First it was a lorry park for 3,000 trucks. Then there was the small issue of a sludge recycling centre. Now locals have been left stunned by plans for a wind farm too. It never rains on a site between Aldington and Sellindge, it seems, but it pours. However, the latest plans for a wind farm have been mocked...because, say residents, there is not enough wind to power them.

As U.S. WindForce prepares to present its application to the West Virginia Public Service Commission, Dave Friend, vice president for sales and marketing, said the company is looking to do more with the community. "We've been working at the community level for a while," Friend said. "We formed a community advisory panel, which has a cross section from the Keyser, New Creek and Elk Garden area. The goal was to involve the community in our planning process."

Portland General Electric plans to repurpose its second Port Westward power plant as a 200-MW peaker to address the growing amount of wind generation it expects ..."When wind energy is added to a utility system, its natural variability and uncertainty is combined with the natural variability and uncertainty of loads. As a result, there is an increase in the need for system flexibility required to maintain utility system balance and reliability."

The West of Duddon offshore wind farm will provide 500MW of electricity, enough to nearly double Britain's existing offshore electricity-generating capability. Around 370,000 homes will be powered by the wind farm. Edmund Brooks, the Chamber of Shipping's deputy director general, told politics.co.uk the government's approval for offshore wind projects was problematic for shipping firms. "To use the famous analogy, you wouldn't put a wind farm in the middle of the M1, would you?" he said.

People objecting to wind farms were today told like it or lump it. The warning came as Glasgow councillors met and approved a 410ft wind turbine on Cathkin Braes, on the south of the city. The turbine will be just 49ft lower than the Glasgow Science Tower, which is Scotland's largest freestanding building. However, the move has sparked concerns about the impact on birds and on an area popular with walkers.

Arthur and Pamela Dodds are upset with the West Virginia Public Service Commission's approval of the wind turbine facility along the Laurel Mountain ridgeline in Barbour and Randolph Counties. "I was very disappointed that the wind turbine complex had been approved. I feel there was an improper balancing of the information that the opposition gave," says Pamela Dodds, a Barbour County resident.

The transmission project "will likely require more than 1,000 miles (1,610 km) of new extra-high voltage transmission lines at a cost of between $5 billion and $10 billion," AEP said. The Midwest Independent System Operator, which manages transmission lines in the region, must approve the project. The new lines would connect 2,000 megawatts of wind power in Hartland Wind Farm project in North Dakota, near the western terminus of the proposed lines, AEP said.

On Monday it called on Premier Dalton McGuinty to initiate a province-wide study on the health effects of wind energy generation and transmission. Moreover, it is calling on McGuinty to impose a moratorium on all wind generation projects in the province until a health study is completed.

Minnesota Power's Taconite Ridge wind farm isn't producing nearly as much electricity as anticipated in recent months, with seven of the 10 wind turbines shut off for repairs. The $50 million project, built on 450 acres of land overlooking U.S. Steel's Minntac mine, came fully online early this summer. But this fall, inspectors with the turbine manufacturer discovered defects in seven of the wind turbines' blades. Those turbines were shut down.

Avista will delay building a wind farm south of Reardan, Lincoln County, by at least two years, citing the high cost of wind turbines.

Federal land managers said Monday they will gather public comment and assess the potential environmental impacts of a proposal to build dozens of wind-power turbines on the mountains north of Carson City and west of Virginia City.

The Garrett County Commissioners are still hoping for legislation to allow for wind turbine setbacks. "We looked into it over the summer and our attorney (Mike Getty) told us we didn't have the authority," Denny Glotfelty, chairman, said. "There is no reason not to get legislation. Mr. Getty reiterated that we ask for legislation to single out wind turbines."

KS Titan 1, one of two vessels to be used in the construction of 25 wind turbines at Rhyl Flats, was en route to Liverpool Bay from the Gulf of Mexico when the accident happened at the end of October. The huge three-legged vessel with two onboard cranes was set to install a series of 3.6-megawatt Siemens wind turbines on Constable Bank, lying five miles off the coast of Llandudno and Colwyn Bay.

Hydro reported Friday that it has received proposals for 17,000 gigawatt hours of electricity -- primarily small hydro and wind -- in response to its clean call, which closed this week. That's equivalent to a third of Hydro's annual output -- the amount of power consumed each year by the Crown corporation's residential customers. Preliminary tallies from the call, which closed Tuesday, show Hydro received bids from 43 proponents for a total of 68 projects.

When the Bureau County Board voted to exclude a certain type of wind turbine from consideration for seven Walnut Ridge sites, the company was understandably concerned. ...On Nov. 17, Suzlon issued a statement regarding the S88. According to the statement, the problem with the S88 near Buda was with the V2 version, which has since been replaced with the V3 version.

With just one commercial wind turbine, the town could bring in $10.4 million dollars over 20 years and not have to spend a cent to power its municipal buildings. ...The town's bylaws now limit residential and commercial turbines to 65 feet in height. The town would have to amend the bylaws to permit 200-foot-high residential turbines, and 400-foot-high commercial turbines, he said. And the town will have to deal with expected opposition from some townspeople who would not welcome turbines of this size. "There are people in town who are against this," Sexton said.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission approved AES Laurel Mountain's certificate on Wednesday to construct a $250 million wind turbine electric generating facility of up to 65 wind turbines on an eight-mile stretch of the Laurel Mountain ridgeline between Barbour and Randolph counties. ...Scores of area residents have spoken out against the project saying it would mar the mountainous scenery and interfere with wildlife. Art and Pam Dodds said members of the Laurel Mountain Preservation Association are very disappointed in the decision of the WVPSC to grant the siting certificate.

The building of an offshore windfarm has had to be halted because of bad weather and the sinking of cranes in the Atlantic. It means the Rhyl Flats project will now be delayed by up to three months. It comes after a barge carrying giant cranes to build the turbines sank en route from America in October.

Members of Citizens Wind Watch obtained and circulated copies of two e-mails sent from David Baum, the CREB chairman, to some town officials and other members of the CREB. The e-mails refer to a meeting on Nov. 14, in which council members June Speakman and Kate Weymouth, town manager Peter DeAngelis and Mr. Baum discussed the proposed wind turbine project. ..."The meeting and subsequent e-mail that David Baum sent ... smacks of backroom dealing, even if it was meant to be completely above board."