Lawmakers will rally again for statewide regulations on wind farm development in the upcoming legislative session, and, if the standards pass, local regulation could be a thing of the past. "We will push for the (Public Service Commission of Wisconsin) to create uniform standards and regulation of wind energy for all projects," said Curt Pawlisch, an attorney with Cullen Weston Pines & Bach LLP, Madison. Pawlisch is revising wind farm standards that failed to get out of legislative committees last session. "I wouldn't say local regulations would be for naught," he said, "but the PSC would determine what works and what doesn't."

Rockbridge County is a step closer to having a wind energy ordinance on the books. The Planning Commission last week recommended adoption of the ordinance as well as approval of the first application for a wind energy system - two micro turbines that are to go on top of Howard Johnson's Hotel. The wind energy ordinance was supported by several citizens who spoke during a public hearing.

A law in the town of Centerville regulating wind farms was annulled by the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division because the town failed to comply with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR). ...The decision, which was made on Nov. 14, was prompted by a lawsuit from the Centerville Concerned Citizens (CCC), a group of landowners in the town who claimed that the Centerville Town Board worked along with the Noble Environmental Power to craft a local law that accommodates Noble's proposed Centerville Windpark without fully looking at the environmental impacts.

A public hearing was packed Tuesday night with people who wanted to tell the Lee Village Board exactly why they are for or against a proposed wind farm along the DeKalb-Lee county line. The project would consist of 133 electricity-generating wind turbines owned by Florida-based FPL Energy. All of the proposed turbines are in unincorporated areas, but a state law passed last year allows municipalities to exercise zoning authority on wind turbines within one and a half miles of their corporate boundaries.

It's taken nine months of public hearings, multiple drafts and countless e-mails of information, but Carteret County finally has an ordinance regulating wind turbines and communication towers. ...The ordinance allows utility-scale turbines up to 550 feet tall and requires a setback of 6 feet for each foot of height - a maximum setback of 3,300 feet. The ordinance also addresses noise from turbines and shadow flicker and has separate standards for turbines under 200 feet tall and for private residential turbines.

In a unanimous vote Monday, the Hays Area Planning Commission approved a recommendation to indefinitely extend a moratorium on wind energy development within city limits. This recommendation will be presented to Hays city commissioners at a later date for final approval. Jesse Rohr, planning and development superintendent, suggested the recommendation for a moratorium extension of several months.

Officials of a company called Nevada Wind want to build $300 million worth of turbines above Warm Springs Valley in the Pah Rah Mountains, the first large wind farm in the state. ...County planners are reviewing Nevada Wind's recently submitted application for a special-use permit. John Berkich, assistant county manager overseeing renewable energy initiatives, said he expects hearings would be held by the planning commission and county commission in the fall.

The Farmersville Town Board voted Monday to replace its 2007 town law regulating wind farm projects with a shorter and more general version, while also lifting last month's temporary moratorium against wind energy facilities. "The old law had stuff that should have been in a host community agreement [between the town and the wind farm developer] and not in the law itself," said Town Supervisor Joe Brodka.

Vermilion County officials forged ahead Monday with their first discussion on how to regulate the potential construction of wind-turbine farms in the absence of a countywide zoning system. Several wind-turbine companies are seriously considering the county for development of alternative-energy farms, but the county is different from other counties where wind farms already exist because Vermilion has no zoning. ...Attorney and Vermilion County Board Member Bill Donahue, D-District 7, has been working on developing an ordinance that would contain the same type of regulations that would be developed through a regular zoning process in other counties.

Planning board members approved a $500,000 office building connected to a proposed $130 million wind farm, but decided late Monday they needed another meeting to review the turbines. ...The project entails building 40 1.5-megawatt turbines on ridgelines in Burlington, Lincoln, Lee and Winn, with transmission lines in Mattawamkeag. It also needs approval by the other towns, Maine Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Details of a wind farm on rugged hills southwest of Brooklyn have been made public. The 28-turbine proposal for Long Gully will be discussed at public meetings in Wellington this week before a resource consent application is lodged with the city council in mid-December. State-owned Mighty River Power would own and operate the farm and Windflow Technology, a Christchurch turbine manufacturer, would construct it.

A New York firm apparently is the only viable company remaining among three suitors interested in using publicly owned land on Conneaut's East Side for a wind turbine farm, City Council learned at Monday's work session. City administrators have heard nothing from two companies that months ago expressed interest in dozens of acres within the East Conneaut Industrial Park, council was told. As a result, the city will extend an invitation to BQ Energy to submit a proposal for the property, council agreed.

The planning board begins its review tonight of a proposed $130 million wind farm that, if approved, would deposit about 40 mammoth windmills on Rollins Mountain in four towns. First Wind of Massachusetts hopes to build 40 1½-megawatt windmills, each more than 300 feet tall, in Burlington, Lincoln, Lee and Winn, creating as much as 60 megawatts of electricity through Evergreen Wind Power, a First Wind subsidiary.

While satisfied with existing wind turbines, town officials are looking to better regulate any future wind projects, both large and small. "We just want to make sure they are done to manufacturers' specs," Lowville Town Supervisor Arleigh D. Rice said. The Town Council earlier this month held a public hearing on a proposed wind power zoning law but is awaiting review by the Lewis County Planning Board before adopting it, Mr. Rice said.

A wind farm will not be allowed to be built in the Vale of Belvoir, a planning inspector has ruled. The decision was announced this morning following an 11-day planning appeal in which developer Infinergy appealed against a decision by South Kesteven District Council to refuse planning permission for 10 turbines at the Thackson's Well site near Normanton and Long Bennington. Campaign group BLOT, which led local opposition to the plans, is celebrating victory.

Garland is the latest North Texas city considering a zoning ordinance aimed at regulating wind energy devices that generate power for residential use. The measure is on Tuesday's council agenda. Other cities, including Grand Prairie, Waxahachie and Oak Point, already have such ordinances. Residential wind energy devices are rare in urban areas and may be too expensive or impractical for many homeowners. But city officials say they want to make sure rules are in place for the day when wind energy devices become more commonplace.

The long-awaited tall structures ordinance that will regulate wind turbines and communication towers in the county is set to receive a vote Monday night from the County Board of Commissioners. The board will hold its monthly meeting at 6 p.m. in the boardroom of the administration building. ...The tall structures ordinance has been in the works since March, when commissioners approved a nine-month moratorium on tall structures, such as windmills, in response to a proposed wind farm in the Down East community of Bettie.

The Benton County Quorum Court should consider adopting regulations for wind farms before any more developers seek to construct them, said Benton County Planning Director Ashley Pope. ...The proposed ordinance will address turbines' shadows and how shadow movements affect neighbors' quality of life. Other issues include creating buffers, controlling noise and protecting areas around historic sites.

The future of a proposed wind farm is hanging in the balance after a second authority refused permission for the scheme. Developer Broadview Energy wants to build five 125m wind turbines, between Hilton and Seamer, near Yarm. The plans immediately sparked concerns including visual impact, the potential consequences on the surrounding road network and effects to wildlife.

Residents at Thursday's Special Town Meeting voted to implement new wind energy bylaws to regulate the construction and maintenance of wind turbines. "I think people in general saw these bylaws as favorable things," Town Administrator Kevin Paicos said. He said the laws would encourage the regulated use of wind energy while regulating residents' property rights. "You don't want these things just popping up all over town and becoming an eyesore," he said.