Noble Environmental Power, the firm seeking to build a sprawling wind farm northeast of Moorhead, recently encountered turbulence from state officials and the financial markets.

Noble's business practices are being investigated by the New York attorney general's office and an assistant attorney general in New Hampshire has questioned the financial ability of a Noble subsidiary to build and operate a wind farm in that state.

Also, Noble suspended plans last month for a wind project in New York state, citing difficulties in the financial markets.

Nonetheless, the company still hopes to have its proposed $450 million Noble Flat Hill Wind Park in operation by late next year in Clay County. Its 134 turbines would be capable of generating 201 megawatts of power.

Regulators will evaluate Noble Environmental Power's financial ability as part of reviews examining the need for the Clay County project, said Brett Eknes, an energy facilities planner for the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.

The head of a committee in New Hampshire that screens energy projects denied a request for an emergency determination of the Noble subsidiary's financial soundness, but the issue will be taken up before officials decide whether to grant a permit for the wind project, said Michael Iacopino, legal counsel for the evaluation committee.

Those concerns should be a red flag to officials in Minnesota when considering the Flat Hill complex, a wind industry critic said.

"People need to be aware of it upfront," said Lisa Linowes, executive director of the Industrial Wind Action Group, an intervener in the project facing financial scrutiny in New Hampshire.

"If Noble were the developer, I'd look at them in particular, because of the issues," including the need to have funding to cover decommissioning of towers when taken out of service.

Noble has predicted the Flat Hill wind farm would contribute more than $800,000 a year in taxes.

Noble has acknowledged problems in acquiring capital because of the meltdown of the financial markets. A planned public stock offering last fall didn't materialize.

A spokeswoman for Noble Environmental Power noted that three New York wind farms recently went back into operation after a substation was expanded.

"I can also confirm that our plans for the development of the Flat Hill Windpark remain unchanged," Maggy Wisniewski, Noble's communications associated for public affairs wrote in an e-mail.

The New York attorney general's office announced an "institutional resolution" of its investigation, and Noble became one of the first companies to sign that state's Wind Industry Ethics Code, she said.

Wisniewski did not elaborate about the company's financial status, except to say that its registration for an initial public stock offering still is on file, limiting its ability to comment on that issue.