Fifteen new letters of opposition were filed on the Ohio Power Siting Board docketing Web site Thursday after a public hearing on the Buckeye Wind case Wednesday night at Triad, during which some 50 people testified on the record about their views for and against the project. Public Utilities Commission of Ohio spokesman Matt Butler said Thursday it will take court reporters some time to complete a transcript of the public hearing and that it could be ready by the end of next week, prior to the start of evidentiary hearings.

Fifteen years have passed since the historic California Desert Protection Act set aside millions of unspoiled acres as wilderness, elevated Joshua Tree and Death Valley to national park status and created the Mojave National Preserve. The legislation was the largest land conservation bill in the continental United States, hailed for its safekeeping of a long-ignored 6.37 million acres of landscape that counts "singing" sand dunes, volcanic cinder cones and world-class climbing boulders among its attractions. ...Now, proposals are pending for desert landfills, airports, housing developments, renewable energy projects and water harvesting, pushing a new generation to find ways to balance such pressures with the need for open space.

A solar-powered light should be installed on a meteorological tower atop Susie's Peak as a safety measure for aviators. That was the message in a letter sent by the state Agency of Transportation to the Public Service Board regarding Vermont Community Wind Farm's temporary wind measurement tower. "It was a recommendation from a safety standpoint," said Rich Turner, AOT's aviation program manager.

The Northern Laramie Range Alliance announced it will establish a tax-exempt corporation to buy up state leases in order to prevent the development of wind energy. The effort is aimed at "preserving the agricultural, historic, recreational and natural heritage of central Wyoming's Northern Laramie Range," according to the alliance.

A Sino-US consortium yesterday announced plans for a US$1.5 billion, 600MW wind farm in Texas, with China supplying all the turbines and most of the funding. The 36,000-acre wind farm ...is a joint venture between state-backed Chinese firm Shenyang Power Group, US wind farm developer Cielo Wind Power and private equity firm US Renewable Energy Group. Most of the funding for the project will come from Chinese banks, with loan guarantees and grants provided by the US federal government's economic stimulus package.

Meridian Energy's boss has given Martinborough hints of a company backdown over a proposed wind farm. More than 150 residents met this week as opposition mounts to the company's proposal for a 45-turbine wind farm near a protected hill range. Chief executive Tim Lusk, who lives in Martinborough with wife Lesley, joined residents as the concerns were aired this week.

Concerns over "flicker vertigo," property values and flight paths for crop dusters were raised by area residents who voiced their objection Thursday to the proposed Black Prairie wind farm east of the Twin Cities. Horizon Wind Energy LLC is seeking a special use permit to locate about 333 turbines in Towanda, Blue Mound, Martin and Anchor townships, north of Illinois 9. ...After taking testimony for more than four hours, the zoning board continued the hearing until November. A date had not been announced as of The Pantagraph's press time.

The company had first agreed to the deal in October with Utah-based Wasatch Wind Inc. for the rights to the 4,400 megawatt project, to be built in Lake Erie. Terms of the deal had not been disclosed. Calgary-based Canadian Hydro Developers Inc. said Friday it has terminated its earlier plans to purchase a subsidiary that is developing one of the largest wind farms in the world in Ontario.

In a case pitting the beauty of the Flint Hills against large wind farms, the Flint Hills won. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Friday in favor of a zoning ordinance in Wabaunsee County that prohibits commercial wind farms. Poised as the third best state in the country for wind power and on the cusp of a renewable energy revolution, Kansas has the potential to be at the epicenter of the wind industry.

More than 150 Martinborough residents have vowed to fight against Meridian Energy's plan to build a wind farm near a protected ridge of hills after attending a public meeting in their town hall on Tuesday night. ...Residents living near existing or proposed wind farms in Makara, Ashurst and Taihape said the reality of living by wind farms was vastly different and worse than what they were told to expect during the consultation processes.

It's one step forward, two steps back for the Greenvale Wind Farm. The two local companies behind the development of a proposed wind farm have asked to temporarily halt any further action on the 11-megawatt project located in Greenvale Township. In an Oct. 14 letter to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Sparks Energy and Medin Renewable Energy, the two companies behind the development of the proposed wind farm, say they need more time to listen and respond to residents' concerns about the development.

The US Forest Service is one step closer to issuing a decision on the Deerfield Wind Project. The Manchester Ranger District of the Green Mountain National Forest has reviewed the Public Service Board's approval and the public comments it received regarding last year's Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Now the forest service is ready to release a supplemental report on their latest findings. But despite the new information, some state officials are urging the forest service take extra precautions before they make a final decision.

A wind farm planned for the Howden area would "industrialise the landscape", it is claimed. Residents living close to the proposed site voiced their fears at an inquiry into the plans. They fear the turbines will create unacceptable levels of noise, disturb wildlife and ruin views.

Will the wind someday carry water from Lake Michigan to Grand Rapids water customers? It will if Grand Rapids officials put together a $15 million proposal to build two wind turbines on land the city owns next door to its Lake Michigan Water Filtration Plant. ...But the proposal to install two turbines up to 300 feet tall will require an ordinance amendment and could be unpopular with those who own cottages nearby.

Before anyone in Walnut signs any deals with any wind farm company, a forum will be held Sunday to discuss how commercial turbines could impact the community, one organizer said. Rockford-based environmental lawyer Rick Porter is scheduled to talk about the long-term effects wind farms can have. Porter is the attorney representing 39 DeKalb residents suing to block a 151-turbine wind farm that straddles the DeKalb/Lee county border.

Residents from Champaign County and beyond appeared in droves at Triad High School Wednesday evening to either give or hear opinions during a public hearing regarding the proposed Buckeye Wind Project. Upon arriving at the school participants could see the yellow "safe set-backs" signs and even hear blaring through a mounted speaker a recording one opponent had depicting turbine noise. Walking through the front doors individuals easily found themselves inundated with literature from both sides of the issue.

Despite a recent report indicating Pennsylvania's significant growth in wind energy, local projects that once seemed imminent are all either dead or at a standstill. The state ranked second in growth with 29 percent, according to the American Wind Energy Association's report on the market for the third quarter of 2009. ...Two Luzerne County projects have withered on the vine, one dying after a very public legal fight and the other quietly.

There is a statewide push for increased use of renewable energy in Ohio and efforts to bring one particular kind of energy to Champaign County are blowing in all kinds of controversy. There was a public hearing Wednesday inside Triad High School auditorium for people to express there opinions about the project will be suitable for the area.

A proposed wind farm near Parkers Prairie won't hamper agricultural activities, nor will the noise affect residents, according to Prairie Wind Energy LLC Board members. Four board members, including President Terry Carlson, attended the Otter Tail County Board meeting Tuesday to answer any questions regarding the project and also update the board that it is completing its due diligence on the project. Twenty people attended the meeting.

The McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a third public hearing Thursday on Horizon Wind Energy's request for a special-use permit to build an expansion of the Twin Groves Wind Farm expected to cost in excess of $400 million. The hearing, the first opportunity for opponents of the permit to give testimony, will be at 7 p.m. at the county's Government Center, 115 E. Washington St. Two more hearings for permit foes may be scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 9 and 10, also at the Government Center.