered defects in seven of the wind turbines' blades. Those turbines were shut down.

Every day the wind is blowing dollars away from District 861 as it sits in legislative limbo over a wind energy project that is otherwise ready to go. Though other municipalities and government bodies are just beginning to wade through the complexity of creating a wind energy initiative, District 861 has been working steadfastly with a cooperative since 2005 on a project that should already be making the district money.

As expected, Medina council members voted unanimously at their Nov. 18 regular meeting to approve the resolution to build a wind turbine in Medina at the Hennepin County Public Works Facility. ...Although only a handful of people attended the Nov. 18 meeting, in comparison to Nov. 5, it was clear that the subject of a wind turbine Medina still aroused controversy.

A wind farm worker is okay following a crane accident Sunday morning. A Winnebago County Sheriff's report confirms Billy Cody was trapped in a crane at the construction site located between Forest City and Thompson.

The Stearns County planning commission last week approved permits for [two meteorological] towers, which will be erected within the next six weeks. ...Although the project is still in the early stages, the company is looking to build a 40- to 95-megawatt farm, with 20-50 towers that each produce about 2 megawatts of electricity. Each tower is about 262 feet high, Daum said.

Winona County signed a development agreement with Juhl Wind, Inc., to build two turbines in Mount Vernon Township, the second partnership on the development effort in three years. County Board member Marcia Ward was the only commissioner who didn't feel comfortable with the agreement, listing concerns with the proposed site, whether the turbines will really perform, and how much control the county will have in its investment here on out.

Winona County still has questions about a plan to build a commercial wind turbine, but it now has a new partner in that effort: Juhl Wind Inc. County commissioners voted 4-1 Thursday, with Marcia Ward dissenting, to sign a contract with Juhl to develop the turbine in conjunction with the county's Economic Development Authority and private investors who would pay most of the cost to build the turbine.

While the focus on renewable energy may be good for the environment and the local economy, the turbines themselves can be a traffic nightmare for those who must figure out how to move the massive parts across the country. Some also say they pose a safety risk. ...Lisa Linowes, executive director of the Industrial Wind Action Group, cited problems caused by large wind loads ..."Under the pressure to get construction done, corners get cut," Linowes said.

Planted off County Road 114 in Mount Vernon Township, Larry Greden's got a wind turbine for sale. It's for sale because it, for the most part, doesn't work. There isn't enough wind at its position to make it profitable, and while Greden says he won't lose money in his four-year wind project because of tax incentives, he isn't making any.

A 306-megawatt wind farm proposed for 77 acres in Brookings and Deuel counties would nearly triple the state's total production of wind energy - adding enough capacity to power 148,000 Midwestern homes. Oregon-based Iberdrola Renewables Inc. wants to build Buffalo Ridge II close to its two existing farms near White. Buffalo Ridge II would join the 54-megawatt Minn-Dakota farm that came online in April and the 55-megawatt Buffalo Ridge I, which should be completed in early 2009.

Winona County's proposal to build a commercial wind turbine is on hold at least another week after commissioners on Tuesday postponed a vote on a revamped version of the project. The county has worked on the project for three years. ...Ward has acknowledged the revenue projections for the new turbine proposal appear promising but has questioned some of its financial assumptions and said the project doesn't fulfill a "core function" of county government. "We're delving into an area that the county is not familiar with," Ward said.

Despite opposition from numerous residents, Medina City Council members have unanimously agreed to welcome a 407-foot wind turbine to the town's rural landscape. Facing a crowd of 75 to 100 residents, about two-thirds of whom opposed the turbine, the council Wednesday night took "a fairly courageous'' stand in favor of the wind generator proposed by Hennepin County, said City Council Member Elizabeth Weir. ...The county will not build the turbine unless it can make enough from the sale of the electricity to pay for the turbine and operating costs and have some money left over to lower the county's electric costs, he said.

The proposed county partnership aimed at building two wind turbines in Mount Vernon Township was discussed Tuesday, when questions from County Board member Marcia Ward generated gavel banging and a bit of controversy. ...Ward questioned the location of the proposed turbines, suggesting that other locations in the county might be better. She said that she hasn't had enough site-specific information or questions answered to make a good decision. She said that a number of constituents had contacted her with doubts about the plans and location, and questioned whether bids ought to be let on the contract.

The county would enter a $3.6 million venture to build and operate two new wind turbines in Mount Vernon Township under a proposal commissioners will consider Tuesday morning. The proposal, which the county Economic Development Authority board has endorsed unanimously, marks the EDA's second try in three years at entering the wind-energy business: A move supporters say could be both environmentally sound and financially savvy.

Farmers and motorists should be watching wind turbines turn in southeastern Goodhue County late next year or early in 2010. National Wind L.L.C., which already is working on four wind farms in Minnesota, now plans to place a fifth in rural areas near the city of Goodhue, a spokeswoman said. ...Goodhue Wind currently plans to erect about 40 turbine towers rated to produce a maximum 78 megawatts of power per hour.

An 80-meter meteorological tower in Beaver Township is one of the first signs that Root River Energy LLC's proposed 300-megawatt wind farm is on Fillmore County's horizon. While most meteorological towers installed today typically are 50 to 60 meters high, National Wind LLC developer Bill Smeaton said the 80-meter tower will be more accurate because most wind turbines are being erected on towers that are 80 meters or higher.

When it came time to start repairing a wind turbine at the ethanol plant on Oct. 15, the project had to be put on hold. ..."The blade has been cracked all summer. It's been frustrating," says Dan Moore, director of project development for Renewable Energy Solutions. When the broken blade was discovered, the turbine furthest from the ethanol plant had to be shut down. All three blades needed to be replaced, says Moore, because we couldn't find one to match the other two.

Up to 39 wind turbines could be spinning across Goodhue and Belle Creek townships as early as next December. Goodhue Wind, LLC. will file a permit application with the Minnesota Public Utility Commission in coming days, said Tiff Thompson, wind energy developer with Goodhue Wind. The proposed project is a large one capable of producing 78 megawatts of wind power on approximately 22 square miles of Goodhue County land. ...Thompson said officials expect 60 percent of the Goodhue Wind project to be locally owned.