New England's largest wind power producer broke ground Monday on the second phase of a project near Danforth that local officials hope is another step toward making rural Washington County an energy hub. ...But the company received more than $40 million in federal stimulus money to jumpstart Stetson II. First Wind officials said Monday that they hope to complete construction on the $60 million project and connect it to the electricity grid by next spring. ...Not everyone agrees that the wind industry's growing interest in Maine is a good thing.

Wind farm developers made their case for developing a new project in Livingston County on Monday night as hearings for the Minonk Wind Farm began. About 50 people came to Flanagan Community School to hear a presentation from Gamesa, a Spanish wind farm developer seeking to develop a 100-turbine project in Woodford and Livingston counties.

The state may be rethinking a plan to allow a wind turbine farm off Salisbury Beach after "additional data" revealed something that state coastline experts apparently didn't know - that there are lots of recreational boaters, and even a few lobstermen, who cruise off the coast. Salisbury officials were shocked to discover last week that a draft plan for siting wind turbines identified a zone 500 yards off the popular beach, where fishing and pleasure boats are a frequent sight, particularly on summer weekends.

An energy company has been accused of ignoring the views of Brodsworth Parish Council over plans to build a nearby wind farm. Coun Phil Amson has raised the issue ahead of a meeting tomorrow, which could see the scheme for five 125-metre wind turbines at Hampole given the go ahead. ...But Coun Amson says he is angry the company has failed to meet with the council to talk about the issue.

Campaigners have reluctantly admitted defeat in their battle against a major onshore wind farm close to homes in Essex after a Government inspector gave the go-ahead for work to begin. Energy company Npower Renewables now has permission to build a five-turbine wind farm at Earls Hall Farm between Clacton and St Osyth after it successfully appealed against a council decision to refuse the project.

Two out-of-state energy companies will present their plan for a wind farm in the county's west end to the public. GEOS Global, based in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and BP Wind Energy, Charlottesville, Va., want to put up electricity-generating wind turbines, commonly called windmills, on Rausch Creek land.

The State Government yesterday denied that the $400 million Musselroe wind farm project would not proceed. "The Government and Hydro Tasmania remains committed to the Musselroe project," a spokesman for Energy Minister David Llewellyn said. ...But Opposition energy spokesman Peter Gutwein said there had been a "go slow," in terms of developing the massive site for some time with contractors not being paid enough to make ends meet.

Owners of a wind-power company set to erect 22 turbines on local hills have decided to delay the project by a year because the energy market has fallen in the recession. Record Hill Wind LLC is building a $120 million wind farm along the 4-mile ridgeline that connects Partridge Peak, Record Hill and Flathead Mountain. The company had planned to put up the turbines next year, but now says it will be up and running in 2011.

Ian Elliot wanted to raise the issue of turbine density in the state's review of the Desert Claim Wind Power Project, but couldn't. The issue wasn't officially entered into evidence by an intervener in the Desert Claim review process, nor was there any expert testimony, studies or other data submitted on the issue by an intervener or the project applicant. ..."I believe the process is flawed because the rights of the local citizens and the obligations of EFSEC do not align," Elliot stated

Saying that they are paying close attention to Vinalhaven's community wind project, town officials this week agreed to a preliminary feasibility study for a wind project atop Ragged Mountain. While no project is now in the pipeline, anemometers placed on the mountain three years ago found that the town has "a serious wind resource," said Jeff Lewis, chairman of the Camden Energy Committee. ...Any project ultimately would be put to a town vote, Lewis said. That won't be a slam-dunk for wind power proponents, according to Baker. "If you thought Vinalhaven was iconic, try messing around with the Camden Hills," he said.

Earlier this week, a City Council subcommittee held a meeting to finalize recommendations on much-debated rules surrounding the location of wind turbines. In a lightly attended meeting, they did just that. On Monday, however, they have to do it all over again. The culprit? A locked door. ...Though the meeting continued, the subcommittee had unintentionally violated the state's Open Meeting Law, meaning the meeting will have to be held again.

The city thought it was ahead of the curve back in 2007 when it bought a windmill that was supposed to provide power for a transportation center built around a station for the Downeaster train. The $200,000 windmill never came close to meeting expectations, but even that was OK. The city had an agreement in which the manufacturer would pay the difference between the value of the anticipated electricity and the value of the actual output.

After two weeks of testimony, the proposed Buckeye Wind Project crept closer to a decision by the Ohio Power Siting Board this week. But the project is still likely a long way from approval. If approved, the project would allow Everpower Renewables to build about 70 wind turbines in a section of Champaign County that spans about 9,000 acres and six townships. ...Although testimony spanned about two weeks, a spokesman for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio said it could still be months before a final conclusion is reached in the case.

The county looks close to approving an ordinance that would allow noncommercial turbines up to 40 feet tall on most lots in the county except the mountain overlay district (which includes many hillsides) and the county's scenic corridor. That corridor is defined as anything that can be seen from five feet above the centerline of Idaho Highway 75 from Glendale Road north. For lots larger than five acres, the county's planning staff would approve the application for a turbine.

National Grid filed a second unsigned contract with the state Public Utilities Commission Wednesday, saying that Deepwater Wind's proposed electricity price of 25.3 cents per kilowatt-hour was still too expensive. Last month National Grid rejected Deepwater's proposed price of 30.7 cents per kWh as "not commercially reasonable." The wholesale price for electricity in Rhode Island is currently 9.2 cents per kWh. ... this price does not include the cost of the cable from Block Island to the mainland.

A year after the collapse of the equity financing market for large wind farms, state leaders and private developers are eyeing community-scale projects as an opportunity to grow the number of turbines in the state. But while communities may be good candidates for wind projects - with a strong, steady demand for electricity and the ability to raise taxes as collateral - just who will ultimately back these developments is still an unknown.

A wind energy development company has sued a second town board in an attempt to force through a large wind farm without the approval of local elected leaders. Ecogen Wind LLC filed a lawsuit Monday against the town of Prattsburgh, Steuben County, claiming town leaders have improperly thrown roadblocks infront of the wind farm. The company brought a similar legal action this month against the neighboring town of Italy in Yates County.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced Thursday that it has approved a $161 million loan to the company building the Montana Alberta Tie Line between Great Falls and Lethbridge. The Western Area Power Administration will loan Toronto-based Tonbridge Power Inc. - the project's developer - money with funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009, also known as the federal stimulus bill.

Robert Gardiner, a public broadcasting executive-turned-wind power developer, fielded questions from the audience about the so-called Highland Wind project. It's a $250 million development that would place 48 wind turbines in a single-file, southeasterly row along four peaks. It would likely be visible from the Appalachian Trail. ...I'm very concerned about the mountaintop removal," says Greg Perkins, the owner of the home in Highland Plantation that would be closest to the wind farm, about a half-mile away. He's also a soil scientist. "I really think we need to rethink this whole wind power thing in Maine. It doesn't create that much energy and for what we're losing, there's no balance to it. So I really think we need to rethink it."