The owner of the state’s largest wind farm might build an even larger complex north of Great Falls if a 218-mile merchant transmission line is constructed between the city and Lethbridge, Alberta. The developer of that line says construction could be done by this time next year, assuming government regulators in both countries sign off. The project still is being reviewed by government agencies.

The German feed-in system, called the Erneuerbare Energieen Gesetz (Renewable Energy Law or EEG) guarantees producers of sustainable power a fixed price per kWh fed into the grid. Since the introduction of the EEG in April 2000, the amount of renewable energy in Germany has more than tripled. Last year saw the production of 20,000 GWh of wind power and 18,000 GWh from other renewable sources. The share of renewables in the electricity mix has increased from 3.01% in 2000 to 10.53% in 2006. The target for 2012 is 20%. At the same time, the increasing share of renewables confronts the power sector with growing pains. They are facing an increasing input from highly variable sources. For instance, in 2004 the grid feed-in from renewable sources has varied between 1.8 and 14 GW.

WORCESTER— Absent interest in lower-priced fuels, New Englanders should brace for continued high electricity prices, the byproduct of a regional system heavily dependent on oil, natural gas and coal, the head of the region’s power grid said yesterday.

A moratorium should be placed on new wind turbine developments until councils are given clearer guidance from government, environment minister Fergus Ewing has been told. MSPs warned that local communities feel they are "under attack" from energy firms whose desperation to snap up land across Scotland "resembles the prospecting days of the American gold rush".

Cries of joy and disappointment greeted the town hall’s announcement that plans for a wind turbine on Hackney Marshes to generate green energy after the 2012 Games have fallen flat. Mayor of Hackney Jules Pipe admitted this week that the council had shelved proposals for a 120-metre turbine on the spiritual home of grass roots football due to lack of investment from electricity companies.

An MP has called for the Government to hold a public enquiry into plans for a wind farm of "monster turbines" at a site he claims is unsuitable. Douglas Carswell, MP for Harwich and Clacton, claims plans by energy giant Npower to build a five turbine farm, near St Osyth, should be examined by a planning inspector and has written to Hazel Blears, the minister for communities and local government, to voice his concerns.

Plans that could lead to 62 wind turbines on seven sites within a six-mile radius could be investigated by the Government, if a local MP gets his way. Phil Wilson is calling for the intervention because he believes the plans represent excessive development in his Sedgefield constituency. He has written to Peter Mandelson, secretary of state for business innovation and science, asking that the Government call in the schemes.

A pair of wind farm projects in eastern Montana are in jeopardy after a bill that would have allowed an electricity cooperative to own generation equipment was tabled Tuesday by House Republicans. The measure, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Dave Wanzenried of Missoula, would have enabled the Billings-based Green Electricity Buying Cooperative to own $31.7 million in wind-farm projects and sell bonds to finance them. Current law limits the co-op and others like it to buying and supplying power.

NREL spokesman Bob Noun blames Congress for the organization's failures. The Denver Post reports that he believes the gridlocked U.S. Congress forced the NREL to find $8 million in new budgetary savings. "We don't see any budget scenario where the lab doesn't face budget cuts," Noun said.

A layoff in Lexington appears to contradict President Obama's initiative to generate employment through increased green energy production. Officials blame bad timing for the decision to cut jobs at PPG Industries, a Pittsburgh-based specialty products manufacturer that supplies to the wind energy industry. The company announced Friday that 110 of the 420 employees at its Lexington fiberglass plant will be let go by June 30.

Town officials eager to jump on the state's "green communities'' bandwagon are pushing new, eco-friendly construction rules that builders around the state say will drive up the price of commercial and residential development - by as much as $10,000 for the typical three-bedroom home.

Plans to get 20% of UK electricity from renewable sources by 2020 are to be put out to consultation by Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling. He will launch the process at the start of work on the £300m Whitelee wind farm, south of Glasgow on Monday. Mr Darling says more energy will have to come from sources such as wind, wave, tidal and biomass technologies. Ministers are also looking to increase the amount of smaller-scale, localised electricity production.

Three environmental organizations agreed to back the proposed Kibby Mountain wind-power project in Franklin County after the developer agreed to pay $500,000 to protect several high-elevation acres in Oxford County. According to a late Tuesday afternoon report, the Appalachian Mountain Club, Maine Audubon and Natural Resources Council of Maine negotiated the deal with TransCanada Maine Wind Development Inc.

Anti-windfarm campaigners are furious over allegations that they "hijacked" an important ceremony in Sutherland this week involving First Minister Alex Salmond. Mr Salmond travelled north to Helmsdale on Monday to perform the honours at the unveiling of The Emigrants, a statue commemorating the achievements and resilience of those who left these shores during the Highland Clearances and make new lives for themselves overseas. During his trip a member of Mr Salmond's staff was quietly handed a document by Landscape, the Sutherland Campaign for Action to Protect Our Environment. The document appealed to the First Minister to halt the "second Highland Clearances of Sutherland" and in particular to use his influence to hold a public inquiry into controversial plans for a 35-turbine wind farm at Gordonbush, Strath Brora. But according to a front-page report in a daily newspaper the following day, the anti-wind farm campaigners had "hijacked" the ceremony.

Villages could be “bribed” into backing wind farm applications as councillors consider forcing renewable energy groups to set up a community fund in exchange for planning permission. Alnwick Council is looking into a scheme which could see around £100,000 a year paid to residents’ groups in return for planning permission for even small wind farms. The money would come from community fund conditions attached to any renewable energy companies given the green light to build turbines in Northumberland.

Nova Scotia Power has asked the province's Utility and Review Board to help clear a logjam the company says challenges its ability to meet the Nova Scotia's renewable energy standard for 2010. A statement from the company said independent power producers who are contracted to build new power generation facilities have expressed concerns because of the volume of projects already waiting for power generation interconnection studies. ...A total of 26 interconnection requests, totaling more than 1,390 megawatts of generation, are currently in the line-up for study.

A Canadian company will seek to temporarily block a new state law that requires utilities to buy renewable energy only from firms that generate power within Massachusetts. ...A favorable ruling for TransCanada could disrupt various ongoing negotiations over long-term renewable energy contracts, including between Cape Wind Associates and Nstar.

Country folk fear years of road hell - in the name of ‘going green'. For a wind farm project is daily putting dozens more heavy trucks on their roads. And that's before the wind turbines are even ready to go up. For trees are being cut down in a forest near Barrhill to make space for the turbines. And there is a daily convoy of timber trucks.

Renewed calls for a review of the National Assembly’s policy on wind power stations have followed the announcement by Gamesa, the Spanish owned wind energy company, of plans to erect 14 wind turbines, each 603ft high, in the Upper Afan Valley.