The first phase of a $500 million wind farm south of Ethridge and 85 miles north of Great Falls is finished and on the electrical grid, with the power bound for California. ...The wind farm connected to the transmission system Wednesday, said Claudia Rapkoch of NorthWestern Energy, which owns the transmission line that will ship the power to market. "Why not produce it in the state of Montana?" Rapkoch said. San Diego Gas and Electric, an investor-owned utility in California serving 1.2 million customers, is buying the electricity.

Two appeals have been filed against the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission's approval of the Lompoc Wind Energy project, according to county staff. Residents who live near the proposed project, George and Cheryl Bedford, and the California Department of Fish and Game appealed the Sept. 30 decision.

A proposal to build a $180 million wind farm along the hill ridges at Waterloo has been dusted off after sitting on the shelf for the past three years. Initially proposed by Hydro Tasmania, now Roaring40s, the 39-turbine wind farm got the official nod of approval from local councils in 2005. Roaring40s public relations and communications manager Josh Bradshaw visited the region last week and spoke to Clare and Gilbert Valleys and Goyder councils about the project and plans to expand on the original development, to include turbines at Stony Gap and Robertstown.

A windmill farm may be on its way to the Town of Barton, but as to when it will happen is still years away. The windmill farm is being sought by Gamesa Energy USA, which is the United State's branch of Gamesa Corp. The company, which is based in Spain, specializes in sustainable energy technologies, mainly wind power. The company was represented at Monday's town council meeting by Timothy Vought, who is the director of development for Gamesa's Atlantic region.

Landowners in southern Fillmore Township could have lease agreements in place within the next two months for a proposed commercial wind energy farm, township officials said Monday. The wind farm would be a few miles south of Tulip City Airport, north of 136th Avenue and east of 60th Street, said Keith Potter, township supervisor. He said there are plenty of large properties in that vicinity for the operation, which could include 35 to 40 wind turbines.

Attempts to attract wind farm developments to the Great Lakes could pit Wisconsin against Michigan. John Hummer, project manager for the Great Lakes Consortium for International Training and Development, an Ann Arbor Mich.-based group, said once a uniform set of rules for wind farms has been adopted by the Great Lakes states, competition for farms could kick into gear. While setting the regulatory framework for offshore wind generation is the task at hand, competing for wind isn't far off, some say.

The board hosted a public hearing on the updated code, which, according to town Supervisor Steve Dombert, was revised following the alleged conflicts of interest of former board members. During the hearing, resident Leslie Grill asked why board members should not be allowed to speak at all on areas they have a conflict of interest. "But to muzzle the official ... seems to be unwise," he said. "Someone who has an interest in something has obviously reviewed the topic."

Since the concept of creating a wind farm in Nantucket Sound was born, it has faced a barrage of lawsuits and administrative appeals. And if past is precedent, the maze of legal actions surrounding Cape Wind will surely spread.

It was a substantial platform on 16 pilings in the Pamlico Sound, built by a collaborative of North Carolina academic research scientists. A fiberglass instrument house was bolted to the platform, a wireless communication system and an antenna were in place, and a wind turbine and high-efficiency solar panels had just been installed. A product of a state initiative to spur innovative research, the 18- by-18-foot structure was ready for the installation of cutting-edge data collection instruments. That is, until a 71-foot steel trawler plowed it all down.

Wind Capital Group, headquartered in St. Louis, wants to build about 60 towers -- 400-feet high from the base to the tip of blade -- in portions of three townships: Smelser, Paris and Hazel Green. The proposed White Oak Wind Farm would have a total capacity of 100 megawatts. Wind Capital Group is working on development of future projects totaling more than 1,400 megawatts in 10 states. ...Opinions clashed at a contentious Smelser town meeting in late September attended by more than 150 people. Township residents voted overwhelmingly, 78-21, in favor on a nine-month moratorium on the project.

America's wind energy boom has largely bypassed the densely populated Northeast. ...But today New York is the Northeast's wind capital. There, giant wind farms are producing renewable energy and reviving rural economies. But the turbines are also dividing neighbors and sparking an angry debate. As part of a collaboration with Northeast stations, David Sommerstein of North Country Public Radio reports from the region's largest wind farm.

Protesters against plans for 19 wind turbines each more than 400ft high on "West Glamorgan's last wilderness" have joined a new European-wide campaign against wind energy schemes. Opponents of proposals by npower renewables (sponsors of The Ospreys rugby team) for the wind turbines on common land on hills at Mynydd y Gwair north of Swansea say the project will ruin the upland area which has remained unchanged for hundreds of years. Save our Common Environment (Socme), which is fighting the plans, has joined the European Platform against Windfarms representing growing disenchantment with the schemes.

Residents in an East Yorkshire village are being urged to join an action group against plans for a wind farm on their doorstep. Fears about homes being devalued has led to opposition to a scheme for a five-turbine wind farm on land at Sancton, near Market Weighton. Sancton Windfarm Action Team (Swat) was set up after a ballot of villagers at a public meeting showed that 85 were against - and just 29 for - the development.

The debate over wind power soon will be blowing into additional Maine towns. First Wind, the Massachusetts company behind Maine's two largest wind energy facilities, plans to file applications with the state late this year or early next year for a facility with roughly 30 turbines in the southern Aroostook County town of Oakfield. The company also is moving forward with plans for projects in Rumford in western Maine as well as on Grand Manan Island just across the Canadian border.

S.C. Energy Office, which was awarded a $500,000, three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study the potential for generating wind energy off the coast. Clemson and Coastal Carolina universities and the Savannah River National Lab are also participating in the research. "The purpose of this (grant) is to develop all the necessary regulations and get a better feel for what's available (in wind resources offshore)," said Erika Hartwigof the state energy office.

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.

Three years after the courts ruled against their claim to their ancestors' land, members of the Balli family said they'll keep fighting. Since July, about 40 family members have staged protests against the developer of a wind farm, claiming it is intruding on their land claim awarded about 200 years ago by the King of Spain. "They're trespassing on our property," said Nicholas Balli, a mechanic in Harlingen.

Wind power advocates from across Maine talked about economic and environmental impact and turbine noise during a panel forum Thursday night at Black Mountain Ski Lodge. ...Kearney and Shaw, who live near the Mars Hill wind farm, addressed noise and visual issues associated with wind turbines. "My family lives 3,000 feet from the turbines on the east side of the mountain," Kearney said. "There's no doubt we do hear noise, but we don't focus on it. ...It sounds like a low-flying jet aircraft or a waterfall. You put these big, beautiful 100-foot blades up there and you have to hear something."

A former state representative agreed today to pay nearly $500,000 in restitution for misleading customers of his wind turbine business, according to a statement released by Attorney General Martha Coakley. Former Democratic Representative Mark Howland of East Freetown will have one year to pay $488,000 in restitution for violating the Massachusetts Consumer Protection act by deceiving customers – mainly in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth, according to the agreement filed in Fall River Superior Court.

The anemometers, which measure wind speed, were installed by the Cape Neddick-based Ra Power Solutions company as part of a yearlong study to determine if a commercial wind farm would be viable there. If it is, a small-scale "niche" wind farm consisting of up to 300-foot high turbines could be constructed. It would be the first commercial wind farm in southern Maine, according to Dean Scontras, a former congressional candidate and vice president of business development for the company.