Monday's Commissioner's Court meeting began as usual with public forum, but a lengthy, animated discussion with members of the gallery regarding action on a proposed county tax abatement for the Senate Wind Project lasted in excess of 90 minutes.

Young County commissioners moved a step closer to reaching a tax abatement agreement with Gamesa Energy on Monday by creating a tax reinvestment zone. The zone is a necessary step toward an abatement agreement. Games has announced it plans to build a wind farm that would be mostly in Jack County with 12 turbines extending into Young County.

Gamesa Energy asked Young County to expedite its proposal to put a wind farm in the county, with a representative saying getting a tax abatement in place quickly could greatly benefit the school districts. Colin Kelly with Gamesa told commissioners the Texas Legislature was considering a bill that would cap the amount of revenue school districts can get due to wind farms.

If you want a wind turbine for your home, it better be quiet and on a patch of open land. If not, the city won't allow it under the latest draft of the city's wind energy ordinance. The proposed changes, which the City Council will discuss Tuesday, don't bring the sweeping reforms alternative energy advocates wanted.

The Gillespie County Commissioners have decided not to pursue local wind farm regulation and will not hold a public meeting on the matter, according to County Judge Mark Stroeher. ...State Senator Troy Fraser filed legislation last month to allow the county commissioners to restrict wind farm construction and said his office immediately began receiving complaints from landowners worried that their property rights might be violated.

Kerr County commissioners have sent a message to Lower Colorado River Authority Transmission Services Corporation officials regarding possible routes for transmission lines in the area. "Go to another county," said Pct. 1 Commissioner Buster Baldwin during Monday's commission meeting. County commissioners also asked for the transmission lines to follow existing rights-of-way.

Concerned about the possible effects of proposed wind power legislation on their property rights, some Fredericksburg area landowners have voiced opposition to a bill by State Senator Troy Fraser that would allow the Gillespie County Commissioners' Court to restrict wind farm construction. "Once the bill was filed, the phones started lighting up." Fraser said. "We need to gauge both support and opposition."

Llano and Gillespie counties may be granted regulatory teeth regarding the placement of wind turbines this legislative session. The Llano County Commissioners Court passed a resolution Monday supporting a bill that, if passed into law, would allow counties to prohibit or regulate construction of wind energy electric-generating facilities in all or part of the county. State Sen. Troy Fraser of Horseshoe Bay introduced S.B. 1226 and S.B. 1227 in February.

Senator Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) filed legislation on Monday to authorize the Gillespie County Commissioners Court to regulate the construction of wind energy electric generating facilities in the unincorporated areas of the county. Senate Bill 1226 specifically will allow Gillespie County to prohibit or restrict the location of a facility in all or part of the county.

Officials in Colleyville and Southlake have heard from residents interested in installing turbines on their property to reduce their electric bills and carbon footprints. Both cities are now looking at ways to regulate the structures before they begin transforming neighborhood landscapes. ...The turbines typically cost $9,000 to $15,000 to purchase and install - money that may take 15 years or more to get back through energy savings, according to several turbine dealers.

Local property owners and residents addressed Jack County commissioners during the public forum portion of Commissioners Court Feb. 9 to petition them for assistance with noise abatement for the 60-turbine Barton Chapel Wind Farm. Tom Fillene pleaded with commissioners to take a trip down to the area and listen for themselves to the "obnoxious noise" coming from the 400-plus foot "monsters." Fillene stated he was speaking on behalf of other family members who lived under the wind turbines and were experiencing health issues due to the noise coming from the giant towers.

It all depends on 11 miles per hour. A few variances in the wind speed near Elwood could determine whether a windmill farm comes to Madison County. E.ON, a wind energy company that recently put up 600 wind turbines in Texas, has approached Madison County officials about the northwestern section of Madison County north of Elwood, showing interest in building a windmill farm at the location.

For the last decade, when most people have thought of renewable energy in Texas, they have usually thought of wind. But this year, solar and other forms of renewable energy are starting to get a place at the table at the Legislature. Legislation including incentives and rebates could pave the way ...Today, legislators and environmentalists will hold statewide news conferences to draw attention to solar energy.

Garland is the latest North Texas city considering a zoning ordinance aimed at regulating wind energy devices that generate power for residential use. The measure is on Tuesday's council agenda. Other cities, including Grand Prairie, Waxahachie and Oak Point, already have such ordinances. Residential wind energy devices are rare in urban areas and may be too expensive or impractical for many homeowners. But city officials say they want to make sure rules are in place for the day when wind energy devices become more commonplace.

[A] BP representative explained that the project could be phased in with 60 windmills possibly becoming available next year, and the remaining 40 coming some time later. Of the 60 windmills, David Gonzalez said, the majority are planned in Archer County.The change in the proposal was not met with enthusiasm by commissioners. ..."The prospect of an abatement has been based on a 250 megawatt buildout," Precinct 2 Commissioner John C. Bullock said. "The prospect of a phase in was not mentioned. If we had know that, it likely would have been different."

State Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, holds a hearing next month in Austin on the pros and cons of regulating where wind turbines can be erected. ...The hearing begins at 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 6 in the Betty King Room of the Texas Capitol.

A 155-turbine wind farm in Livingston County likely will be recommended when the Livingston County Zoning Board of Appeals reconvenes Monday. Iberdrola Renewables has proposed the Streator-Cayuga Ridge South Wind Farm, which would be spread across 15,000 acres in between Odell and Emington. Hearings that stretched over weeks ended Thursday with Iberdrola's closing arguments and a review of possible special conditions to be attached to the project recommendation.

[Gary] Key said as a community where newcomers flock to the countryside in search of escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life, they need to look toward the future. "After 38 years in real estate, I can say we have to think about what Erath County has to offer. We have to think about the future and quality housing," Key said. "Those moving from more populated metropolitan areas looking for an escape and quality housing will likely not want that in the shadows of the turbines. Let's not hurt our property values" ...Key said transforming the face of Erath to an industrial county, moving away from the rural/residential image people are escaping to, would likely be detrimental to future development and possibly do more harm than good in the long run. "In 20 or 30 years, we would be looking more like an industrial park," Key said. "No longer the community we once were."

Billionaire T. Boone Pickens may face a tough crowd this week in North Texas. Officials with Pickens' company Mesa Power will be in two local cities to hold informational sessions about the company's plans to build a water pipeline and electricity transmission lines from the Panhandle to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, cutting through several area counties. ...Beesinger said property owners seem to be most concerned with the way the project was designed without their knowledge or input. "(Pickens) didn't say, ‘Let's go explore the issue with these people first,' " Beesinger said. "When you start throwing out those words (eminent domain), people are going to stand up and say, ‘Hey! Whoa! Wait a minute!' That's the way we as Texans and Americans are. We like to protect what's ours." ...many people will view the open houses as a too little, too late approach. "I think the biggest thing (Mesa) has to overcome is the private landowners saying, ‘You didn't even come and talk to me,' " Beesinger said. "(The company is saying), ‘Now, you can attend this meeting if you want to, but we're going to do the project anyway.' "

...when a wind farm was proposed for Northwest Parker County offering royalties and bonuses similar to those being paid by gas producers, many locals took notice. However, one resident who attended an informational meeting at Poolville, hosted by international conglomerate PPM Energy, hopes the company takes their windmills elsewhere. Tom Butt, a retiree with a small farm and private airstrip near Whitt, says there are two red flags that were raised as the company recruited landowners for windmill sites at the recent meeting.