Steve Pitney of Alternate Energy, the company chosen to build the turbine, said he is considering Westport-based Aerostar Wind Turbines or a West Coast company instead of Bergey, the Oklahoma-based manufacturer that received poor reviews in a recent local report. Pitney called Paul Gay, the owner of Aerostar, last week to tell him he was interested in using an Aerostar turbine, which Gay said is "vastly different" from a Bergey. Gay said he was interested in the project but that he had "no idea" if Aerostar might end up building the turbine.

Hamilton is proposing a wind turbine farm on Bureau of Land Management property along the ridgeline of the Virginia Range, just east of Washoe Valley and west of Virginia City. The 72 turbines would be placed where the wind is strongest, beginning at McClellan Peak and extending northward to Geiger Summit, touching Carson City, Washoe County and Storey County. The whirlwind, if it comes, could be from officials and residents of Storey County, especially the Comstock Historic District, who aren't crazy about modern wind turbines being in view of the 1860s-era communities of Virginia City, Gold Hill and Silver City.

Cohasset could be on its way to getting its two biggest fans - wind turbines, that is. This coming Monday, Sept. 8 at 8p.m., the Planning Board will begin what will likely be a series of public hearings on an application proposing two wind turbines on the Graham Waste site off Route 3A. The project application, put forth by a private developer, proposes the installation of two 1.65-megawatt sized wind turbines. ...The public hearings, essentially a site plan review for the project, will include an in-depth look at all aspects of the project and its potential impacts. The application includes a 70-page feasibility study, which outlines the project from a wind analysis to potential noise, shadow flicker, visual and avian impacts to estimated energy outputs.

Genesis Energy, Trustpower, Meridian Energy and Mighty River Power have all made separate submissions to the Tararua district plan, currently up for review. They are campaigning for new policies to make wind farms a priority in the district, and pushing for a slackening of present guidelines. In the current policy on environmental heritage, the skyline of the ranges in the district is considered a protected natural feature. Trustpower wants this wording cut, with references to the protection of the "skyline of Tararua Ranges, Ruahine Ranges, Puketoi Ranges, and Manawatu Gorge", deleted from the plan entirely.

Cheryl Wagner, a URW member and a vocal opponent throughout the process, says she can only speak in general terms. Wagner said a proposal was given to Horizon, which the energy company is currently reviewing. The proposal was drawn up by Porter and agreed upon by URW. Neither Wagner nor Porter would disclose what was in the proposal, but an appeal may hinge upon whether or not it is accepted. "Horizon said they really want to do this (project)," said Wagner. "But, they're not willing to give a property value guarantee."

Harvard is planning to install small-scale wind turbines on top of the Holyoke Center and a parking garage, according to a media report. While the wind turbines are not expected to generate a significant amount of electricity for Harvard, they will function as "outward symbols of our commitment to renewable energy and sustainability here on campus," James Gray, associate vice president for Harvard real estate services told The New York Times. ..."It is important to realize that [the turbines] are symbolic, and are not an alternative to doing something more substantive," Schrag said.

If you ask the Sewer Commission how they feel about wind turbines, they would probably say, "great", but ask them how they relish the idea of placing such a structure hovering over the sewer plant and you will get a different answer. On August 27 the Commission wrote a four page letter to the Green Committee essentially tearing apart every aspect of the turbine, its placement and its financials. That correspondence outlines how the height of the turbine violates Kingston's own by-laws and places the sewer plant directly under its fall zone "rendering it inoperable for an indefinite period of time.

Town Planner Eric Smith has begun circulating a proposed bylaw that would regulate public and private use of small wind energy systems. The draft of the bylaw, which Smith sent via e-mail to numerous local leaders, lays out guidelines and requirements for installing and using wind turbines that generate less than 60 kilowatts of energy. Town leaders who received Smith's e-mail showed excitement Wednesday. ...Large turbines, which generate more than 60 kilowatts of wind energy, require a separate set of bylaws, drafts of which Smith began circulating among town leaders last week.

Is it too expensive to survey historic resources before Virginia's first wind energy plant is constructed? Highland New Wind Development says it would have to fork over between $50,000-$75,000, or more, to do what state officials have been steadily requesting for two years. ...DHR archeologist Roger Kirchen, however, told The Recorder his agency needs the results of these surveys before a review of the project is completed. "The final SCC order directs the applicant to work toward providing us with information," Kirchen said Monday. "The SCC order has the authority. We've exchanged some documents (with HNWD) ... but none of these issues have been resolved. At this point, we're just trying to identify the potential effects."

Growers and ranchers in the southern reaches of California are posing the latest obstacle to the state's push for green power. Facing the possibility of losing land to power transmission lines, they have urged state commissioners to avoid their property when selecting a route for a project linking consumers on the coast to renewable energy operations in the Southern California desert. ...The dispute is part of a growing conflict between farmers and utilities, as California's mandate for power providers to boost their use of renewable energy prompts new projects across the state.

Consultants recently told the Nauset Regional School Committee that the district will be able to pay off a proposed $2.7 million wind turbine at the high school in less than three years. But others with knowledge in the field say that is way too optimistic. ...Nauset business manager Hans Baumhauer is skeptical. Without knowing the size of the turbine, the height, or cost, he said it is too early to speculate on profit. "I have grave concerns about that number," Baumhauer said of Michelman's estimate.

At the Blue Ginger Cafe, several residents who talk about a plan for a major wind farm on Lanai are worried the new technology will lead to the end of game hunting on their island. "If they going to stop hunting, that's going to be a bad thing to do," said Sam Shin, a retired pineapple worker. "It's going to cause problems." Castle & Cooke Resorts LLC is developing a plan to build a 300-megawatt wind farm on its land in northwestern Lanai, an area frequented by hunters.

The new owners of the Berkshire Wind project on Brodie Mountain are on the brink of ordering 10 1.5 megawatt wind turbines for installation at some point during the coming two years. According to Ed Kaczenski, lead staff engineer for Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corp., four requests for bids were sent out in early August to the only four manufacturers of the 1.5 megawatt turbines - GE, Fuhrlander, Suzlon and AEER. ...The Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corp. borrowed $8 million from PeoplesBank of Holyoke to finance the purchase of the project and to begin the purchase process for the wind turbines.

Locals in north Kerry are up in arms at the alleged role of a wind energy firm in the landslide that destroyed a river's salmon and trout stocks. Before the facts of what caused last week's landslide in a north Kerry river network were known, a nearby wind energy firm taking the brunt of the local anger. Prior to the landslide, Tralee-based company Tra Investments had begun site works for an eight-turbine wind farm in the Ballincollig Hill-Maghanknockane area. Within 24 hours of the slide, the company announced that it would commission an independent review into the incident, which it promised to make public.

It is a landscape immortalised on canvas by JMW Turner and in verse by William Wordsworth, but Bolton Abbey, in the Yorkshire Dales, could be "ruined" by the construction of two wind turbines.

Hill Country residents have raised multiple concerns about new transmissions lines that will be installed to deliver wind energy across Texas. In July, the Public Utilities Commission approved a plan called "Scenario 2" that maps out the general route companies will follow when installing transmission lines. The lines will carry energy from wind farms in West Texas to Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and Ft. Worth. ...Final proposals from interested companies must be submitted by Sept. 12. The PUC will make their final selections in January 2009.

Skeptics in the crowd scanned visuals of wind farms proposed for Prince Edward County on display last night and said the only thing green about them is the money the proponent stands to make. Others came to a public meeting at the Crystal Palace eager to learn more ...Gilead Power Corp. unveiled more details of its plans to erect up to 12 turbines in an area west of Ostrander Point Road. Gilead is one of several companies exploring the county for wind turbine potential.

The state's suspension of a rebate program for small wind turbine projects has led Mashpee Commons to rethink its proposal to mount two turbines to the roof of the Talbots' building in the middle of the commercial and residential development. Douglas S. Storrs, a vice president of both Mashpee Commons LP another related development firm, said this week that in light of the suspension the developers are now investigating using the two small turbines, purchased nearly a year ago, at other properties in Rhode Island.

But renewed interest in wind turbines has brought with it a number of planning and logistical concerns. Much like the pre-zoning era of the Vineyard when neighborhoods and roads were laid out with minimal planning, there is now growing concern that a lack of uniform regulations could result in backyard turbines popping up all over the Island with little regard to aesthetics or scenic vistas. Many Island planning officials agree the Vineyard should explore wind turbine regulations as soon as possible.

An MP has joined a chorus of opposition against the UK's largest wind turbines. Weaver Vale MP Mike Hall has spoken against the cluster of four 410ft-high turbines, 100ft taller than Big Ben, and would even dwarf the Fiddlers Ferry Cooling Tower if they were built at Aston Grange. After giving evidence at a public inquiry into the proposals he said: "The developers Tegni Cymru have said that a specific planning policy gives them the right to build the wind farm.