A Vermont-based wind energy company is one step closer to building more than 30 electricity-generating wind turbines on a seven-mile section of the Laurel Hill ridge in northern Lycoming County. On Thursday, the county Planning Commission approved preliminary land development plans submitted by Laurel Hill Wind Energy LLC, whose parent company, Catamount Energy Corp., proposed the project about six years ago. ...

A company that plans to build a wind turbine facility in the southern part of Wyoming County says that it wants to be a good corporate citizen. While BP Alternative Energy sponsored two outdoor events this summer, some people are unhappy with the company, including Richard Ide, whose cabin in Mehoopany is near a stretch of land where transmission lines may be placed. "They (BP) have the resources to drive me into the ground, which is what they are trying to do," Ide, of Tunkhannock, said. "I have hired two attorneys."

The Tioga Preservation Group's land use appeal of the Tioga County Planning Commission's decision to grant conditional approval for a wind farm project has been denied, opening the door for the construction of 124 wind turbines in Tioga and Bradford counties. On Aug. 8, Tioga County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Robert E. Dalton Jr. issued an order denying the appeal of the group, and upheld the planning commission's preliminary conditional approval of the land-use application made by AES Armenia Mountain Wind LLC, according to court documents.

Up to 35 electricity-generating wind turbines are to be built along seven miles of the Laurel Hill ridge in Jackson and McIntyre townships in northern Lycoming County, under the plans of Vermont-based Laurel Hill Wind Energy. On Tuesday, the commission reviewed the plan in detail. "The work session was held to delve into the plan and make sure all our questions are answered," said Kurt Hausammann Jr., commission executive director. "A plan of this scale warranted a separate meeting."

Proposed development of a utility-scale wind turbine at Blue Mountain Ski Area in Carbon County is shaping up as a classic battle between economics and the environment. ...Dan Kunkle, executive director of the 750-acre Lehigh Gap Nature Center near Slatington, said a wind turbine at Blue Mountain would pose a significant threat to hundreds of thousands of raptors and songbirds that follow the 250-mile Kittatinny Ridge through Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York on their annual migrations. ...Kunkle's concerns were echoed by Donald S. Heintzelman of Zionsville, a nationally renowned ornithologist

A community organization's land use appeal in Tioga County regarding a wind farm project on Armenia Mountain has been denied. ...On Jan. 17, Tioga Preservation Group filed a land-use appeal asking the court to reverse the granting of preliminary approval by the planning commission to the preliminary land development plan of AES.

Residents and supervisors are trying to find a wind turbine ordinance that both protects neighbors from unreasonable development and also minimizes township expense. During the Monday meeting, after discussion between supervisors, township solicitor James Yelovich and the board left open the timetable for enactment. However, the board was in agreement that something more than the current county regulations should be in place before serious township turbine development begins.

A company that plans to build a wind turbine facility in southern Wyoming County says it wants to be a good corporate citizen. While BP Alternative Energy sponsored two outdoor events this summer, some people are unhappy with the company, including Richard Ide, whose cabin in Mehoopany is near a stretch of land where transmission lines may be placed. "They (BP) have the resources to drive me into the ground, which is what they are trying to do," said Ide of Tunkhannock. "I have hired two attorneys."

It's not clear how many municipalities have approved ordinances or taken other steps to govern windmills. It doesn't appear to be many. But the reality is that there could be a windmill -- or windmill farm of 20 or more towering wind machines -- coming to a field near you in the not-too-distant future. Thus, at least the possibility of such should be on the radar screen of every municipal governing body in the state.

Shade Township supervisors are revising an ordinance regulating wind turbines that they adopted last year. Supervisors on Thursday authorized township Solicitor Scott Bittner to start the process of claiming that the one-time, $2,500 application fee does not cover the cost of processing, which includes engineering and legal expenses. "It doesn't come close," Shade Supervisor Chairman John Topka said.

Pennsylvania's mountain ridges are on track to teem with industrial wind turbines -- enough that, if placed on the 359-mile Pennsylvania Turnpike, they would stretch seven per mile. The turbines will require clearing a combined 10,000 acres of mountaintops. Each turbine would reach heights that rival Pittsburgh's skyscrapers. They could make their owners more than $300 million in federal subsidies and power more than 1 million homes. But they wouldn't remove a single coal-fired power plant from service.

Two years ago, PPM commissioned a study to learn how many bats could be affected by its proposed wind farm. Biologists hung nets for two nights in 10 locations and caught 138 bats. Cale calculates that if 24 nets -- that's one for each turbine -- were left up through the 14 combined weeks of seasonal bat migration, more than 16,000 bats would be caught. Each net covered an area of about 1,000 square feet. That compares to 66,000 square feet carved out by a turbine's rotating blades. "It's going to be a slaughterhouse," Cale said.

Attorneys on different sides of a windmill dispute in Fayette County can agree on at least one aspect of the 262-foot-tall turbines: the hulking structures can't be camouflaged. "A wind turbine can be seen. You can't hide it," said Dan Rullo, attorney for Iberdrola Resources, formerly PPM Energy. ...The project has been on hold since March 11, when the zoning hearing board denied the company's request for a special exception and variances for 24 of the turbines. The matter went before a judge Thursday after Iberdrola filed a civil suit appealing the board's denial.

The borough has applied for two Department of Environmental Protection grants, each for $168,000, to fund a proposed $173,000 windmill and solar electric system. The borough would pay $5,000 toward the overall cost. Borough Manager Dave Montz said if one or both grants are awarded, the total amount will not exceed $168,000. Council President Mark Sampogna said, however, he is unsure if council will approve the project, even if funding is secured. The height of proposed installation, 100-feet to 120-feet, could have a negative impact on the appearance of the park, he said.

AES, based in Arlington, Va., plans to build 52 turbines in Armenia Township in western Bradford County and 73 more in Richmond, Sullivan and Ward townships in eastern Tioga County. The plan has drawn protest from some area residents, notably in Tioga County, who believe the towers will become eyesores, cause noise pollution and a potentially unpleasant "flickering" lighting effect caused by the whirling turbine blades. The matter is still under consideration by the Tioga County Planning Commission, said Erick Coolidge, chairman of the Tioga County commissioners.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has issued two permits to AES Armenia Mountain Wind LLC for the construction of 125 wind turbines in Bradford and Tioga counties, but according to Tioga Preservation Group member Judi Piccolella, the appeal the group filed earlier this year against a December planning commission decision to conditionally approve the project is still tied up in the Tioga County court system. "We are still waiting for a court date to be set on this," said Piccolella, of Liberty. The appeal deals with the Tioga County part of the project.

The Eaton-Monroe Township Joint Planning Committee reviewed amendments Monday to a zoning ordinance that addresses natural gas drilling and wind turbines. No action was taken on the revised law, which also would regulate outdoor furnaces. ...Included in the revisions would be language to address sound levels and decommissioning of a wind turbine facility.

The Department of Environmental Protection has issued two permits to AES Armenia Mountain Wind LLC for the construction of 124 wind turbines in Bradford and Tioga counties. "This is a landmark occasion for the future of clean, renewable energy in rural north central Pennsylvania," said DEP Northcentral Regional Director Robert Yowell. "When complete, this will be the largest wind energy facility in Pennsylvania, producing about 150-megawatts of electricity ...For more information, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us

The amended ordinance passed by a 3-1 vote. Township officials held a series of public hearings over the past few months, weighing opinions of wind turbine experts and township homeowners. The amended ordinance puts in to place stricter noise and placement standards. And it addresses tougher enforcement issues. Also, a wind turbine is not allowed to be visible from the Horseshoe Curve.

Deeter said her home is about 1,400 feet from the nearest wind turbine, which means the developer does not have to contact her for a waiver to complete the project. Bill Lehman, a planner with the Somerset County Planning Commission, said Edison's wind farm near Deeter's home was reviewed and approved by the board. "All the developer has to do is provide certification of the setback from occupied structures," said Lehman, noting that the distance is determined by the tower's height. "A surveyor is required to certify the setback." After the towers are built, the county has little to do with the daily operation of wind farms, Lehman said.