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.

Ridge Protectors, a group fiercely opposed to industrial wind power on Vermont's ridge lines, has launched a letter-writing appeal to Gov. Jim Douglas, who they hope will veto S.209, the so-called Energy Efficiency and Affordability Act. The bill, which is aimed at promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency, has passed both the House and Senate, and is on the governor's desk. The letter-writing campaign is a last-ditch attempt to change a part of the measure that gives industrial wind power a tax break at the expense of the education fund, said Paul Brouha of Sutton.

Although the valley's smallest town often has the highest voter turnout, several controversial articles on the warning may have swelled the ranks at this year's meeting. In the evening's biggest upset, voters reversed last year's nonbinding resolution to oppose PPM Energy's proposed wind generation project in Searsburg and Readsboro. In a paper ballot, the town voted to support the project 29 to 16, a substantial margin. Moderator Gary Sage told voters that the secretary of state's office had advised the town that wording of the article was ambiguous. Article 16 asked voters to "see if the town will vote to determine whether the voters approve of, or are opposed to" the project. According to the secretary of state, the language could mean the town was holding a vote on whether to have a vote.

The bill contains a break on property taxes for wind power developers, calls for an expansion of "net metering," in which people who make power with solar or small wind generators can sell some of it back to their utility and sets a goal of producing 25 percent of the state's energy from in-state, renewable sources by 2025. It also takes other steps to promote energy independence. But its centerpiece is a new effort to help Vermonters tighten up homes and other buildings. A study done for the state Department of Public Service determined that $480 million could be saved in Vermont over the next 10 years by adding insulation, replacing drafty windows and other "building shell" improvements alone.

A new mysterious and deadly illness of bats has struck New England's largest bat cave, a cavern in a Dorset mountain where 23,000 bats spend the winter, a state wildlife biologist confirmed today. Scott Darling saw the signs as he approached Aeolus cave Thursday. Carcasses of the tiny creatures lay in the snow. More bats flitted around the mouth of the cave, unnatural behavior for a frigid February day. "It was as though they were running out of energy and their last effort was to go outside in search of food," Darling, a biologist with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, said today.

State Sen. Bobby Starr on Monday urged residents in the Lowell area to demand a hearing on proposed new wind measuring towers for the Lowell Mountain range. The residents in Lowell don't have deep pockets to fight a wind turbine project, said Starr, D-Essex-Orleans. He spoke at a legislative breakfast at the Eastside Restaurant after a question from Lowell resident and wind turbine opponent Don Nelson. Residents need to immediately push for public hearings from the Vermont Public Service Board, Starr said. They also should ask regulators to have the existing towers taken down first before discussing new ones, he said. ...Starr said big wind turbines provide an unpredictable and unreliable form of green energy that will hurt Vermont's image. "We can't log mountain tops, but they can blow the tops off our mountains," Starr said. Starr said he has seen the wind turbine developments in upstate New York and said they will not attract tourists to Vermont.

[A]rticle 15, asks voters to give the selectboard limited authority to negotiate contracts. Under the limited authority, any contract would have to be ratified by voters. Sage says the board is required to obtain voters' permission, under Vermont statutes, to negotiate with the developers of the Deerfield Wind Project. ...Another article related to the wind turbine project, article 16, was petitioned by Gerry DeGray. The article asks Town Meeting voters to "determine whether the voters approve of, or are opposed to, the proposed Deerfield Wind Project." Last summer, the town voted in a nonbinding straw vote to oppose the project.

Bats in New York and Vermont are mysteriously dying off by the thousands, often with a white ring of fungus around their noses, and scientists in hazmat suits are crawling into dank caves to find out why. "White nose syndrome," as the killer has been dubbed, is spreading at an alarming rate, with researchers calling it the gravest threat in memory to bats in the U.S. "This is definitely unprecedented," said Lori Pruitt, an endangered-species biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Bloomington, Ind. "The hugest concern at this point is that we do not know what it is." A significant loss of bats is chilling in itself to wildlife experts. But _ like the mysterious mass die-offs around the country of bees that pollinate all sorts of vital fruits and vegetables _ the bat deaths could have economic implications. Bats feed on insects that can damage dozens of crops, including wheat and apples.

Town officials and UPC Wind, the developer behind a 16-tower wind farm in Sheffield, have negotiated a new agreement on what UPC will pay the town. ...The new plan is partly an attempt to forestall the possibility of lower payments, if the state Legislature passes a law, as expected, that, among other things, would change how wind projects are taxed in Vermont. Under the new agreement between UPC and Sheffield, signed Wednesday, UPC will pay the town $520,000 a year. Some of that will go directly to pay property taxes on the development. The rest will be paid into a fund set up by the town.

UPC Wind plans to continue with its construction schedule for a wind farm in Sheffield, even though Ridge Protectors, a citizens group opposed to commercial wind on Vermont's rural ridgelines, has filed an appeal of the Vermont Public Service Board's decision with the Vermont Supreme Court. "We think the Public Service Board's decision will stand the test of time," said Matt Kearns of UPC, project manager for Sheffield, on Friday. The Supreme Court could overturn the PSB's decision, if it decides to hear the case. Kearns said UPC has faith that won't happen. ...Ridge Protectors suit, filed by attorneys Dan Hershenson of Norwich and Anthony Roisman of Lyme, N.H., argues that the wind farm will not have a substantial economic benefit to Vermonters, largely because it doesn't have stable power contracts. Kearns said UPC expects those to be in place this winter.

Ridge Protectors has filed a Vermont Supreme Court appeal of the Vermont Public Service Board's decision to approve a wind farm in Sheffield. The appeal comes as no surprise. Ridge Protectors, a citizens' group opposed to big wind turbines on Vermont's rural ridge lines, has tenaciously battled the project and announced its intent to file an appeal last fall. UPC Wind, based in Massachusetts, wants to put up 16 420-foot commercial turbines on Sheffield's ridge lines. In August, the PSB issued a certificate of public good for the project, along with 32 conditions to be met, saying that the economic benefits of the 40-megawatt generating project outweighed its adverse affects. Ridge Protectors' appeal, filed late Monday, asserts that the PSB actually did not demonstrate that the project will result in an economic benefit to the state and its residents, a serious legal deficiency in its decision, lawyers claim.

Bats are dying off by the thousands as they hibernate in caves and mines around New York and Vermont, sending researchers scrambling to find the cause of mysterious condition dubbed "white nose syndrome." The ailment - named for the white circle of fungus found around the noses of affected bats - was first noticed last January in four caves west of Albany. It has now spread to eight hibernation sites in the state and another in Vermont. Alan Hicks, a bat specialist with New York's Department of Environmental Conservation, called the quick-spreading disorder the "gravest threat" to bats he had ever seen. Up to 11,000 bats were found dead last winter and many more are showing signs illness this winter. One hard-hit cave went from more than 15,000 bats two years ago to 1,500 now, he said.

In response to information about a mysterious illness that has been associated with the deaths of more than 8,000 bats, conservation groups today asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to close all bat hibernation sites and withdraw all federal permits to “take” — that is, harm or kill — imperiled bats until the cause of the deaths is understood. One species of bat that is at risk is the endangered Indiana bat. While details are limited, scientists have given the name “white-nose syndrome” to describe a Fusarium mold that is exhibited around the dead bats’ noses. The syndrome is associated with the discovery of thousands of dead bats in at least two Albany, New York-area caves last winter. ...The Indiana bat is one of the most endangered terrestrial mammals in the world.

The Barton Planning Commission has held hearings on both its revised town plan and a petition, signed by more than 200 of Barton's 2,500 residents, asking that the plan specifically prohibit commercial and industrial wind. At the latest hearing, about 25 people showed up and watched a slide show produced by JoAnn Stefanski, who has been instrumental in launching the petition drive and fighting the possible introduction of commercial wind in Barton Barton's petition is in response to UPC Wind's intention to put up 16 wind turbines in Sheffield, a plan the Vermont Public Service Board has approved, and one that a slim majority of Sheffield voters said they supported at a special town meeting two years ago. A big and vocal minority continues to oppose the project and will file a Vermont Supreme Court appeal of the PSB decision next week. Meanwhile, they have asked for a halt to construction, saying that UPC Wind has failed to meet some of the 32 conditions that the PSB has imposed on the project.

Noble Environmental Power is seeing which way the wind blows - and how hard. The company put up the first of two meteorological towers in West Rutland last week, and project manager Brad King said the second is scheduled to go up in Hubbardton today. The towers are taking measurements as part of the Connecticut-based company's plan to put a wind farm on the Grandpa's Knob ridge line. King said not to go out looking for windmills, as the towers are very tall but have very thin poles.

It has been almost two years since voters at Town Meeting directed the Select Board to oppose a wind project planned for Little Equinox with up to $150,000 after a contentious discussion. As this year's Town Meeting approaches, the proposal seems to have dropped from the radar of both the proponent and the town directed to stop it. Endless Energy, a Yarmouth, Maine-based company, had proposed to build five 390-foot wind turbines on Little Equinox to generate 30 million kilowatt-hours a year that would be sold to the Burlington Electric Department. ...On the municipal side, the money voters set aside to oppose the project is no longer being held in reserve and has been added to an allocated surplus fund, according to Manchester Town Manager John O'Keefe.

A proposed wind farm on Grandpa's Knob cleared its first state hurdle last week. The Public Service Board issued a certificate of public good for a pair of meteorological towers that will test the wind levels atop the Grandpa's Knob ridgeline. The towers, described in the finding as up to 197 feet tall and 8 to 10 inches thick, are set to land on sites in Castleton and Hubbardton. Testing could last up to five years, according to the board's findings. ...Public reaction to the proposal is muted. None of the select boards from the involved towns sent in an official response, through Pittsford passed along correspondents from residents before its portion of the request was withdrawn.

The town voted to oppose a plan to put many as 17 wind turbines on ridge lines in Searsburg and Readsboro at a special Town Meeting Wednesday evening. After a short discussion, voters approved a motion to oppose the project in a 51 to 15 vote. Voters supported a second motion to fund the opposition with $40,000 in a 49-14 vote. The selectboard will use the money to argue the town's opposition to the project in hearings before the Vermont Public Service Board. Earlier this fall, the board requested "intervener" status in the public service board's hearing process. "Intervener" status allows the town, through legal counsel, to play an active role in the hearings, cross-examining witnesses, providing expert witnesses, and introducing testimony. Before voters sounded off, selectboard member Rob Wheeler noted that the outcome of the meeting wouldn't lock the board into a course of action.

Voters told the Selectboard Wednesday that they wish it to oppose the proposed wind turbine project for Searsburg and Readsboro. More than 60 voters met in Twin Valley High School's cafeteria Wednesday night to make their voices heard on the subject, which has been an ongoing controversial topic here. They voted 51 to 15 to oppose it, beginning with a written testimony due Dec. 21 and culminating with hearings in April 2008 before the Public Service Board. ...But voters still walked away unhappy after Wheeler reminded them that this was an advisory vote and the board would hold the right to change its mind if new information was brought forward.

A new citizens group is forming to raise awareness about a wind project slated to be built in the towns of Readsboro and Searsburg. Save the Ridgelines is a grassroots organization made up of people who share a concern about wind power and the proposed Deerfield Wind Project. ..."For locals, it's health concerns, noise, and because it's on national forest land. A lot of it will be destroyed, access will be limited," said Lee. "Then there are those concerned with how will it affect tourism, property values, flashing red lights, and the loss of pristine ridgelines." Recently Save the Ridgelines launched a Web site to make available information related to the Deerfield Wind Project. ..."Realistically if we let this happen, we're the guinea pigs of this project and if it can happen here, it can happen everywhere," said Lopez.