Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, historically the biggest commercial lender for renewable energy projects, has scaled back loans to the industry since the U.K. government bailed out the company in 2008. ..."The government of course will get pilloried for it -- you say you're a green government, you're running the banks, and they're not lending enough," Keith Pilbeam, professor of financial economics at London's City University, said in a telephone interview.

Neighbors irritated by We Energies' continued search for Glacier Hills Wind Park easements have won the right to review changes to a project the state approved two months ago. "If they don't need easements to build the project, then why are they still bothering nonparticipants?" said Friesland resident Gary Steinich. "We didn't ask for this fight."

Kevin Parzyck, project manager for Invenergy LLC, said the company already is adjusting its plans to account for standards imposed by state regulators on another wind project - with wind turbine setbacks of 1,250 feet from surrounding properties rather than the 1,000 feet originally planned by Invenergy.

A larger than normal group of people attended Monday night's Egg Harbor Town Board meeting to talk about wind turbines used to generate electricity. The catalyst for the discussion was the Feb. 25 installation of a turbine behind the Feathered Star Bed and Breakfast on Wisconsin 42 north of Carlsville.

A group that includes wind farm supporters and opponents was named today to recommend new statewide standards on wind energy developments. The state Public Service Commission named 15 people to serve on the Wind Siting Council, which will study, among other things, how far wind turbines should be located from nearby homes.

As Wisconsin lawmakers and manufacturers discuss the merits of proposed clean-energy legislation, central Wisconsin economic development agencies seem divided on the issue. Industry leaders at the Wisconsin Paper Council and many of its members, including NewPage and Domtar, oppose Gov. Jim Doyle's proposed Clean Energy Jobs Act because they say it will lead to higher energy costs and the loss of traditional manufacturing jobs.

Almost anyone you ask in Morrison knows about the debate surrounding the windmill proposal. "It's good to have green energy but some people don't like it because they are really big and some think it's noisy," said 12-year-old Shane Nushart. Some people have heard enough.

Block Island could meet most of its electricity needs through clean energy generated by the eight-turbine wind farm proposed for southeast of the island, at reasonable prices usually associated with fossil fuel generation, Deepwater Wind CEO Bill Moore testified to the Pubic Utilities Commission Wednesday. However, that does not factor in the cost of a cable connecting Block Island to the mainland — essential to the viability of the project — or the above-market costs that mainland ratepayers would have to shoulder.

The executive director of the Energy Council of Rhode Island, a nonprofit organization known as TEC-RI that represents 35 of the state's biggest manufacturers, universities and hospitals, testified on Tuesday against an agreement under which Deepwater Wind would sell power generated by the offshore wind farm at more than twice the price National Grid pays for electricity from conventional sources.

Town residents voted decisively against wind turbines Monday night. By a 245-18 vote, they asked their Town Board to support a four-part strategy to head off a wind farm development that proposes to build 100 turbines in southern Brown County, 54 of them in Morrison.

Some of Rhode Island's largest users of electricity have come out for the first time in opposition to a proposed power-purchase agreement between National Grid and the developer of an eight-turbine wind farm in waters off Block Island. ..."We have concluded that this contract includes a price that is so high that it more than negates any other potential attractive features."

Landlord Bill Sioulas thought he'd be paying less for hydro after cutting his consumption by almost 20 per cent. ...Expecting big savings, Mr. Sioulas says he was shocked to open his hydro bill and find a skyrocketing provincial fee had eroded the payoff of his conservation efforts.

A group of senators wants to halt stimulus funding for several wind projects regarding concern that the program has subsidized too many jobs overseas. The dispute began after a planned Texas wind farm with substantial Chinese investment announced it would seek a $450 million stimulus tax credit. The developers initially said the project would support 3,000 jobs in China and about 300 in Texas.

The Nebraska Power Association Board of Directors has released the results of a yearlong, statewide study that determined various cost and operational impacts of adding large amounts of wind-powered generation to the state's electric power grid.

A group of Democratic senators may seek to halt stimulus funding for wind-energy projects over concerns that the program is subsidizing jobs overseas. The dispute was prompted by a proposed wind farm in West Texas, whose investors planned to use Chinese-made turbines and seek a $450 million stimulus grant. The senators insist that stimulus funds shouldn't go to projects that get most of their materials from abroad and create "the bulk of their jobs" in other countries.

A Brown County Board committee voted Tuesday to form a special committee to gather information about the health, safety and economic impact of wind turbines on residents. The Public Safety Committee didn't specify who will serve on the committee or develop a timetable, but agreed that the findings should be presented at a future committee meeting.

Some Brown County residents say they're worried about plans to put a 100 turbine wind farm in southern Brown County. Invenergy wants to build 400-foot wind turbines on 72-square miles of land. Residents enumerated a host of issues they have with the build at a Brown County Committee meeting Tuesday evening.

Opponents of a proposed wind farm in southern Brown County are urging county officials to consider whether the project might interfere with emergency radio communications. A committee of the Brown County Board is scheduled Tuesday to discuss a Chicago-based developer's plan to erect 100 wind turbines in the towns of Morrison, Holland, Wrightstown and Glenmore.

A heated national debate is now occurring over whether renewable energy projects, such as wind farms, create a substantial number of jobs for Americans. A controversial analysis recently undertaken by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University alleged that stimulus money intended to bolster the renewable energy industry continues to flow overseas. The analysis also claimed that "while some construction jobs are created when a wind farm is built, they last, on average, nine months."

"As far as I can tell, if you sign anything with them, they can come and go as they please on your property," DeBoer said. "It's about what they want, when they want it and where they want it. "I told them no, and so far they've left me alone but I've heard they're harassing other people."