A company that wants to build a floating wind farm off the coast of Martha's Vineyard has received a boost from the state's congressional delegation. In a letter dated June 26, the entire Massachusetts delegation asked the U.S. Minerals Management Service to review an application by Blue H USA LLC for a lease to test floating platform technology and collect data at the site for the proposed wind farm. The company announced the congressional support for its application at its U.S. headquarters in Boston yesterday.

Wells lifeboat rescued a yacht with engine failure which was drifting dangerously close to a new wind farm off Skegness. ...Wells lifeboat press officer John Mitchell said it was too early to say whether the wind farm, which is still being constructed, was likely to present more problems for sailors and result in more calls to the coastguard but it was something they were monitoring.

A row broke out last week over how to proceed with a proposal to build a wind turbine at the transfer station. Some selectmen were surprised to find out the recycling and renewable energy committee had applied to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission for input on putting a 250-foot turbine at the transfer station. ...board of selectmen chair Michele Couture was concerned that the recycling committee was getting ahead of the town in its interest in generating its own electricity. The committee should have asked selectmen for permission to contact the FAA and MAC, she said. "When it comes to siting a structure in town, the selectmen need to be involved in this. We're responsible for town property," she said, adding, "It was disconcerting to hear [Leger] talk like their committee was this independent entity."

A Texas-based wind energy company is making plans for the construction of a new wind farm in eastern Carbon County. Project manager Nate Sandvig of Horizon Wind Energy presented plans for the project this week to the Carbon County Commission and the Carbon County Planning Commission. ...The new wind farm would be located in the Simpson Ridge area south of Medicine Bow, near PacifiCorp's Arlington wind farm. Energy produced at the site would be shipped to California and other parts of the Pacific Coast, Sandvig said.

A small but determined group of Tsawwassen residents continued their fight to prevent high-voltage power line construction Thursday by blocking access to their neighbourhood with parked cars. "The trucks came and tried to get in and we wouldn't move our cars," said resident Tina Ryan, who took part in the morning action on 13A Street. A handful of cars were parked along the narrow roadway, apparently not violating parking laws but making access for large trucks impossible.

Alberta farmers who hope to halt construction of a major power transmission line proposed between Great Falls and Lethbridge were granted permission Thursday to appeal the $150 million project to the Alberta Court of Appeals. "The only way we're ever going to stop this line is to win an appeal and get the decision overturned," said Scott Stenbeck, an attorney representing 16 farmers who live in the Lethbridge and Warner areas. Marc Clark, president of the line's developer, Montana Alberta Tie Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Toronto-based Tonbridge Power Inc., said the ruling may delay the project, but it won't stop the proposed line.

Residents will get their chance to speak up about a proposed power line route through Springfield at three public hearings this month hosted by the Public Utility Commission. The supervisors have taken a stand against PPL's plans for the "cross-country route" and substation. They say the route will negatively affect environmentally sensitive areas and should be moved closer to Route 309 or the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority railroad corridor. The proposed line crosses woodlands, wetlands, flood plains and agricultural land through rural parts of Springfield and Richland.

The first of the 28 towers are going up in the second stage of the Te Rere Hau wind farm in the hills above Palmerston North, NZ Windfarms says. ...NZ Windfarms has a 50 percent stake in Te Rere Hau, with the other 50 percent owned by NP Power and Babcock and Brown Wind Power. The project has resource consent for 97 turbines and is due to be finished in mid-2009.

After three years of planning, Medford's first wind turbine will be constructed at the McGlynn School sometime this fall. The City Council recently approved a $600,000 loan order for the city to start construction of the turbine. The turbine will stand 131 feet tall with 33-foot blades that will spin around 12 miles per hour. ...The turbine will be located behind the McGlynn School, about 150 feet from the playground and 200 feet from the river.

Two wind power projects are blowing through Fillmore County. EcoEnergy of Elgin, Ill., has released plans for an $850 million wind farm in Bristol Township, a rural farming community near the Iowa border in southern Fillmore County. The company has scheduled construction for 2009, assuming the project moves forward as planned ...Others are also following suit. Fillmore Wind owner Larry Tammel has filed for a test turbine on his land.

The request, for a restraining order and a writ of mandamus -- seeking to force the county to do its duty under zoning regulations -- had been made by Rod Bittel, who lives about a mile from where the wind farm would be located. Even though he denied the requests from Bittel and his attorney, Patrick Hughes, Wichita, Toepfer left open the door for additional action. "If either party is ultimately aggrieved by what the county commission does with regard to this application, then an appeal can be taken to the district court to determine if the action was not supported by the evidence or is otherwise arbitrary or capricious," the judge said in summing up his ruling.

Several years ago the Aspen Skiing Co. examined its four ski mountains and concluded that winds on top are just too gusty for wind turbines. Wind is best for producing electricity when it's strong but steady. But turbines are now strong enough to withstand blasts of 120 mph. If gusts that are even stronger arrive, new designs allow blades to fold. And so a 165-foot tower with a propeller is soon to be erected atop Snowmass, to better measure the wind potential there.

The Treasure Coast chapter of the Surfrider Foundation has gathered more than 1,000 signatures against Florida Power & Light Co.'s wind turbine project on Hutchinson Island, the group announced late Wednesday. FPL wants to place six wind turbines on property it owns near the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant, including three at Walton Rocks beach ...The Surfrider Foundation says it has collected more than 1,000 signatures since early May, about 120 of them through an online petition the group launched June 3. The organization says it created the petition following a meeting it had with FPL officials about the project.

Supervisors on Tuesday approved an agreement that could provide $40,000 each year for a wind farm BP Alternative Energy wants to build in the township. Under the "voluntary host community agreement," Noxen will receive a one-time upfront payment of $50,000 payable within 30 days of the installation of the first wind turbine.

A committee charged with determining what kind of tax incentives Sullivan County should offer a wind energy committee has been delayed. They were supposed to offer their recommendations to the county commission late last month, but scheduling conflicts got in the way. Presiding Commissioner Chris May tells KTVO he expects to hear from the committee in the next few weeks. May hopes wind energy will help with economic development in Sullivan County, it the same way it's benefitting other rural communites.

North Dakota regulators are planning for two large new wind energy projects, costing an estimated $2.3 billion, that should be capable of generating up to 1,150 megawatts of electricity. The state Public Service Commission on Wednesday formally accepted letters of intent from FPL Energy LLC, of Juno Beach, Fla., to build a 1,000-megawatt wind farm in west central North Dakota and a 150-megawatt project in Dickey County, in the southeastern part of the state.

Sweetwater may not be the wind-energy capital for long. Pickens is in the process of building what could be the world's largest wind farm in the Texas Panhandle. "We're going to build a 4,000-megawatt farm in Pampa, and we've already bought the turbines for the first 1,000 megawatts, and we'll start construction in the summer of 2010," Pickens said. "We've put together all the land for it. The landowners are ready; we're ready." Pickens landed at Avenger Field at 2:21 p.m. with a crowd of about 50 gathered to see the man with an estimated net worth of $3 billion.

Supreme Court Judge Marianne Furfure said Tuesday she would not rule on a conflict of interest lawsuit against the town of Prattsburgh until a wind farm developer has a chance to be heard. The lawsuit, filed by Al Wordingham and the Advocates for Prattsburgh charges town Supervisor Harold McConnell acted unethically when he cast a tie-breaking vote at an April 21 town board meeting favoring a 36-turbie project proposed by First Wind. Before the April vote, McConnell told board members and residents he was paid by First Wind after helping broker a real estate deal for the developer.

Brent Boyles, president and CEO of Maine Public Service, said the northern Maine transmission line upgrade is tied to Horizon Wind Energy's proposed development of up to 800 megawatts of wind energy in The County. That proposal, which would comprise several separate projects, would transform the landscape of Aroostook County with 400 wind turbines - each standing roughly 400 feet tall - dotting farm fields and hillsides. A subsidiary of Horizon Wind, Aroostook Wind Energy, has been busy lining up willing landowners, but opposition to the unprecedented project is brewing. Boyles said the two transmission line projects, combined with Horizon Wind's proposal, would generate thousands of construction jobs and funnel tens of millions of dollars into municipal coffers.

Two utilities on Tuesday proposed $1.9 billion worth of electric infrastructure improvements to ensure reliability of the existing power grid as well as to connect northern Maine to the New England power grid for the first time. ...A study has indicated that the existing power grid serving CMP customers will no longer operate reliably beyond 2012 without the improvements, Burns said. Meanwhile, residents of northern Maine have not enjoyed the potential fruits of electric deregulation because Maine Public Service Co. is not connected to the rest of the New England power grid.