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?

Alternative energy advocates and residents opposed to giant wind turbines overlooking their homes in Warm Springs Valley are expected to square off when Nevada Wind's proposed wind farm comes before the Washoe County Planning Commission on Tuesday. ...No matter what the planning commission decides, the project is expected to be appealed to the Washoe County Commission.

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

Campaigners from both sides of the England-Wales border are joining forces to save a massive landmark built more than 1,000 years ago to divide them. Villagers living in the remote areas either side of Offa's Dyke are putting aside age-old hostilities to fight plans to bring 21st century alternative technology close to the ancient monument. Welsh planning officials are pleading with their opposite numbers on the English side of the dyke to help them protect the eighth century earthworks.

Villagers battling plans for a wind farm in Worcestershire are to stage a walk through the countryside they fear will be destroyed by the proposals. Families living in the Vale of Evesham will gather tomorrow for the walk along the Wychavon Way and Blossom Trail, close to where Scottish Power Renewables is planning to build 10 turbines measuring 125m (410ft) on land owned by farmers.

The big challenge, wind developers acknowledge, is modifying site permits that restrict the spacing and height of turbines. Neighbors are often put off by the visual impact of the turbines themselves ...Wind developers face an additional hurdle to repower in Denmark, where legislation going into effect next year will require wind-park operators to compensate residents if wind turbines reduce their property values.

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A law regulating the creation of wind farms here was repealed Monday by the Hammond Town Board.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.

David Anderson, the Eastern District member of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors, has been busy in recent days answering phone calls and e-mails from supporters and opponents of a proposed large-scale windmill project. ..."Don't get me wrong, I've heard a lot of positive, and I've heard a lot of negative," Anderson said Tuesday. "There are still people who are very pro-windmill. But the majority of the feedback I've received have been real concerned about the natural beauty of East River Mountain."

No doubt about it, green is good. So why is it that across the country, more and more people are seeing red over wind energy? Some say that in the rush to develop wind power, current government regulations aren't doing enough to protect human health, or the environment. ..."I think the government really needs to step up to the plate and make sure they do their due diligence and make sure they do their history checks on where they are putting these wind turbines because it's about location, location, location," said one member. "The government has made rural Ontario residents expendable in the name of green energy."

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."

New documents filed in an ongoing civil lawsuit by a Portage-area couple against the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm say that wind energy experts duped local officials into believing the turbine sound was insignificant. Todd and Jill Stull of the Blue Knob area say that developer Gamesa Energy USA and owner Babcock & Brown misled local officials by supporting development of an ordinance addressing higher noise levels.

A couple from West Prince has proof from the government their property has dropped in value since wind turbines were put up near their home. ...Beverly Howard told CBC News Monday there are now five new turbines within sight of their home, the closest about 500 metres away. "If you're sitting out on your deck, they're noisy, if you're out gardening they're noisy," she said.

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 Palm Springs Planning Commission approved about 50 windmills on Wednesday. ...The turbines would be about 3,000 feet from the Mountain Gate housing community and 2,000 feet from where College of the Desert's west valley campus is planned.

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.