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.

Folks living in Dixmont voted Thursday night on an ordinance that would regulate wind power development in their town. The issue arose when a company began looking into the prospect of placing ten wind turbines along Mount Harris in Dixmont. For the past nine months the local planning board has been researching the effects of such projects on residents living nearby.

Wind developer Ecogen has filed another lawsuit against a local municipality in an attempt to erect electricity-producing wind turbines. The lawsuit was recently filed in state Supreme Court in Rochester against the Prattsburgh Town Board and other town officials. It is similar to legal action the company is taking against the town of Italy in Yates County, which has refused to grant Ecogen permission to build wind turbines there.

An Ohio Power Siting Board staff member admitted under cross examination Wednesday that the board has no obligation to consider the concerns of the public or intervenors in the Buckeye Wind case. Stuart Siegfried, of the Efficiency and Renewables Division of the Department of Energy and Environment, testified that he was responsible for compiling and editing the OPSB staff report on the project that was issued Oct. 13, in compliance with the deadline to do so 15 days before the public hearing at Triad that was held Oct. 28.

Arran-Elderslie has passed a new noise control bylaw. The bylaw will prohibit and regulate excessive noise and associated vibration, said chief administrative officer/clerk A. P. Crawford. There is no enforceable noise control bylaw in the municipality, she said. Three pre-amalgamation bylaws for Chesley, Tara and Paisley, now more than 10 years old "are all out of date and contain invalid references due to amendments to provincial legislation," she said.

Salisbury officials have only recently become aware that 10 wind turbines could be built less than a quarter-mile off Salisbury Beach if the state's draft Ocean Management Plan were adopted. A serious concern of both Salisbury Selectman Jerry Klima and Planning Board Chairman Don Egan is that after only recently seeing a map showing the turbine area less than 1,500 feet from shore ..."I never saw anything like this before that from the state," Klima said yesterday.

The town Planning Board asked the Town Council not to hold a public hearing next week on a proposed wind development zoning ordinance, citing missing information. ..."On initial blush through the law, it looks satisfactory," Chairman Richard J. Edsall said. "But after a more thorough examination, I saw there was an error made in the law, a section left out."

Despite pressure from the governor and other state officials, National Grid has again rejected a proposal to buy clean power from a developer proposing to build a $200-million wind farm off Block Island. In a letter filed late Wednesday afternoon with state regulators, Rhode Island's largest electric utility said it would not agree to the latest offer from Deepwater Wind for power from the eight-turbine wind farm that would provide electricity to Block Island because the price is still too high.

Island officials differed over what was achieved at their meeting Friday with state Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles. A selectman from each Island town, as well as officials representing Dukes County, the Martha's Vineyard Commission (MVC), and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay head (Aquinnah) attended the Boston session. But while they all heard the same message from Mr. Bowles, they brought home varying opinions about how much control the Island will have over large-scale wind power development in near-shore waters.

Two large masts have been cut down and a wind speed recorder stolen from the Flimby Hall Farm wind farm site. The masts were cut down last week, according to Maryport police. Samantha Crosby, West Energy's project manager for the Flimby site, said that the company believed the act was vandalism rather than a protest.

Property owners involved with the wind turbine project in Gulliver's Cove have liens on their property because SkyPower Corp. owes a Nova Scotia-based company over $40,000. SkyPower, which is partnered with Scotia Wind Fields, plans to erect a 30-megawatt wind farm in Gulliver's Cove using 20 turbines. ...There are 17 local landowners affected by this.

Dignitaries, schoolchildren and more than 400 islanders crowded Tuesday morning around the base of a massive wind turbine to officially dedicate the Fox Islands Wind Project. ...While it seemed clear that the vast majority of residents at the ceremony were thrilled with "their" turbines, a small but vocal group of islanders who live close to the turbines has expressed deep concerns about the noise, flickering red lights and potential negative effects on health and well-being. "Last night, it was just throbbing," said David Wylie, who lives about a half mile from the turbines. "Whump, whump, whump."

Another wind farm is planned for Schuylkill County. The proposal will come up Wednesday night at a zoning meeting at the North Schuylkill High School. There is opposition from people who live near the proposed site for the giant windmills. Even from a few miles away wind farms are hard to miss. They're usually located on mountaintops.

The Public Service Commission conditionally approved a wind energy project in Garrett County Wednesday, the third expedited application it has moved forward. Synergics Roth Rock Wind Energy LLC and Synergics Wind Energy LLC plan to build a 20-turbine facility on Backbone Mountain, generating 50 megawatts of power.

Although the official public hearing was delayed until January, area residents still spoke out Tuesday over the controversial topic of wind turbines. "How are we guaranteed that so many jobs will be created?" Mark Tyson of Tazewell, said. "We have to take the word of BP and Dominion - the same people who funded 50 percent of this study." "As far as this study is concerned, I know it is an economic impact study, but I pray there will be other studies you all will look at other than economics," Donna Kelly of Bluefield, Va., said. "It's not all just about money. I feel a few will profit from this but the majority will suffer."

The official count of absentee ballots Tuesday gave victory to Urban C. Hirschey in the race for town supervisor. Mr. Hirschey was down by 42 votes on Election Day but picked up 62 more votes than Democratic incumbent Thomas K. Rienbeck in absentees, 144-82. The final tally was 634-614. ...Mr. Rienbeck, who has been in office for 10 years, said most of the people who changed their registration to vote for Mr. Hirschey were rich seasonal residents who oppose wind farms.

The long-awaited wind energy study compiled by Springsted Inc., was released on Monday. While it didn't include a lot of surprises, it did come with plenty of statistics, projections and hypothetical scenarios related to wind turbine farms. ...While it doesn't provide a lot of new details, the Springsted study still provides a lot of information for folks to digest. The official public hearing on the proposed mountain construction ordinance, also known as the mountain ridge protection ordinance, will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 6:15 p.m. or soon thereafter at Tazewell High School.

Two companies that encountered political anger for their plans to use Chinese-built turbines on a wind farm in West Texas have announced plans to build a new turbine factory - in the United States. The U.S. Renewable Energy Group, an investment firm, and A-Power Energy Generation Systems, a Chinese turbine maker, said in a statement on Tuesday that they had signed an agreement to build "a new production and assembly plant in the United States that will supply highly advanced wind energy turbines to renewable energy projects throughout North and South America."