Dozens of people listened to five speakers give their views on wind energy at a forum Friday. Linda Walbridge, of the Western Maine Economic Development Council, said the goal of the forum was to help residents make informed decisions about wind power on a local level. The speakers included one proponent and one opponent of wind power, a sound permitting specialist and two people involved with proposed wind turbine projects in Oxford Hills.

Top Crop Wind Farm will start construction on Phase 2 of its Grundy County project this coming spring. The move comes on the heels of municipal approval Wednesday to reconfigure some portions of the Enterprise Zone - which extends east from Ottawa in La Salle County to Morris in Grundy County - to afford Top Crop a sales tax break on building materials.

It's all about location, location, location when it comes to Vermilion County's position in the wind farm industry. The county is already the site of four planned wind farm projects stretching from one in the southeast corner to three more along the western side. Most of Illinois - as well as the majority of Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Michigan and Wisconsin - rate in only the second lowest category as far as annual wind speed is concerned, turning in a speed range of between 5 ½ and 6 ½ meters per second.

Dressed in warrior robes and helmet, Tom Kapraun raised his staff to the east. He was "tilting at windmills," he said, in classic Don Quixote style. Kapraun, of Lee, was one of about 30 people who were protesting Saturday about a wind farm company's desire to build six turbines in the village's jurisdiction, despite village leaders denying the developer's application.

This week, developer Upstate NY Power Corp. submitted the site plan application for the wind farm to the town of Hounsfield Planning Board. Before the site plan can be approved, the state environmental quality review process must be completed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Earlier this month, Upstate NY Power Corp. received approval from the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency for a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement separate from the uniform tax-exempt policy in development for wind projects across the county.

Could there be a lawsuit in the tea leaves over a proposed wind law in Hartsville? For the second meeting in a row, discussions at Wednesday night's town board meeting focused on a newly-unveiled wind regulatory law. And again, discussions of legal action by those benefiting from the project have been discussed. This time, the reference came from the developer. According to Jackie Murray, an attorney for German-owned E.ON Climate and Renewables - the company planning to build around 51 megawatts worth of industrial wind turbines in the town - a proposed law would block wind development because of overly-strict guidelines in the legislation, and could cause problems for the town.

Iberdrola Renewables Inc., the wind company developing the Stone Church Wind Farm Project, has released a list of municipal officers and their relatives the company is paying to use their property. The four people named in the public notice are Hammond Town Councilman James C. Pitcher; John Mitchell, whose wife, Ann, was Hammond town clerk from 1988 to 2005; Hammond Planning Board member Steven S. Demick; and town of Oswegatchie Councilman Kenneth A. Wilson. The public notice was in compliance with state Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo's Wind Energy Ethics Code.

The developer of a $213 million transmission line being eagerly awaited by wind developers said construction is set to begin following the decision Thursday by the Supreme Court of Canada to refuse to hear an appeal of the project's permit. With the court's decision, all avenues for legal challenges have been exhausted and Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. will now be able to begin construction on both sides of the border by December.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, looking outside the region to boost its renewable energy portfolio, said Thursday it will buy 450 megawatts of wind power capacity from the Great Plains. The nation's largest public utility has signed 20-year power purchase agreements with Maryland-based CVP Renewable Energy Co. and Chicago-based Invenergy Wind LLC for electricity generated by wind farms they are building in McIntosh County, N.D., and Roberts County, S.D., respectively.

National Grid is willing to resume negotiations with Deepwater Wind over a power-purchase agreement if certain conditions are met first, according to a letter from the utility to the offshore wind farm developer. The primary stipulation is that Deepwater must commit to a price that increases at a consistent annual rate and is not subject to other variables, such as potential delays or other complications that could raise the cost of the developer's plan to install up to eight turbines off Block Island.

Two weeks ago, Patriot Renewables LLC told the Savoy Selectmen that it intends to build an eight-turbine wind farm in the mountain town. On Tuesday, the company set its sights on Adams as well. Todd Presson, chief operating officer of Patriot Renewables of Quincy, met with Town Administrator Jonathan Butler to inform him that the company is in the "very entry level" stages of expanding the project across the border into Adams.

The debate raged for over an hour in council chambers; yet it soon became clear that, when it comes to wind power development in Sackville, a compromise might not easily be reached between the two sides. Several councillors expressed concerns over the aesthetics and potential health effects of wind turbines; while others pointed to not only the environmental benefits but the economic opportunities that come with wind energy. A couple members of council remained unsure of which way to turn.

The state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, or EFSEC, today resumes deliberations on whether to approve the 95-turbine, $330 million Desert Claim Wind Power Project proposed for eight miles northwest of Ellensburg. EFSEC's seven members were scheduled to gather again behind closed doors in Olympia at 1 p.m. today, according to EFSEC Manager Allen Fiksdal.

The turbines have inspired spirited opposition in rural Richland and Crawford counties. Karel and Jim Davis, who have lived on a 6-acre plot across from Baird's farm for 35 years, have placed "No Wind Turbine" signs on their front yard on Champion Road. "We don't want our property to feel like an industrial park," said Jim Davis, 65. "But we think they're well-meaning people." Construction for wind turbines is expected to begin in July 2010.

Controversial plans for a new wind farm in the heart of Suffolk have been refused to the delight of campaigners. A previous plan for the two-turbine site at Potash Farm in Wyverstone, near Bacton, was withdrawn after Mid Suffolk District Council planners recommended it for refusal. Now the resubmitted scheme has also been turned down.

The 39-turbine Roaring Brook wind farm project in the town of Martinsburg received little public comment Wednesday. And the four people who did speak at the town Planning Board public hearing on the project expressed mixed opinions. "There is insufficient evidence to suggest that birds won't be displaced by Roaring Brook Wind Farm," said Chris K. Lajewski, the Northern New York land steward for the Nature Conservancy.

Consultants working for Silverleaf Resorts said Wednesday that the $46 million Berkshire Wind Project in construction on top of Brodie Mountain threatens the potential for their $62 million time-share condominium project in development at the base of the mountain. Silverleaf is calling on Berkshire Wind to relocate three of its 10 turbines that are within 150 feet of the Snowy Owl Resort condo project's property line, said Chris Hodgkins, a consultant for Silverleaf and a former state representative for southern Berkshire County.

Many people in North Dakota are thrilled that wind turbines are dotting the state. It is an alternate source of energy, and financially, it is good for the state's economy. But there are two sides to every story, and state legislators heard both sides on Wednesday in Valley City. The Energy Development and Transmission Committee first listened to NextEra Energy Resources representatives on wind facility construction and operation.

The blades of a wind turbine at Burnsville Walser Honda still turn with the breeze, as they have for decades - but these days, that's pretty much all they do. "The wind turbine stopped functioning about nine years ago - apparently, the dynamo or generator stopped working," said Doug Sprinthall, Walser's director in charge of new vehicle operations. ...The turbine is the only one of its type in Burnsville. The city is examining whether to change its existing wind-power ordinance, which dates back to 1982.