He warns of an energy crisis and the shortcomings of alternative fuels in talk at Cal Poly; some in the audience wanted more on how to avoid maximum oil usage

COLUMBIA, Mo. - City officials are expected to take steps this week that could eventually bring wind power energy to Columbia by 2008, the first such wind energy project in the state.

Some want renewable energy fast; others want to slow down to check on birds.

HINESBURG — Vermont could get half its electric power from renewable sources within 10 years, including 20 percent from wind, if it gets busy developing the resources now, says a new report. The report by the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, issued Thursday in the front yard of a company that makes testing equipment for potential wind power sites, comes against the backdrop of a debate over energy policy that has grown increasingly heated and increasingly political this election season.

A submission to list the orange-bellied parrot as critically endangered, could put an end to wind farms in Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria.

MONTEREY— Yet another decision awaits county officials about Highland New Wind Development’s plan to erect a 39-megawatt wind plant atop Allegheny Mountain.

The people of Te Anga and Marakopa happily meet the cost of travelling long distances from their isolated settlements for shopping, entertainment and medical attention.

More than 65 people attended a public meeting about plans for a windfarm in Pica. Wind Prospect Limited wants to erect five 81-metre turbines on land at Fairfield Farm. Villagers from Pica and Distington oppose the windfarm because of noise and the effect on the landscape.

The energy minister should withdraw his approval of a Halifax County wind farm because the project doesn't have enough local support, says a Terence Bay group. The Friends of River Road was formed last summer in opposition to a six-megawatt wind farm Chebucto Terence Bay Wind Field Inc. proposed in partnership with Renewable Energy Services Ltd.

Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Township Reeve Ben Van Diepenbeek believes council is satisfied with the Environmental Screening Report (ESR) for the Kingsbridge II Wind Power Project. About 15 township residents and 15 representatives from EPCOR, including Paul McMillan, senior vice president of Ontario, and Michael Smith, manager of policy and programs environment, as well as Stantec Consulting Ltd., filled the council chambers on Dec. 19 to hear the review of the ESR.

Aberavon Am Brian Gibbons has joined the chorus of disapproval against plans to bring the UK’s tallest wind turbines to the Afan Valley. Gamesa Energy UK wants to put 14 turbines there. With a 120-metre tower and a 64-metre blade, the structures would stand well over four times the height of Swansea’s big wheel. The planned development consists of four turbines in Glyncorrwg and a further 10 on the Gelli mountain near Croeserw. Dr Gibbons joins opponents including Aberavon MP Hywel Francis who has already spoken out against the proposals.

The UK is not as windy as the British government thought. The country’s first generation of wind farms are delivering less power than predicted, according to an analysis of official data on their output. The finding dents government hopes that wind turbines could generate up to a fifth of the UK’s energy by 2020.

In a 26-page ruling released Feb. 25, Orleans District Court Judge Brian Merrick finds in favor of Aquacultural Research Corporation in its fight to build a 242-foot wind turbine off Chapin Beach Road in Dennis.

A proposed wind farm in Ashe County should not be allowed because it violates the state’s Ridge Law, the public staff of the N.C. Utilities Commission said yesterday. The staff’s statement of position becomes part of the record as the six members of the Utilities Commission consider whether or not to approve an application to build 25 to 28 wind turbines in the Creston community. The Ridge Law contains a limited exception for windmills. Robert Gruber, executive director of the Utilities Commission, said that the staff’s position against the wind farm is based on a previous statement by Attorney General Roy Cooper. In a 2002 letter, Cooper wrote that the term windmills meant only “the traditional, solitary farm windmill which has long been in use in rural communities” and not wind turbines.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) _ Australia's government says its plans to create the world's largest solar power station by turning a wasteland into a glistening field of mirrors is a step toward making the sun-drenched country a world leader in clean energy. But critics say the government, which is riding on the back of an economic boom driven by sales of Australia's main export, coal, and other resources, is moving too slowly on less-polluting alternatives to fossil fuels and is using clean-energy arguments to launch a nuclear power industry.

Australia's prime minister has backed an electricity and gas company study emphasizing nuclear and coal instead of renewable energy and energy efficiency. As Australia attempts to address greenhouse gas emissions and a need for more energy, Prime Minister John Howard said, The answer is a greater emphasis on clean coal and nuclear power.He was responding to a report by the Energy Supply Association of Australia that said hitting a goal for reducing global warming pollution by 2030 would cost $75 billion, and wind, solar and other non-polluting energy sources would not be enough. It recognizes that while renewables such as solar and wind have a role to play, and we have always argued that, they will not provide the fundamental answer, Howard said. The ESAA is a trade group of Australia's electricity and downstream gas industries, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The report said Australia should feed between 15 percent and 20 percent of its energy demand by nuclear reactors and rely on natural gas and coal for much of the rest. It is in the interests of the fossil fuel industry to claim that renewable energy and energy efficiency are no solution to climate change and that we must rely instead on an experimental and costly technology, said Christine Milne, a senator with the Green Party.

Voters overwhelmingly opposed the wind tower proposal slated for neighboring Sheffield and Sutton on Tuesday evening. The unanimous opposition provided the town selectmen with precisely the overwhelming sense of direction they lacked last fall. “I think it was clear,” Selectman Robert Croteau said. “It’s not like we only had 25 or 30 people or even 60 or 70.” An estimated 120 voters turned out to make their position, and that of their town, unmistakably clear. That clarity, however, may have little effect on the Public Service Board (PSB), which must decide whether to issue a certificate of public good for the 16 towers UPC Vermont Wind wants to build.

"I love this estate and my objections are purely on aesthetic grounds. I know people will criticise me, but this is not about nimbyism," she said.

The protest erupted over plans for a wind-power plant that used village lands and required significant landfill in a bay where the people have for generations made a living fishing. Before that, nearby village land had been used for the construction of a coal-fired power plant.

Steve Gallo, executive director of the Bayonne Municipal Utilities Authority, said he is looking for innovative ways to save money for the city, and reduce the cost of his authority's energy needs. One of these ways, he said, is the possibility of installing modern windmills on BMUA controlled land to harness wind gusts off New York Bay to generate power for the Oak Street pump station. "We are trying to use new technology to find ways of saving our energy costs," Gallo said. "This is evident with the recent installation of solar panels in our schools that makes Bayonne the largest non-power company to supply energy on the east coast." Two years ago, the municipal authority in South Plainfield installed a wind-generated turbine to run a station, and with Bayonne surrounded on three sides, Gallo figures he might be able to do the same things. Windmills have also been successfully installed at Atlantic County Utility Authority, and combined with solar panels it generates enough energy to run the plant.