State and regional regulators acknowledge the hurdles - especially in northern New Hampshire - but don't have ready solutions. A bill before the New Hampshire Senate would have the state be ready to act if no regional solution is forthcoming. ISO New England, which manages power for the region, is considering changing rules so more of the costs of transmission upgrades could be shared regionally. But as things stand now, backers of projects generally must pay for upgrades needed to connect them to the system. "None of this is a real speedy process," acknowledges Michael Harrington, senior regional policy adviser for the state Public Utilities Commission.

``The problem we're having with all these wind farms is . . . they're proposing to put them in all the worst places," said Thomas W. French , assistant director of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. ``If they could do what the Russell Biomass plant did, which is to find a preexisting, historical industrial district, we'd be applauding them." As part of the ongoing state permitting process for the plant, French's division worked with its developers to reroute proposed power lines to reduce their impact on wildlife.

Next month, an Arizona developer will start selling a residential-scale turbine that is expected to cost $10,000 or less, installed — a price significantly lower than turbines on the market now, which range as high as $22,000.

They make enough electricity to power 300 to 400 average Vermont homes. It's renewable energy _ the cows just keep on giving. And unlike wind power, which depends on the wind blowing, it isn't intermittent. The engine that powers the Audets' generator is shut down occasionally for oil changes, but in 2005, it ran 97 percent of the time, said Dave Dunn, a senior energy consultant with CVPS.

The technology is expensive, but Vermonters involved in the project say there's good reason to move ahead with it.

The head of New England's biggest natural gas utility promised yesterday that homes and businesses across the region will face no shortage of gas for heating this winter.

The face of Shelburne Farms changed this week when students from Vermont Technical College installed a 100-foot wind anemometer that will help determine whether the farm is a good candidate for an energy-producing wind turbine.

Endless Energy plans for facility buildout, operation come into focus