"It's a puny amount of unreliable power at a very high cost," Alexander said in an interview Thursday with The Tennessean. And then there's the appearance. "We have 10 million people a year come to the Great Smoky Mountains," he said. "They don't come down to see white towers as big as football fields with flashing lights. They come to see the Smokies."

NEW ULM - A few years from now, District 88 may begin to reap some benefits from wind energy. The school district is registered as an "interested party" in a federally funded program that would potentially provide it with a revenue source from the sale of wind energy produced at a wind farm in western Minnesota, Superintendent Harold Remme told the Board of Education last week. The school district will be participating in a Phase II grant process facilitated by Johnson Controls. All costs associated with the project are covered by a federal grant. The grant will pay for 10-year interest-free bonds to fund the wind farm project.

Salem wants to help lead the way when it comes to tapping the power of the wind. The city is working with the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a quasi-public agency that invests in renewable energy projects and companies across the state, to pursue the goal of locating one or more electricity-generating wind turbines on municipal sites in Salem. As a first step, the collaborative recently agreed to provide Salem with a preliminary analysis of eight potential sites for wind turbines identified by the city's Renewable Energy Task Force.

Norfolk Southern Railway Co., trying to preserve tax benefits it gained by investing in wind power generation facilities, filed a lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court in Norfolk against Caithness Western Wind Partners LLC of New York and two related en ities. Caithness wants to sell certain wind power facilities over the objection of Norfolk-based Norfolk Southern, which invested more than $16.1 million with Caithness over the past four years to gain federal tax credits for renewable energy investments, acco ding to the filing. The railroad said its investments were based on the partnership lasting through at least 2011. Norfolk Southern contends any sale requires its written consent and that, if the transaction goes through, the railroad will have to pay millions of dollars in taxes and would be greatly harmed. It is seeking to block the sale. Michael Cole, an attorney with Caithness Energy LLC, the manager of Caithness Western Wind Partners, did not return calls for comment Tuesday.

The cost of connecting green energy schemes in the Scottish islands to the National Grid is untenably high and should be cut, according to a new report. Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles are seen as having huge potential for renewables, but regulations form a barrier to unlocking the resources. The report was drawn up by Xero Energy (XE) for Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the three island councils, which are all promoting renewable-energy projects. It suggests charges are against EU rules on grid connections and could be challenged through legal action.

For years, environmental advocates have pushed for North Carolina to require its power companies to use a set amount of renewable energy sources, such as wind energy, solar energy or animal waste. This year, that might happen - but the bill that would do it also includes provisions that some advocates say would hurt the environment by encouraging more coal and nuclear power plants. The bill, which was overwhelmingly approved by the N.C. Senate, is now being studied by the N.C. House of Representatives. It would require Duke Energy and Progress Energy to generate a significant amount of their electricity through renewable sources. The bill is expected to face a tougher fight in the House than it did in the Senate. The House energy committee is scheduled to hold a three-hour public comment period on the bill today in Raleigh at 3 p.m.

It appears that the federal government is determined to prove that its stated commitment to alternative energy was not just hot air. A local wind farm project recently became the first company in Canada to receive $16.5 million of support from the government under the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power Initiative, introduced in January. The recipient of the money, Kettles Hill Wind Energy Inc. is currently finishing construction of a 63-megawatt wind-power facility located five kilometres east of Pincher Creek.

Randall County is inching toward granting tax abatements to a wind energy company. County commissioners approved a reinvestment zone Tuesday that will cover a portion of the southwest corner of Randall County. The reinvestment zone will now allow the county to begin negotiations on exactly what type of tax abatements Chermac Energy Corp. can receive for its 480-megawatt project.

Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell and the Republican-controlled Senate reached an agreement last night on a $27.3 billion state budget, ending a partial state shutdown that idled 25,000 government employees. Speaking after 11 p.m. local time, the second-term Democrat said he and Republicans agreed on a deal that left intact the budget outline he presented in February. Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo said Rendell agreed to forgo a planned annual surcharge on energy bills to fund clean energy programs that became the main sticking point and said he would seek another source of money for the project.

FAIRHAVEN - The town might not get the two wind turbines available through a state agency, and developer CCI Energy might be forced to pay an additional premium for two other units. The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative is giving preference to the town of Orleans for the turbines it holds in storage. That town is pursuing its own wind project through a private developer.

Renewable energy projects including wind and biomass are springing up in Schuylkill County, and state utilities will be required to increase their purchase of power generated by these and similar sources over the next 13 years. Although reports suggest customers should not experience much increase in cost and, in some cases, could see savings as these new sources become more prevalent, experts say other factors must also be considered. "There is no magic bullet as far as getting us off fossil fuels right now," said Joel Morrison, a research associate at Penn State University and fund manager for the West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund.

As California takes its first baby steps toward implementing the most aggressive climate-change policy in the country, experts debate the economic feasibility of attaining the state`s goals. Its overarching policy lies in the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which requires greenhouse gas emissions in the state to fall back to 1990 levels by 2020. One of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger`s executive orders, S-3-25, addresses long-term goals by aiming at an 80 percent emissions reduction below 1990 levels by 2050. The state`s ability to reach these goals holds implications not only for Californians, but the rest of the nation`s climate-change policy as well, Samuel Thernstrom, director of the American Enterprise Institute`s program on culture and freedom, said at a panel discussion last week.

WASHINGTON, July 6 - A powerful House Democrat said on Friday that he planned to propose a steep new "carbon tax" that would raise the cost of burning oil, gas and coal, in a move that could shake up the political debate on global warming. The proposal came from Representative John D. Dingell of Michigan, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and it runs directly counter to the view of most Democrats that any tax on energy would be a politically disastrous approach to slowing global warming.

A decision on the site for a $5.5 million wind turbine tower just west of town has been delayed a month, according to Geneseo's mayor. In June, the Geneseo City Council voted 5 to 3 in favor of negotiating a contract with Johnson Controls to build the 2.5 megawatt wind turbine. The council also approved acceptance of a $1.385 million Illinois Clean Energy Grant for the tower's installation. But a few obstacles came before the council. During the June meeting, one of the people who would live next to the tower said he didn't want to see it from his backyard.

A wind farm near Pincher Creek yesterday became the first company to receive funding under the feds' ecoENERGY for Renewable Power initiative.

A final obstacle to a booming Idaho wind-energy industry may be close to cleared, the state's three major utility companies indicate. Idaho Power Co., Avista Corp. and PacifiCorp say they're proposing a deal with wind developers that may lift a temporary restriction on the amount of energy Idaho wind farms can produce. The deal could spawn a legitimate wind-energy industry in southern Idaho if the temporary restriction is lifted, said Gene Fadness, a spokesman for Idaho's Public Utilities Commission, the state's energy regulating agency. The restriction has blocked several wind producers from starting business......Under a federal law, utilities must accept alternative energy at a rate of about $64 per megawatt-hour. The utilities propose lifting the size restriction but cutting the rate by between $5 and $7.50 per megawatt-hour to pay for backup generation when the wind doesn't blow.

CHEERLEADERS for renewable energy are fond of pointing out that patches of desert receive enough energy each year from sunlight to power the entire world. But few deign to explain how the construction of the millions of solar cells required to convert that energy into electricity would be financed. Utility bosses and policymakers tend to dismiss wind and solar power as noble but expensive distractions, sustainable only through lavish subsidies. But new studies suggest that renewables might not be as dear as sceptics suspect...These figures, of course, rely on all sorts of questionable assumptions.

Atlantic Wind Power Corp had participated in the Wind Power Production Incentive (WIPPI) which is a grant of $10 million (of tax payer's money) over a period of nine years. Natural Resources Canada (NRC) has asked AWPC to produce a proposal as to how they can mitigate the excessive noise at Pubnico. If they cannot produce a proposal (and act on it) to NRC's liking they can cancel the grant. Last May, NRC retained Howe Gastmeier Chapnik Limited (HGC Ltd) to conduct a noise study (again, tax payer's money) of the Pubnico wind farm. This was in response to noise complaints by Daniel d'Entremont and his family.

Subsidies for Germany's solar industry will be cut back more than previously announced to free up funds for offshore wind power plants, sources close to the German environment ministry said. The government plans to increase the maximum subsidy for wind power to 0.11-0.14 eur per kilowatt hour from currently 0.09 eur, the sources said. The changes will also force solar power firms to increase the profitability of their facilities if subsidies are cut. German environment minister Sigmar Gabriel is expected to make a statement on the Renewable Energies Law today.

As the Senate continues consideration of H.R.6, the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007, the Senate Finance Committee approved June 19 a broad package of energy tax incentives, several of which were driven by Senator Salazar. The Finance Committee energy tax package helps further America's progress towards energy independence and includes two Salazar-authored renewable energy incentives which will benefit farmers, ranchers, small businesses and homeowners.