Makara residents have complained of constant thumping, ka-thunk-type noises and swooshing and swishing coming from the West Wind wind farm and warn a similar development will be just as noisy. Makara Ohariu Community Board chairwoman Ruth Paul said complaints came from 20 households to the Meridian Energy noise complaint hotline in just two days last month.

HONOLULU – With 20 1.5-megawatt wind generators in place, Kaheawa Wind Power is seeking a lease to expand on 325 acres on the slopes above McGregor Point. The lease request has raised concerns over environmental and visual impacts that have generated criticism from some residents of Maui, according to a report being submitted today to the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. Kaheawa Wind Power is seeking a negotiated lease for state land adjoining the 200-acre wind farm that went into operation in June. The submittal to the land board meeting this morning in Honolulu includes a recommendation to allow the state Land Division to negotiate a direct lease to Kaheawa Wind Power II LLC with rental of $12,000 a year. The expansion proposal would add up to 18 wind turbines and supporting equipment capable of producing up to 27 megawatts of electrical power.

An Oregon company wants to build Hawai'i's most powerful wind farm along the Kahuku coast, not far from the green hills where Hawaiian Electric Co. is re-evaluating the area for a wind farm after failing nearby with an earlier project. West Wind Works LLC wants to build 20 turbines capable of producing 50 megawatts of power on 1,100 acres at the northernmost point of O'ahu, including in an area near the abandoned Kahuku Airfield, said company president Keith Avery. At the same time, Hawaiian Electric is talking to the military about testing wind patterns near Kahuku and possibly using U.S. Army land for a project.

Aerial shots over the Kahuku wind farm show the warehouse that was filled with 12,000 battery packs severely damaged and releasing toxic smoke and lead into the air. ...First Wind is supposed to submit a cleanup plan to the state by the end of the day which will include samples of the air, soil and water.

The governor made his first formal step in developing offshore wind resources, saying in a news release today that he has requested the formation of a federal-state-local task force. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine sent a letter this month to the U.S. Department of the Interior requesting the formation of the task force to guide and facilitate the leasing process of federal waters off the Virginia coast to develop wind power.

Investigations are underway into generating tidal power at New Zealand's largest harbour, with predictions it could meet close to a third of Auckland's electricity needs.

Trustpower's bid to develop a multi million-dollar wind farm, at Kaiwera Downs near Mataura, appears destined for the Environment Court. Gore district planning consultant Keith Hovell said a pre-hearing, in Dunedin on Thursday, saw the Uplands Landscape Protection Society win the right to continue with its appeal, as it was lodged, against resource consents for the wind farm. The hearing would not be held until April 2009, at the earliest, he said.

... at the close of seven days of evidence for and against the $380 million project, hearing panel chairman David Pullar adjourned the hearing until next Friday to allow any matters that may arise to be dealt with. At that time, if all parties were satisfied, the hearing would be formally closed. ...After hearing all the evidence, the only issue not disputed was that the Kaiwera Downs wind farm would be huge. With 83 turbines, it would be TrustPower's largest wind farm to date and, at 145m tall, the turbines would be highest in use in New Zealand. Even the site is large, a 2658ha development envelope 10km to the east of Mataura. Visual and noise pollution, both during development and when it was operational, for those living and working near the wind farm were the two major concerns raised.

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 by Kalida Manufacturing to build two wind turbines adjacent to its facility met with strong opposition Tuesday night. During a Union Township trustees meeting Tuesday evening, more than 60 area residents expressed their strong vocal opposition to KMI's plans to purchase 55 acres adjacent to their property and install two wind towers on the property.

Following a lengthy, and at times vociferous, discussion of the wind turbine project, council voted 3-2 against proceeding with the first reading of a rewritten ordinance to allow wind turbines in industrial areas. It was then the consensus of council to obtain information from the Putnam County Board of Elections to put the issue on a special election.

The Senate voted 23-17 on Thursday to reject a bill postponing the renewable energy requirement for four years, until 2024. The action, which killed the measure, came hours after the House voted 63-59 sending its own legislation lowering the standards back to committee.

A utility in western Japan said on Friday it will limit planned operations at its first wind farm to take account of residents' concerns about noise, highlighting a snag in the nation's efforts to encourage renewable energy.

SALINA, Kan. - The debate over the future of western Kansas as a source of renewable wind energy ranges from those who call it "ridiculous" to those who "don't see any drawbacks to it at all."

A House committee endorsed a bill Tuesday to allow two coal-fired power plants in southwest Kansas, adding a mandate that utilities generate 10 percent of their electricity from renewable resources such as wind within two years. The Energy and Utilities Committee's unanimous voice vote to send the measure to the House stood in sharp contrast to the strong divisions over energy policy that emerged during a four-hour debate. Members rewrote a bill drafted by the committee's Republican chairman and top Democrat and their Senate counterparts. Three times, the House committee rejected proposals for what would have been the state's first limits on carbon dioxide emissions ...Not only would utilities be required to generate 10 percent of their electricity from renewable resources by 2010, the figure would climb to 25 percent in 2025. But there's no punishment if a utility fails to meet the standard

A kilowatt-hour of electricity generated in Kansas costs significantly less than the national average but contributes much more to global warming than power generated in most other states. It shouldn't be a surprise that those two facts are connected. Three-fourths of the electricity generated in the Sunflower State comes from coal-fired plants, and coal is the go-to fuel for supplying electricity around-the-clock because it is readily available and cheap. But Kansas ranks among the top 10 states in utilities' carbon dioxide emissions per person.

Rep. Dennis Hedke, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Environmental Policy, said lack of progress on the coal plant prompted lawmakers to consider dumping the RPS or delaying targets two or four years. Some House and Senate members want to extract the state from meddling in oil, gas, nuclear, wind and solar businesses, he said.

The Kansas Energy Council (KEC) has scheduled a public hearing to receive input on its energy policy recommendations. The public hearing will be held October 13, 2006 , from 9:00 a.m. to noon , in the old Supreme Court hearing room at the Capitol, Room 313-S, 300 SW 10th Avenue , Topeka . “We’ve been reminded in the past couple of years about the importance of energy in our lives and our economy. I hope all Kansans with an interest in our state’s future will review the Energy Council’s recommendations and provide the Council with feedback,” said Governor Kathleen Sebelius.

A company from Kansas is exploring building two wind farms, one near Kouts and one near LaCrosse. Within the next month, Trade Wind Energy of Lenexa, Kan., will erect a 197-foot-tall wind monitoring tower. ...Because guide wire towers are not allowed in the county, a zoning variance had to be granted this week.