David Yoder's been farming for more than a third of a century. He's at least the fourth generation of his family who have lived and worked on the land on Cowpath Road near the border of Franconia and Salford townships that has been farmed "forever," Yoder said. Adding a 140-foot cellular tower and a power-generating wind turbine with a blade that reaches to a height of 163 feet will give the farm reduced electric bills and rental income from the cell tower and is similar to adding animals, crops or farm buildings, he said.

Opposing perspectives rose from residents who gathered Monday to probe the proposed alternative energy development site along Big Sewickley Creek Road in Bell Acres. Many borough residents questioned the potential noise level and electromagnetic presence of the site, which would include a 66-foot wind turbine. Others questioned the potential threat to great blue herons that nest along Big Sewickley Creek. Some questioned the visual impact on the borough's landscape.

Bell Acres Council will soon decide whether one more footprint will disturb the great blue herons and other residents. An alternative-energy demonstration site - involving a single 66-foot-high wind turbine, a 15-foot-high turbine, some solar panels and a trailer - has been proposed by a collaboration of Metal Foundations (Ambridge), Vox Energy (Allison Park) and Jet Industries (Ellwood City) for a site near the intersection of Big Sewickley Creek Road, also designated as the Red Belt, and Turkeyfoot Road.

Township resident Gary Swope, who has expressed concerns about the impact of the turbines at past meetings, said he had given the supervisors a letter prior to the meeting listing some problems three residents in Somerset County have experienced. In one instance, a homeowner some 2,500 - 3,000 feet from a turbine said the noise at times was similar to a jet engine and added that 30y people in that area are concerned with the aesthetic impact that turbine have on the landscape. In a second instance, a woman who lives 1,300 feet from a turbine said she can hear the noise inside her closed house and that she has measured the noise level there at 55-65 decibels.

Logan Township supervisors will allow a wind farm developer to build the nation's next-to-tallest wind turbines in Chestnut Flats. Supervisors voted 4-to-1 Thursday night to allow Gamesa Energy to build 19 turbines north of Altoona, making them visible from 17th Street, Mill Run Road, Old Mill Run Road and along Route 36. Because of the vote, the turbines can placed on 335-foot towers, rather than 270 feet as allowed by ordinance.

In 2007, Gamesa Energy USA agreed to allow the Windber Area Authority to oversee the impact the proposed 30-turbine Shaffer Mountain Wind Farm would have on the watershed. As part of the deal, the authority imposed certain conditions on the development. Now, as the state Department of Environmental Protection is considering Gamesa's permit for the wind project, the authority wants to make sure the state is taking those conditions into account.

The company that pursued building wind turbines in Logan Township has a new plan with taller versions that are confined to the township's wind zone. Representatives for Gamesa Energy recently submitted revised plans for a wind farm of 19 turbines in the Chestnut Flats area zoned for that type of land use. The company previously proposed building 25 wind turbines, with 17 inside the zone and eight outside.

Black Creek Township residents' concerns weren't eased by testimony Thursday from a wind power company that plans to construct 22 turbines on the Buck Mountain ridge. ...Resident Edward Vergari said the township should collect more information and mandate that all applicable state, county and local permits be secured by Penn Wind prior to zoning approval.

Construction is to begin on 35 new wind turbines in the mountains of eastern Somerset County. E.ON Climate and Renewables North America Inc. has received approval to place construction trailers at the Stonycreek Wind Farm site along Route 30 near Reels Corners.

Despite the impending layoff of 184 blade production employees, Gamesa Inc. will install new equipment at its Falls plant as it moves forward with other areas of production. ...The DEP discovered several violations at the plant and Gamesa was forced to pay $639,161 in state penalties. A compliance consent order was issued to ensure the installation of the oxidizer.

A wind farm proposed for Southwestern Wyoming County has some residents wondering how it may affect the county's watersheds. The 87-turbine farm proposed by BP Alternative Energy will encompass 14,861 acres in Eaton, Noxen, Forkston and Mehoopany townships. ..."The runoff is probably not going to be my problem, but it may be the problem of people who live at the bottom of the mountain," Mr. Ide said. "I'm concerned for the people below."

With two pipes beneath a road clogged in Noxen, Supervisor Carl Shook is concerned about runoff from a proposed wind farm in Wyoming County. "There is going to be a lot of water running off the mountain," Shook said. Shook was one of about 30 people last Wednesday who attended a public hearing ...The state Department of Environmental Protection held the hearing to receive public comment as it reviews an application from BP for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.

Part of a wind turbine project proposed in Logan Township, north of Route 36 near Avalon Road, will be visible not only to nearby residents, but to those who live and drive as much as five miles from the site. "I totally oppose this," Avalon Road resident Mark Twardon said. "You're going to be coming down 17th Street, and instead of the mountains, you're going to see these huge towers." Twardon was one of 18 people who asked questions and offered comments, mostly in opposition.