A decision from Chatham-Kent council to boost the turbine setbacks near shorelines had wind energy officials shaking their heads on Tuesday. Councillors made the changes during the previous night's meeting after a spirited debate. Jay Wilgar, AIM Powergen's vice-president of field operations, said the company is determining exactly what this could mean for its proposals, in particular, its Erieau-Blenheim project. ...Weaver said the successful amendments were realistic and a reasonable compromise. "I would expect the residents who essentially say they don't want wind power to say it's not enough and I would expect the companies to want as few rules as possible," he said.

There will be a little more room near the shores of Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, as Chatham- Kent council tweaked its wind turbine setbacks Monday. Setbacks -- or minimum distances from a structure or site -- have been a source of controversy since wind energy companies first showed an interest in the municipality. Tom Storey of Storey Samways Planning provided a report with recommendations and comparisons to other centres with turbines. ...Chatham Coun. Doug Sulman offered a successful amendment to increase the setback around all of Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair to one kilometre instead of 500 metres.

At least two of the three Fayette County commissioners are interested in amending the county's zoning ordinance to increase the allowable height of wind turbines to match the current industry standards. Commissioner Vincent Zapotosky said Monday he supports an initiative by Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink to increase the height referenced in the zoning ordinance. "It should be done to reflect the standard. We need to amend it," Zapotosky said.

A complete version of the draft ordinance regulating wind turbines and communication towers was presented Thursday to the County Planning Commission, and while the ordinance now addresses noise, shadow flicker and more, there are still several steps to go before the draft is proposed to county commissioners. Planning Commission Chairman Harry Archer said now that a significant amount of research has been done and an initial draft has been developed, comments obtained during three public comment meetings recently will be used to modify the draft.

Lewis calls the whole proposal, its implications and its aftermath "just weird." For instance, he didn't receive the letter from Schumacher until July 5 - almost three weeks after the board's decision. "This letter was the first anyone knew about it," Lewis said. "We were just shocked this could happen without notifying anybody." Galvin is mobilizing the neighborhood and hopes people will show up at a school district meeting tonight to complain. "It's imperative we show opposition to this thing. Otherwise it's going to get shoved down our throats, which is what the school district has done already," she said. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Windaction.org has been informed that this project has since been canceled due to complaints filed by residents in Torrance.]

The ruling released Friday grants the Antonelli family approval to build a 120-foot windmill in its yard, a special exception to a county law that caps poles on residential property at 15 feet. In his opinion, Deputy Zoning Commissioner Tom Bostwick said the windmill will keep seven tons of carbon from the atmosphere each year and provide a "working example of utilizing alternative energy sources." ..."We were surprised he approved it without any independent study on how it's going to impact the surrounding community," said Lisa Viscuso. "We're disappointed."

Another appeal has been filed regarding the development plan for a much-contested wind farm southwest of Hays, and this one will come before the Ellis County Commission later this month. The appeal was submitted by Wichita attorney Patrick Hughes on behalf of almost 60 Ellis County residents. "The appeal requires the county commission to weigh in on the questions that were raised to the planning commission," Hughes said, referring to the June 24 meeting of the Ellis County Joint Planning Commission.

Frostburg resident John Bambacus wrote Delegate Wendell Beitzel in February, asking him to sponsor the repeal of a law passed in 2007 that exempts industrial wind farms from public scrutiny. He asked again this week in light of Gov. Martin O'Malley's apparent willingness to consider being a part of an industrial wind energy facility off the shores of Ocean City. This time, the former state senator received the answer he wanted. ...Right now, "land-based wind turbines are on a fast-track (approval process). They get no environmental, health or safety review" from the Maryland Public Service Commission, the Department of the Environment or other agencies, much less the general public.

The Evans Town Board has delayed discussion on three wind energy laws that would regulate both commercial and noncommercial facilities. ...Although the board received communications from the town Planning Board indicating strong support of the proposed laws, two residents voiced concerns over their language. ...Frank Hotchkiss of Waterman Road supported Henry, saying that ambiguity in the law's language could deter wind energy manufacturers from doing business in Evans.

County officials are pushing forward to find an independent consultant to review Florida Power & Light Co.'s environmental impact study on wind turbines and expect to have a proposal in hand by the end of next week, said County Administrator Doug Anderson. The county has a contract with Taylor Engineering Inc. of Jacksonville. Anderson said Taylor Engineering would contract with consultants who can review FPL's studies on its wind turbine project and can provide the county with its own expert view on wind turbines. County officials estimate the independent review could take up to three months to complete. Once the consultant's findings are complete, FPL's proposal would go to a public hearing.

[Rockford attorney Rick] Porter, who represents nine owners near the Emden area, said he expects the decision to be overturned. "We intend to file an appeal, and we believe the courts will see that there were mistakes made in the zoning process," Porter said. "More than anything, though, our clients wanted some sort of guarantee that the property values would not suffer, and the board wasn't willing to include that as a condition of the permit." The permit allows using land zoned for agricultural use for a wind farm.

Plans for a wind farm near El Paso have been stalled for nearly a year because of township road issues, but now an agreement and final vote may be a month away. Paul Lewis, attorney for wind farm developer Navitas Energy of Minneapolis, and Robert Lenz, representing commissioners in El Paso and Palestine townships, say progress has been made on an agreement on maintenance of township roads. A stipulation from the Zoning Board of Appeals a year ago required an agreement between township road commissioners and the company before a special-use permit could be granted.

A supplier of turbines for a planned wind farm at the Turitea Reserve is yet to be signed up, but Mighty River Power has confirmed three-bladed turbines will be used if the project goes ahead. The state-owned enterprise announced this week it will seek resource consents to build up to 131 turbines in the Turitea water catchment and neighbouring properties, 11 kilometres south-east of Palmerston North. Three independent commissioners are expected to hear the case.

On July 2, the department issued a superseding order of conditions affirming the original order of conditions approved by the town's Conservation Commission. In the cover letter for its decision, the department said, "In the Department's opinion, the project as proposed and conditioned herein adequately protects the interests of the Wetlands Protection Act." An appeal of the Conservation Commission decision was filed two months ago by 14 town residents. In their appeal, the group questioned the accuracy of the wetlands delineation done by developer CCI Energy.

By a 17-4 vote with three abstentions, board the 155-turbine project proposed by Spanish wind farm developer Iberdrola Renewables. It will be built on sites scattered across 15,000 acres between Saunemin and Odell. ...Supporters of the project have said the wind farm would be a financial boon for farmers who will rent space for the turbines and taxing bodies that collect property taxes. Dissenters have said the turbines will block other economic development around them and could reduce property values.

Tazewell County State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz warned Tazewell County board members Monday that he would be required to "take legal action" if the county board approves a questionable expansion of a tax-free zone for a proposed wind farm. County Chairman Jim Unsicker says that Umholtz is entitled to his opinion, but that opinion is not shared by many people. "(Umholtz's) view on the expansion of the enterprise zone is diametrically opposed to the view of a number of people on the board, the state, the city and just about anybody else you want to talk to in the state of Illinois," said Unsicker.

The Allegany County Planning and Zoning Commission was able to see proposed setbacks and buffers of wind turbines from schools, homes and other buildings Wednesday night. The public, however, was not. Phil Hager, county planner coordinator and executive director of the commission, called it "an internal document ... of my own creation," said it was "handed" to commission members - versus being presented to them during a public meeting - and after the meeting declined to give a copy to the Times-News. The document includes "performance-based" ideas for changes to the county zoning code. The intent, Hager told the commission, was to make the requirements tied to the level of impact a project would have "so we're not using a sledge hammer to kill an ant."

Douglas County does not have an ordinance regulating possible sites, designs, permit requirements and public hearing requirements. But tonight, the Douglas County Board considers a stopgap measure until such an ordinance is developed. The board is considering a 120-day moratorium on the development of wind farms to give the county's zoning committee time to develop an ordinance. "What it does is give us breathing room," said Supervisor Carol Johnson, chairwoman of the zoning committee. ...Rather than allow something that could make life miserable for county residents, Johnson said the county wants to be prepared in the event it is approached with a commercial proposal. "We don't want to have anything slip through our hands," she said. "We are certainly not against alternative energy ... We want to be prepared."

Logan County State's Attorney Tim Huyett disagrees with his friend and Tazewell County counterpart on a legal issue related to whether the Rail Splitter Wind Farm qualifies for inclusion in an enterprise zone. The agency that administrates all of the state's enterprise zones also disagrees with Tazewell County State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz, who has threatened to sue his own county board if it extends that county's enterprise zone to the wind farm locale, which straddles the Logan-Tazewell county line.

What is the difference between a residential and industrial wind energy turbine? That's up for discussion before the Allegany County Planning and Zoning Commission today at the County Office Complex. The meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m., takes place on the lower floor in the county commissioners' chambers. Phil Hager, county planning coordinator, said at the commission's July 7 work session that there is little in the county ordinances to guide industrial or residential permits. His research showed other jurisdictions required setbacks, buffer zones and height limits, along with a public hearing process for both types of turbines.