Several new North Country energy projects are in the works, but questions remain on how to transmit to homes and businesses the power they would generate. Experts at an ad hoc energy stakeholders meeting held Oct. 16 at the State House in Concord generally agreed that construction on several proposed wind farms and wood-fired power plants in Coos County will take three to four years - and perhaps longer if New Hampshire hopes to convince other New England states to cover 90 percent of the costs. ...Donna Gamache of PSNH said the hard part is guessing which players are serious and have the stamina to wait out the regulatory approval process. She said what she called "the California model" would may be "the easiest way to absorb the risk." In California, a regional electric grid underwrote the cost to transmit new solar and geothermal power to the populated coast in the hopes that future developers would pay their share as they hooked into the lines. If PSNH tackles a project like that without state help, experts fear ratepayers would eat the stranded costs if too few plants came on line.

The manufacturer picked to supply a proposed Delaware wind farm has halted production of its offshore turbine because of a faulty component. ...Of Vestas' 96 V-90 turbines installed off the coast of Europe, between 10 and 15 are idle as workers fix the gears, said Anders Soe-Jensen, president of Vestas Offshore. All of the gearboxes will eventually have to be replaced, if they haven't been already. ...Delmarva Power spokesman Bill Yingling said his company is disappointed Bluewater Wind didn't alert Delmarva to the mechanical problem during negotiations for a power purchase agreement. ..."It [offshore wind] will grow far bigger, but we do not believe, in the foreseeable future, it will become as big as people believe. Media coverage for offshore far exceeds reality," Kruse said. There are about 15,000 megawatts of wind power available globally, but only about 198 of those megawatts come from offshore production, he noted.

No renewable energy is growing faster than wind power, and yet those gigantic white turbines-one built every four hours-are churning out less than 1 percent of the nation's electricity. To get to 20 percent-President Bush's aim-production would have to ramp up to one every 15 minutes for 25 years, says Vic Abate, vice president for renewables at General Electric. ...Pricey power. Although offshore wind power is big in Europe, it's not moving so quickly in the United States. Local opposition is often cited, but just as important is that offshore developments cost twice as much as onshore wind. Sure, the East and West coasts have enough wind to power the whole country, but the same could be said of the Great Plains and Texas. "On shore, there's plenty of resource," says Abate, who thinks the next wave of technology will be to try to squeeze more efficiency out of large wind farms and deal with wind's greatest problem-its intermittency.

A new generation of super-size wind farm could be on its way to a field near you. General Electric is developing wind turbines with blades longer than the tip-to-tip wingspan of a jumbo jet. In a move likely to dismay activists who view wind farms as a blot on the landscape, the American company has taken the wraps off a project to develop power-generating windmills with blades of 70 metres - some 75% longer than the typical existing length of 40 metres. ...There was a hostile reaction yesterday from British campaigners who have fought wind farms on the grounds of their appearance, noise and economic viability. Angela Kelly, chairman of the pressure group Country Guardian, said she was "horrified" by jumbo jet-sized windmill blades and described the prospect as an "absolute disaster".

MEMBERS of the public have the opportunity to hear first hand about the results of a study that looks at the capacity for wind energy in the south and west of Berwick-upon-Tweed area of Northumberland. ...The study used the award-winning methodology developed to assess the landscape capacity to absorb wind development, which can be used to help inform decisions on planning applications.

"A German company has announced plans to build one of the largest wind farms in the world near Broken Hill in far western NSW. The company, called Epuron, says the $2billion wind farm could produce enough clean power for 400,000 homes. But confusion over clean energy targets set by state and federal governments is threatening to derail the plan." ...Strange, that such an ambitious project by a global player in the wind-power industry could be announced and in jeopardy at the same time. It should be more likely that such a company would get everything in place before making such a large announcement. ...Was this an opportunistic gambit to win promises of financial support from the major parties during the federal election campaign? Or a ploy to try to get the states and the Commonwealth to integrate their incentives and targets for renewable energy? Or both? Whatever, it didn't please the NSW Government.

Why is Kansas behind? The short answer: It's complicated, and thoughtful people disagree. Wind proponents say the state has provided little leadership, either through regulation or incentive. State officials say Kansas has been perceived as being anti-wind, which has encouraged citizens opposed to wind. Utilities insist they're embracing wind just as fast as they can. ...Many utilities maintain that adding any significant quantity of wind-powered generation will make the electric grid too unstable, because you never know when the wind will start blowing. Or stop. ..."They [wind turbines] could never, ever serve even one home," he said. That's because at some point the wind will stop but demand for electricity hasn't. ...in order to make this wind power available, Austin Energy had to line up a back-up source of electricity for nearly all its wind energy. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the electric grid in much of Texas, requires all utilities file an energy plan, every day, that shows how much electricity it expects its customers to use during every 15-minute period of the next day, and where it plans to get that power from. The 9 percent rule If the power source is a wind farm, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas counts only 8.7 percent of the farm's rated capacity. Never mind wind farms typically produce 20 percent to 40 percent of their rated capacity in the long term. What matters is the short term.

Roxanne Notley, Executive Director of the Aurora Development Corporation feels no decision has been made on wind energy development on the south coast. "We are not totally convinced about wind energy. The reason is because we just don't have enough information to validate our argument. So we used a proactive approach to determine if wind diesel would provide enough wind energy for now and in the future." ..."I did hear some comments from people. Most thought, 'oh my goodness, we are not getting wind power are we.' They are very worried, and scared that this is something that is going to be our alternative," noted Mrs. Notley. The problem with wind and diesel powered generation is that it is not reliable for taking on huge energy loads.

While it is pursuing wind power as a renewable resource -- most recently with a large deal last week -- that source is strictly supplemental, SMMPA spokesman Dan Hayes says. Wind-generated power is available when the wind blows, so it is not always online to ship. SMMPA needs to have enough power available 24/7 to supply its 18 city-owned utility companies and their customers. ...But there are other possibilities for baseline electricity, and SMMPA's chief operating officer, Dave Geschwind, says agency managers now are evaluating them more closely.

Dairy farmer Michael Schmidt had some advice for anyone thinking of getting into wind energy production for private use. ...Making sure the spot planned for the wind turbine has enough wind to support the investment throughout the year is the key ingredient. Schmidt sank $200,000 into an 80-kilowatt wind generator on his Durham-area farm without first having set up a test tower to assess wind speed and atmospheric conditions on his farm for a year. "Wind volume can vary 30 to 40 per cent a year," said Schmidt, who admits he rushed into a decision before doing enough research.

The question is no longer "Who has seen the wind?" but "Who owns the wind?" In the developing world of renewable energy, can neighbouring wind farms steal from each other? What if you put solar panels on your roof and your neighbour plants a tree that blocks them from the sun? Do you have a right to solar access? These aren't just philosophical questions, but real-life challenges that are already lining lawyers' pockets in Canada and Europe.

Industry leaders believe wind could fill up to 20 percent of generation portfolio. But even wind proponents warn against the notion that it can solve the nation's energy and greenhouse gas concerns. "Wind is a great technology ... But it's not a panacea." There's fossil fuel consumption in the maintenance of wind farms. Many prime wind resources are located far from areas where renewable energy is in demand. Even here at the Foote Creek wind facility, where high gusts wreak havoc on turbines, lightning strikes are equally troublesome. "You've got to look at it for what it is," said Borrows.

THE nightmare of digging coal underground, suffered by generations of Welsh colliers, could soon be a thing of the past with Wales tipped to benefit from a new mining technology. Experts claim underground coal gasification could create tens of thousands of jobs across Britain, particularly in coal-rich places like Wales. The process involves drilling bore holes into coal seams, pushing steam and oxygen into one hole and drawing out the hot gas from another. It means not a single lump of solid coal would leave the ground. ..."Wind farms are definitely not the answer but clean coal definitely could be. There is enough underground to satisfy the UK's energy needs for many years."

North Dakota ...has abundant resources in coal and wind, making it a logical place to produce energy for its less resource rich neighbors. ...Because the state is far away from the metropolitan areas that demand a lot of electricity, any extra power produced here will require a lot of transmission capacity to get it to its potential buyers. ... the main challenge is that many different interests have to come together and agree on terms before new power lines can be built. For even the most basic transmission construction projects, the different power companies that will utilize the lines have to agree how to split the costs of paying for the project. Also, some of the landowners along a route may object to the lines crossing through their property.

"Unfortunately, electric power generated from wind energy is intermittent and variable. That means we need to have better measurements of wind power plants' output as we integrate wind energy into existing power systems. We also need to develop a way of managing wind power so it can be more readily called upon when needed."

Two companies developing more than 600 megawatts of wind generation along the Texas coastline aren't daunted by threats of hurricane damage or opposition from environmentalists and powerful ranching interests, executives said Thursday. ...The Texas Public Utility Commission on Wednesday blocked a coalition of environmental groups, backed by the powerful King Ranch interests of South Texas, from intervening in a case related to the siting of a transmission line to move power from the two coastal wind farms to the Texas grid.

Wind varies tremendously, Louton said. The study shows that wind could swing from 100 MW of capacity output to 6,000 MW from day to day and that existing variations ranged from 30 MW to 1,800 MW. When energy is needed most, wind drops off, but during off-peak hours the wind can exceed demand and needs to be regulated or the output compensated by backing off other generators. On July 27, 2006, during an extended heat wave, wind power output dropped back to 7% of capacity, or about 60 MW, Louton said. ...The study estimates that 12,600 MW of other types of callable generation resources will have to be online to accommodate the 20% portfolio.

Wind energy carries the promise of tapping into a free, seemingly endless supply of energy. But those thinking to capture the breeze in their backyard with a personal windmill might be surprised how much the wind actually costs. "Small wind doesn't make economic sense," says Paul Gipe, who has written several books and commentaries on wind energy. ...Gipe said it's fine if someone on-grid wants to help save the planet by buying a "dinky windmill" for home use, but they should know that it very likely won't last long enough to pay for itself in lowered energy bills. And they should know to never put one on their roof.

The government called for proposals to supply the wind power for the $1.7 billion plant. It is anticipated that 75 wind turbines will be needed to power the plant when it is operating at maximum output of 250 million litres of fresh water each day. ... "Wind power is far more expensive than other renewable energy or even coal and the NSW taxpayers have a right to be suspicious of the minister's claims," Mr Hartcher said. "How much extra will Sydney residents, who are already facing higher water bills, going to have to pay to power the desal plant?".

The Tennessee Valley Authority could be generating more "alternative" energy for less cost, if only the public wasn't so enamored with wind and solar power. Methane gas, formed as human and animal waste or garbage decays, produces more power dollar for dollar. It's half as expensive as wind power and a tenth the cost of solar power, according to TVA figures. But, coming from a stinky mess, it lacks appeal to the rate-paying public. TVA depends on ratepayers' choosing to pay extra to help fund alternative energy sources. "From a marketing viewpoint, it's hard to promote," said Jim Keiffer, TVA senior vice president of marketing. ... That's why TVA's program, Green Power Switch, available through distributors including Nashville Electric Service, requires that at least half the energy it creates come from the favorites: solar and wind.