Buying a small wind turbine to power a home can be costly - in the range of $12,000 to $70,000 (including installation fees), according to Ron Stimmel, the small wind expert at the American Wind Energy Association. A number of states offer help. ...But is small wind even a good idea?

The final scope of the Westfield-Ripley wind project will include 83 wind turbines: 47 in Westfield and 36 in Ripley.

Neighbors just across the southern border of Madison County may be getting a new wind farm in the near future. According to town of Smyrna Planning Board Chairman Peter Maynard, some residents received correspondence about the proposed project in November. ...Maynard said the town of Smyrna has a moratorium in place regarding windmills.

A law regulating the creation of wind farms here was repealed Monday by the Hammond Town Board. The wind ordinance was rescinded at the advice of the town attorney pending a state Environmental Quality Review (SEQR), town officials said. The decision to overturn the law was made unanimously after an executive session at the year-end meeting Monday. The environmental review requires the board to identify and mitigate any significant environmental impacts that may stem from the ordinance.

The town of Orleans plans to create a Citizens Wind Committee in January, but with fewer members than anticipated. ...the proposed wind committee [] would help the Town Council make informed decisions regarding wind development.

The Town Board says wind turbines planned for neighboring Prattsburgh come too close to the Naples town line. Board members agreed this month to send a letter asking the state Public Service Commission to intervene and order a developer to move the towers further from town line. "I think the board has made clear, we're not against wind turbines, but we are against the improper siting of towers," Supervisor Frank Duserick said. ...By placing turbines less than 500 feet from the Naples property line, Duserick and Servo argue that the project is creating "reverse zoning" that effectively limits Naples landowners from full use of their property for safety reasons.

Though he isn't in a local courtroom, Franklin County District Attorney Derek Champagne has been busy working with other prosecutors and interested parties to suggest changes to law and procedure and to determine what will be required of the Attorney General's task force on wind power. ...Champagne said the task force is still working to determined how Cuomo intended the committee to run; who it will answer to; and what recommendations it is supposed to make. "For now, we spent time reviewing the complaints about the wind energy companies and the way they've been doing business in the state."

Horizon Wind Energy, the Houston, Tx.-based firm behind the proposal of a wind farm in the towns of Ellenburg and Clinton, has delayed construction for the multi-million dollar project. ..."I think, in general, the issue is more economic than anything else," [project manager Gary S.] Davidson continued. "It's expensive to build, expensive to develop in New York. Within just the past six months, the price of power in New York has just dropped and I think that's a temporary thing."

Whitley wants to import more hydropower from Quebec and foster more wind power in New York. He said existing transmission lines need to be upgraded to carry more clean energy into and across the state to places like New York City that need more power. "Let's start working on our infrastructure," he said. "Studies show that these investments will pay for themselves."

The final scope of the Westfield-Ripley wind project will include 83 wind turbines: 47 in Westfield and 36 in Ripley. ...The next immediate step for Babcock and Brown is the preparation of the environmental impact study, which must be filed with SEQR and accepted as complete by both towns. There will be a public hearing and a minimum of a 30-day period for public comment.

Both developers of wind farms in the town have asked for a quick conclusion to the wind law committee's work. After the committee met Thursday afternoon, representatives from Acciona talked to Supervisor Thomas K. Rienbeck. He said Friday that they expressed concern about the time frame remaining on the development of a zoning law that will govern turbine siting.

"Two years ago in 2006 I made the statement that the town board was committed to a project, maybe not the size that was presented, but a project. It's been two years and the resource is still there,'' Garretson said Monday in an interview. "I want to see if there is support for a town project. I won't say what size, but a project.'' ..."It may be a smaller scale. We'll have to see,'' he said. "I'm not going to force anything on anybody.''

Horizon Wind Energy is delaying its 95-turbine Marble River Wind Farm project for a year but is still committed to the development. "We have decided to postpone construction until 2010 due to state-regulatory issues," said Charlie Turlinski, project manager. "These are tough, tough economic times ...

Upstate NY Power Corp. will soon apply for a state certificate for a greatly revised transmission line to connect the proposed Galloo Island Wind Farm to the state grid. Upstate NY Power ran a public notice in the Watertown Daily Times on Monday, a required step before submitting an application for a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need from the state Public Service Commission. The notice said the application would be filed on or around Dec. 31.

While harnessing more energy from the wind could help satisfy growing demands for electricity and reduce emissions of global-warming gases, turbulence from proposed wind farms could adversely affect the growth of crops in the surrounding countryside. ..."By identifying better siting criteria, determining the optimum spacing between turbines, and designing more efficient rotors, we can minimize the harmful impacts of large wind farms," said Somnath Baidya Roy, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the U. of I. "Through careful planning and testing, we can avoid some of the worst pitfalls altogether."

The ongoing credit crunch and economic downturn are expected to have little impact on wind energy projects in Wyoming County. ..."I think the financial situation has affected all industries, and wind is not immune to it," said Eric Miller of Invenergy on Wednesday. "But what we've seen is there's still credit out there. "People can be more selective in what projects they fund. There's still projects going forward, and our projects are going forward. But it is getting tighter."

In response to the growth of wind farms in neighboring communities, the Holland Town Board has approved a six-month moratorium on such developments. "We thought it might be prudent to impose a moratorium until such time that a local law is approved," Supervisor Michael Kasprzyk. "There are no projects currently in the works."

The newly formed Wind Law Review Committee will meet in secret for several months before it makes recommendations to the Town Council regarding wind turbine noise and setbacks. The 10-member committee plans to hold its first meeting in January. The group will gather community input and also discuss potential health risks related to wind farms.

The wind industry concedes that, as with all tall things (buildings, for example, or trees), ice and snow can build up and, eventually, fall down, creating a hazard to people and structures below. But the industry denies that "ice-throwing" - another concern surrounding wind power - is a problem. ...But a 2006 publication by G.E. Energy, a maker of large wind turbines, warns that "rotating turbine blades may propel ice fragments some distance from the turbine - up to several hundred meters if conditions are right."