The two local companies behind a proposed, 11-megawatt wind farm in Greenvale Township, may reduce the number of potential turbines in the wind farm to address concerns expressed by township residents. But fewer turbines might not mean a lower power output, according to Sparks Energy CEO Anna Schmalzbauer.

An old gravel pit in Lyon County could end up providing metro area counties with wind power if a long-awaited plan to wire renewable energy from southwestern Minnesota to the metro area materializes. But finding investors to help erect the tall white towers has proved difficult, and plans were scaled down significantly since rural and Twin Cities area counties established a joint committee to build up to a 150-megawatt wind farm.

Shirley and Jon agreed to purchase the $68,000 turbine from Farm Boy, giving the company about $50,000 in payments as work progressed. By late November 2008, the tower was up and the turbine mounted at the top. Underground power cables were trenched to the couple's home. But that's as far as work got. Ten months later their investment should be paying off, spinning out free energy. Instead it sits idle, a source of grief.

Minnesota's power grid would bump up against its limits fairly quickly if wind power developers started building bunches of small wind projects scattered across the state, according to a new study released Tuesday by the state Office of Energy Security. The study looked at whether the transmission system could absorb 600 megawatts of renewable energy from projects that generate between 10 megawatts and 40 megawatts of power.

With their organic gardens and ample land, Andy and Jessie Welsh had the perfect plan. Living in rural Stearns County, the young couple had hoped to be energy self-sufficient and green. ...From the start, the installation was delayed and marked by setbacks. Electricians had a hard time getting the turbine wired to run properly. When it finally did, the turbine ran for just a few days before they received a call from the company instructing them to shut it down.

Plans for Woodbury's first large wind turbine have sputtered to a halt. Officials say odds are good that the turbine - which would have provided half the power for East Ridge High School - will never be built. "Quite frankly, I'd say there is less than a 50 percent chance," said Mike Vogel, director of operations for South Washington County Schools.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission unanimously decided Thursday to table a decision on whether to grant a Site Permit for the New Ulm Public Utilities Commission (NUPUC)'s Large Wind Energy Conversion (LWEC) project in Lafayette Township, Nicollet County. ..."I've not seen a wind turbine project with such acrimony," [State PUC member Betsy] Wergin said. "A heavy hand always creates this result."

Winona County is about to enter the wind-energy business and become the first county in Minnesota to develop renewable energy to benefit taxpayers. County commissioners capped four years of planning on Tuesday night, endorsing a $3.6 million plan to partner with private investors in a corporation to build commercial wind turbines north of Altura, Minn.

Austin Energy, a publicly owned power company and a city department of Austin, Texas, has found itself stuck with surplus renewable power as city residents have declined to sign up for higher rates under the city's voluntary GreenChoice program. Contracting with renewable power providers and offering the service to customers sounded like a good idea to city officials until the price tag came in at up to three times the cost of conventional power.

In as little as one year, Duane Frederickson's rural home could be ground zero for three, 230 ft.-tall wind turbines. ...According to preliminary turbine siting, Frederickson said, one wind generator could be located as little as 500 to 600 ft. away from his home, with the other two within a quarter-mile of his property.

Energy advocates are eyeing wind turbines to create electricity along the North Shore. Bird researchers are studying where the migrating birds fly most often. Once they know, they can advise the energy people on areas to avoid. ..."We know we have a globally significant raptor migration route here that [wind turbines] could have a serious impact on if not done correctly,'' Niemi said. "But we also have these hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of passerines [small birds] that come through here at pretty much the same time that most people don't even know about. We have to look out for them, too.''

State regulators set a bad precedent for other energy projects when they gave the go-ahead to Alliant Energy Corp. to build a $497 million wind farm in Minnesota, two energy customer groups say. The groups filed suit in Dane County Circuit Court on Friday to protest the vote by the state Public Service Commission to approve the project under a less rigorous review procedure than is typically required of major energy projects.

The Winona County Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a pair of wind turbines in Mount Vernon Township. And although the permit was for property owner LeRoy Kronebusch, this project is largely the county's. The county was enabled during the last legislative session to form a limited liability company to partner with investors and construct wind turbines, one of the first in the state.

The corn and soybean fields here could soon be sprouting new growth: windmills. Plans for the Greenvale Wind Farm have passed the first of four major steps toward getting state authorization. The proposed 11-turbine, 10.84-megawatt wind farm would be just northeast of Northfield. The farm would be run by two companies owned by the same extended family.

The emerging wind industry in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest could be shut down by the cost of connecting to high-voltage transmission lines if a proposal by the organization that controls the Midwest's power grid goes through, wind advocates say. The grid operator and some utilities say the wind industry is overstating the effect, but the long-simmering dispute over who should pay for new transmission lines boiled over Thursday.

Farmers, landowners, city and county officials packed a Springfield Community Center meeting room Tuesday to listen to industry experts shed light on wind energy development issues. Pam Bishop of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation said wind forums became popular a couple years ago as the industry grew in popularity.

Woodbury wanted to think green. But now, it is having to think again. The city's ambitious plans to promote renewable energy are hitting a wall that is blocking green efforts coast-to-coast - homeowners' associations. The associations are fighting city efforts to allow solar panels and wind turbines. ...Because associations control about 70 percent of the homes in Woodbury, the resistance of the associations could cripple alternative-energy efforts.

Only 15 months ago, Duluth-based Minnesota Power asked for its first rate increase in 14 years. Now, it wants another one. In seeking a new rate increase before the end of 2009, the utility is citing, in part, the cost of increasing renewable-energy generation; under 2007 state legislation, utilities must generate a quarter of their energy from renewable resources by 2025.

Wind farms are rapidly expanding across the Midwest, and a growing number of residents who live near the wind turbines are complaining about noise. ...Leon Steinberg is CEO of Minneapolis-based National Wind. He said most wind farm developers already use setbacks that exceed state regulations. "I don't think the industry believes it's a significant problem," Steinberg said. "But I believe the industry is concerned with the perception that it may be a problem."

Minnesota regulators are inviting public comments on standards intended to protect residents from wind turbine noise. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, in response to growing concerns from residents in Clay County and elsewhere, is seeking comments on its setback standards for wind farms. ...The MPUC is soliciting comments to determine if current setback conditions "remain appropriate and reasonable," in light of the health department review.