Niagara's first large-scale wind generating project could be in peril because of a new regional policy covering wind energy. ...That's because politicians had just approved the new policy that, among other things, in most cases will require power transmission lines on windfarm properties to be buried rather than to go on poles.

In the works for three years, a high-voltage transmission line connecting Montana's electric grid to Alberta's through eastern Teton County is on the last leg of a footrace slowed by intense scrutiny from landowners in the proposed right of way and from the regulatory agencies required to vet the project. The final environmental impact statement for the Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. 230-kilovolt power line was published in the Federal Register on Oct. 3. ... The power line would make possible wind energy development totaling 600 megawatts, 300 mw in each direction, from Great Falls to Lethbridge, Alta.

The controversy over plans to build a series of wind turbine operations at sites across the region is set to brew up in the next few days. Madawaska Valley councillors just returned last Friday "from a pretty substantive tour" of wind turbine sites in southwestern Ontario, Mayor John Hildebrandt told Monday night's regular township council meeting. A company named SkyPower has proposed to build six of the giant wind turbines at sites in the hills north of Wilno.

A controversial wind turbine 65 metres high near the peak of Grouse Mountain that would be visible for miles took one step closer to reality last night. A passionate debate on the pros and cons of the big windmill ended with North Vancouver District council voting 4-3 to issue a permit to Grouse Mountain Resorts to build the turbine. A spokesman for the resort noted time was running out in the construction window to have the turbine up and running in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics, to demonstrate the green-energy initiative.

The race to build a wind farm in Prince Edward County is a long one. So long that it's difficult for a company to know where to begin. "It would be fool-headed to race ahead and get all your permits in place and not have a contract to sell power," said Samit Sharma of Gaia Power Inc. The labyrinth of agencies that must be consulted for the requisite approvals, however, makes a proponent anxious to get underway.

On Monday night, Genevieve Jones of the group Save Our Skylines (SOS) attended the Madawaska Valley council meeting with a list of questions submitted to SOS. Council has indicated it planned to visit a wind farm in the near future and Jones asked that members consider her questions while on the excursion. "We're concerned that wind companies are not giving full side of the story," Jones said. One question dealt with long-term effects of the wind farms on property values, health, tourism and the environment.

Gengrowth cleared its final logistical hurdle last night for four wind turbine projects in Chatham-Kent. Although municipal council approved the Toronto company's proposal in April, each project had to have the 'H', or holding, symbol removed. This required the submission of a site plan agreement, as well as plans for construction, operation, emergency response and decommission.

Opposition is growing to a proposed windmill farm about two kilometres off the Scarborough Bluffs from residents worried it would tarnish their picturesque Guildwood Village neighbourhood. Residents were informed last month that Toronto Hydro had submitted an application to the Ministry of Natural Resources to install an anemometer platform off the Guildwood shoreline to test the location's wind resources. If approved, the platform would be set up for two years to determine whether the area could sustain a windmill farm of 60 turbines in Lake Ontario.

The Calgary-based company building a $410-million wind plant on Wolfe Island has issued a cease-and-desist letter to a citizen it claims is spreading "false and defamatory statements." Canadian Hydro Developers Inc. sent the letter in connection with a statement made by Wolfe Island resident Chris Brown, an outspoken critic of some aspects of the project. Brown, a local musician, is one of a handful of citizens who sit on a community liaison committee Canadian Hydro set up last year to answer local concerns about the project. Brown regards the letter as an attempt to gag critics of the project.

A wind energy company could get the go ahead to proceed with four wind projects at Monday's Chatham-Kent planning meeting. Administration is recommending zoning bylaw amendments be approved for the projects owned by Gengrowth. ...According to report, the economic benefits of these projects include $96 million in developer investment, $1.8 million in local construction materials, $200,000 in landowner compensation at $10,000 per turbine, and $96,000 in additional property taxes to the municipality.

The president of EarthFirst Canada Inc., Linda Chambers, confirmed the company is reviewing its three operations, two projects in British Columbia and the proposed 45-megawatt Nuttby Mountain wind energy project in Colchester County. The "strategic review" was ordered by the company's board of directors in late August after it was revealed in July that its Dokie 1 wind energy project in B.C. incurred cost overruns of $35 million, and revised wind energy estimates meant that increased project financing would be required.

Several sizable new wind farms are in the works for various locations across P.E.I., says the province's Environment minister. Four to six private companies are currently looking to build wind farms on the north, south, east and western points of P.E.I. This expansion is being encouraged by the province. Further wind energy development is something the government identified as a goal in its throne speech last April. "We're going to expand wind energy," Environment Minister George Webster told The Guardian. "The speech from the throne said we were going to try to hit 500 megawatts over the next five years. It's not a huge amount but it is a significant increase."

Several multi-million dollar projects, most of them dealing with energy production and distribution, are under way or are planned for Atlantic Canada, but they face some formidable financial challenges, the president of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council (APEC) said yesterday. APEC releases a major projects inventory every year to highlight the most significant ventures in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. This year's inventory lists all projects worth $10 million or more. There are 425 of these projects worth a projected $84 billion.

A variety of opinions blew through the air at a public forum here Thursday to discuss one of six wind turbine projects proposed for Prince Edward County. Gilead Power Corp. unveiled more details of its plans to erect up to 12 turbines in an area west of Ostrander Point Road. While some scanning the visuals on display at Crystal Palace said the only thing that seems green about the project is the money the company stands to gain, others came to learn more about a growing industry they believe can benefit the environment.

Betts’ Gulf Shore Association waged a bitter battle against Charles Demond’s wind farm project that would have seen between 20 and 27, 100-metre-tall turbines erected between the Gulf Shore Road and the Irishtown Road on the outskirts of Pugwash. The battle that pitted grassroots residents against Demond’s corporation garnered national headlines when Anne Murray entered the fray against the wind farm. ...A petition circulated along the Gulf Shore opposing the wind farm had the support of 80 per cent of the population.

Bear Mountain Wind Limited Partnership is a 120-megawatt, $190-million development on a mountain ridge located 16 kilometres southwest of the City of Dawson Creek in the Peace River Regional District. Since construction began last December, new access roads have been completed and the land has been cleared. ...The turbines are manufactured and will be installed by German-based Enercon. The turbines are designed without a gearbox, so they are more reliable and quieter than other turbines.

Maritime Electric wants to increase its capital budget by $13.9 million to construct a wind energy transmission line along the Confederation Trail, but the company says it won't mean rate increases for Islanders. Maritime Electric has applied to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission for the budget increase. ..."This line is paid for (by) Suez (Energy North America) and the government of P.E.I. so it has no effect on the customers of P.E.I. in terms of cost or risk.''

Despite failing to secure a contract with Nova Scotia Power, a controversial wind farm project proposed for the Pugwash area is not dead. "We have not abandoned our plans to pursue that project," Atlantic Wind Power Corporation president Charles Demond said Monday. "We're still interested in building a wind farm there. It may be scaled back a bit from what we were proposing, but it will still be a very good wind farm."

One of Canada's up-and-coming wind power developers, EarthFirst Canada Inc., has called in consultants to look for "strategic alternatives" after its key project in British Columbia was hit with cost overruns and a lowered estimate of potential energy production. EarthFirst's predicament underlines the precarious economics of the wind business - especially for small developers - even at a time of booming growth for the industry. ...EarthFirst has seen its stock price plunge to less than 50 cents in the past few months ...after the announcement in early July that the projected capital cost of building its initial Dokie 1 wind project in northeastern British Columbia had risen by $35-million, to $360-million.

A crowd of more than 200 people filled the Prince Edward Community Centre Wednesday evening to hear first hand about a large wind farm on Wolfe Island scheduled to start any day. Frontenac Islands (which includes Wolfe Island) Mayor Jim Vanden Hoek was on hand to talk about the process his municipality went through to see construction about to begin.