The state renewable energy law that made it feasible for controversial new "wind parks'' will also cost New Hampshire consumers in higher electricity bills. They may pay $2 billion by the year 2025 under the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) -- an extra $5 a month, a University of New Hampshire study concludes. But these are just estimates. The state's consumer advocate and utility companies say there really is no way at this point to figure the actual cost.

The residents are the first to take advantage of a newly approved town zoning ordinance. The Small Wind Energy Systems Ordinance, which was approved during the March 10 election, is intended to complement recent New Hampshire legislation, which established a process of review for small wind energy projects. ...According to Goodman, the noise produced by the turbine will be 54 decibels from 100 feet away.

One year to the day after Granite Reliable Power filed its application for a 99 megawatt wind power plant in Coos County, the state's Site Evaluation Committee yesterday approved a certificate for wind operation on the private land. The 60-page decision, still subject to appeal in the state's Supreme Court. will still require a federal permit.

The state has signed a $4 million contract with ConEdison Solutions of Burlington, Mass,. to supply it with wind-generated power through May 2010. The contract was signed after a bidding process that involved traditional and renewable energy suppliers, according to Gov. John Lynch's office. Lynch in a statement said the contract helps the state move toward its eventual "25/25" goal "" that renewable energy sources provide 25 percent of all power consumed in New Hampshire by 2025.

Granite Reliable Power will have to wait several more weeks to get the final order and certificate of site and facility for its proposed 99 mega-watt wind farm in Phillips Brook. ...While the SEC order is a big step for the project, Granite Reliable Power must still get permits from the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineering and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Officials from Vermont Community Wind have organized a bus trip to a wind farm in New Hampshire to try and build support for a large scale wind farm they're proposing in and around the Rutland County town of Ira. Company officials say about 35 residents from the area will travel to Lempster, New Hampshire, on Saturday where a 24-megawatt wind farm has recently been built.

A 33 turbine wind farm on land in central Coös was given the green light by the state Site Evaluation Committee on Wednesday, June 10. The SEC voted unanimously, 7 to 0, to issue the needed state permit - a Certificate of Site and Facility - to Granite Reliable Power. Although a very significant step, gaining the SEC's approval is by no means the final hurdle over which GRP must jump.

A plan to put 33 wind turbines on forested ridgelines in Coos County won unanimous approval yesterday from the state panel charged with reviewing new renewable energy facilities. Members of the Site Evaluation Committee added a long list of conditions to its approval, many regarding the environmental impact.

After a sorely disappointing eight-month trial period, the town of Kittery, Maine, is shutting down the 50-kilowatt wind turbine it installed at the Transfer Station last fall. Real-time data from the 124-foot turbine shows that it generated less than 15 percent of the electricity expected between October and May.

Once upon a time, the primary questions to ask about upgrading the electrical transmission line in Coos County were how much it would cost and who would pay for it. After all, without such a line, projects for power generation from renewable resources like wind and wood, seen as key contributors to economic development in the hard-hit region, would come to a standstill. But lately, other questions have been raised: How much of an upgrade will be needed? And will it be needed at all?

The wind farm proposed for central Coös County has cleared another hurdle. The seven-member Site Evaluation Committee (SEC) voted unanimously on Wednesday afternoon that constructing and operating the 33-turbine 99-megawatt wind farm would not have unreasonable adverse effects on the natural environment, water and air quality, and public health and safety.

Several hurdles remain regarding the proposed St. Lawrence and Cape Vincent wind farms and their future connection to the regional electrical system. One of them is a route to the grid. Acciona Energy North America, developer of St. Lawrence Wind Farm, has taken the lead on a possible route that would follow the abandoned New York Central Railroad corridor. But that corridor also contains the regional water line operated by the Development Authority of the North Country.

A proposed $275 million wind park in Coos Country has meet the statutory criteria to go forward. The Site Evaluation Committee yesterday agreed the project proposed by Granite Reliable Power LLC did not adversely affect the natural environment, water and air quality or public health and safety, but will decide what conditions will be placed on the project at a later date. ...The evaluation committee also voted yesterday to give itself another month to make a final determination on the project. The deadline is now June 30.

After recessing deliberations for over an hour on Wednesday afternoon to consult in executive session with its own counsel, Site Evaluation Committee (SEC) chairman Tom Getz suspended all deliberations on whether or not to issue a Certificate of Site and Facility to Granite Reliable Power (GRP), the company that seeks to build 33 wind towers in Millsfield and Dixville, both Unincorporated Places in Coös County.

Dr. Kent also said he believed it would be important for the state Fish and Game Department and scientists from the Appalachian Mountain Club to verify - ground-truth - the condition of the 1,700 acres that would be set aside as a mitigation package to compensate for habitat loss on Mt. Kelsey and Dixville Peak. "We need to know the details, what's really on the ground, to understand if it's "tit-for-tat" - that is, the same spruce-fir habitat that will be lost on those ridgelines," Dr. Kent said. "No evidence has been presented."

Concerns about the safety of birds and bats were voiced at a state hearing yesterday on a proposal to construct a wind-energy park in Coos County. ...A subcontractor for the developer conducted a study of the birds and bats in the project area, but Don Kent, a member of the site committee and the Natural Heritage Board, said it was inadequate.

Committee member Don Kent of the Natural Heritage Board said he felt the pre-construction bird studies were inadequate and indicated he will seek a year of additional bird studies as a condition of the permit. The committee requested more information on the collapse of a wind turbine in Alton, N.Y, owned by GRP's parent company, Noble Environmental. Also requested was an onsite habitat assessment of the land proposed as mitigation in the settlement agreement.

Vermont Public Power Supply Authority based in Waterbury wants to build three turbines on an old Air Force radar base in East Haven. The project would provide renewable power for approximately 4,000 homes.

Granite Reliable Power's $275 million plan to build a wind park in Coos County got a step closer yesterday to permitting. ...The committee still has to determine how the project will affect air and water and other environmental aspects as well as public safety and health. The committee reconvenes Monday at 10 a.m. at the Public Utilities Commission to take up those issues.