The New South Wales Government has given planning approval for a wind farm at Gullen Range, near Goulburn in the state's south, despite an ongoing case in the Land and Environment Court. The Government has given the $250 million plan the green light after putting in place measures to protect the powerful owl and the wedgetail eagle.

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District's withdrawal this week from a major Northern California power-transmission project complicates its transition to renewable energy. SMUD planners foresaw using the new high-voltage lines to carry power to Sacramento from new wind, solar and geothermal energy projects envisioned for Lassen County and northwestern Nevada. SMUD cited financial uncertainties for the pullout.

A proposed wind farm in the Kakanui Ranges near Oamaru would be more efficient and lower-cost than a hydro power scheme, an expert witness has told the Environment Court. Meridian Energy is seeking to take water from Lake Waitaki and pass it through a tunnel and power station before discharging the water into the Waitaki River at Stonewall.

North state opposition to a proposed high-voltage power line stretching from Lassen County to the San Francisco Bay area is still fully charged. The day after the biggest municipal utility among those planning the 600-mile Transmission Agency of Northern California (TANC) line pulled out of the project, those opposing it said their fight is long from over. ..."We deserve our meeting," Caldwell said. "TANC should not cancel our meeting because one entity pulled out."

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to grant no more extensions to NYRI, a group of investors who want to build an electrical transmission line from Oneida to Orange counties. In April, New York Regional Interconnect Inc. withdrew its application to the state's Public Service Commission to build a $2.1 billion power line ...NYRI has asked FERC to review its case, trying to keep the project alive.

One of the largest public works projects in the West - 600 miles of high-voltage power lines through Northern California - is on life support after its biggest player abruptly pulled the plug. A magnet for opposition from both owners of properties the transmission lines would cross and environmental activists, the project was promoted as vital to the region's clean-energy future.

The Kakanui Mountains in North Otago are being investigated by a new company for a wind farm to generate electricity. Waitaki Wind, set up recently by former Meridian Energy Ltd chief executive Keith Turner and former Waitaki mayor Alan McLay, is negotiating with landowners on the Kakanui Mountains to get access to start monitoring, according to evidence at the Environment Court yesterday.

Plans to build three 125m-tall wind turbines near two villages have been given the go-ahead. Broadview Energy has been given permission by Stockton Borough Council planning committee to build the wind farm on land between Seamer and Hilton, between Stokesley and Yarm. ...A total of 200 representations of support and 410 letters of objection had been submitted to Stockton Borough Council.

Plans for a wind farm in a picturesque North Dorset setting were sensationally thrown out on July 2. Despite a recommendation to approve the six 120m-high turbines at Silton, near Gillingham, district councillors unanimously voted to refuse the application.

Talk about a bad Internet connection. Operators and engineers at a wind turbine off Interstate 55 near Farmersville said Thursday they hope the blades are turning for good after a weeklong shutdown caused by an interruption of high-speed Internet connections, among other problems. ...A faulty generator wire had been repaired Thursday, and adjustments also were being made to equipment that protects the turbine from lightning.

The Town Board is getting widely differing advice on how to regulate wind turbines. The Orange County Planning Department, which reviewed the town's proposed law governing wind energy conversion systems, advised the town to strictly adhere to the terms in that document.

Ever since the passage of Ohio Senate Bill 221 in May of 2008, which requires all utility companies to purchase a portion of their energy from renewable sources, Ohio has been opened up as a new market for wind energy developers. Tuesday night at ONU, JW Great Lakes Wind LLC held a public meeting to discuss their development of a wind farm west of Dola.

The installation of a massive wind turbine atop Grouse Mountain has been delayed after the lifting device intended to carry the blades -- a kind of giant sling -- did not perform well in tests on Thursday.

Wind turbine makers around the world reported 50 percent fewer orders in the first half of 2009 than a year earlier and the market won’t improve until the last three months of the year, an industry consultant said. Manufacturers have made “widespread” job cuts and prices for turbines in Europe and the U.S. have fallen 5 to 25 percent in the same period.

The New South Wales Government has given planning approval for a wind farm at Gullen Range, near Goulburn, after putting in place measures to protect the powerful owl and the wedgetail eagle. ...Ms Keneally says the the use of some turbines will have to be restricted when the young owls are learning to fly.

A public hearing on a proposed permit law regulating wind energy in the town will be held by mid- July, the Prattsburgh Town Board said Monday night. Board members took more than an hour during a special board session Monday night to scrutinize the proposed law, designed to set permit fees for wind turbines erected in the town.

A public hearing and first reading of amendments to the Clinton County Zoning Ordinance sparked discussion concerning reverse setback limits concerning wind farms Wednesday at the Clinton County Board of Supervisors meeting. Paul Ketelsen, planning and zoning administrator, presented an amendment to the zoning ordinance concerning wind harvesting towers.

The Town Board will use comments from a Tuesday night public hearing to make some changes before it passes a proposed local law regulating wind energy facilities. Town Supervisor Chris Gerwitz told about 80 people at the hearing in the Ashford Community Center that he hopes for passage of the law but that the Town Board must first hold more discussions with the Planning Board and the town attorney.

nder the newly released ocean management plan for the state's coastal waters, Greater Newburyport's coastline could one day be home to 10 wind turbines. Massachusetts officials yesterday released a draft of the plan that spells out rules for setting up wind farms in state waters.

A controversial power transmission line project faces a major setback. ...Thursday night, Action News learned that a major participant in the project has pulled out. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has withdrawn from the $1.5 billion dollar project. SMUD was expected to fund a large share of the project.