Wind farm development has a green light in Woodford County after the state passed legislation governing how taxes on the turbines are assessed, which could bring local taxing bodies $5 million in revenue. Gov. Rod Blagojevich's partial veto of House Bill 664 - including provisions on wind farm taxation - was overridden last week. The legislation, which took effect immediately, will require wind turbine owners to pay $9,000 per megawatt generated. "It is perfect," Woodford County Administrator Greg Jackson said. "It is ideal; $9,000 per megawatt is exactly what we wanted." Towers planned for Woodford County would generate 2 megawatts each, bringing in $18,000 each. That amount will decrease slightly annually based on depreciation.

Lingering hard feelings over negotiations for wind-farm-tax agreements last month may lead Franklin County to create a planning department. ... Thursday, when IDA Executive Director Brad Jackson came before the County Legislature's Economic Planning and Development Committee, he was criticized for not doing enough to look out for the county's interest at the negotiating table. Saranac Lake Democrat Timothy Burpoe said legislators thought Jackson was supposed to be the county's representative in the room. Burpoe said higher megawatt figures could have been obtained with a tougher stance against Noble and the towns. But because a deadline was imposed to reach the deal quickly, Burpoe said, he and some other legislators felt pressure to settle for a deal even though the county ended up with the smallest share.

Following several weeks of dramatic price increases where the stock of the Bromont, Que.-based company more than quadrupled on the TSX Venture Exchange to above $1.60, the shares have plunged in the past three days below $1.18. The start of AAER's runup coincided with the Sept. 19 announcement of the bids for Hydro-Québec's latest call for tenders to build wind farms connected to the province's power grid. ..."The fact that so many [developers] specified [AAER] is what really drove the stock up," said MacMurray Whale, an analyst who follows the alternative energy scene for Cormark Securities Inc. in Toronto. ...In the past few days, however, some investors clearly decided the stock had overshot its true value, and there may also be concerns over the company's untested turbines

West Wind at Makara is seen as one of the best sites in the world, with turbines expected to run 50 per cent of the time. In comparison, Contact's Waikato project is seen as "a very good class 2 site, verging on class 1", Contact said. However, other power industry sources question the economics of Contact's Waikato wind farm project, saying others had considered and rejected the same area in the past. "It is questionable whether it is a good site," a source said. It was seen as a "marginal" site and worse than others in the area. "Who knows if they will ever build it?" the source said.

The Lackawanna City Council on Monday unanimously adopted a law that would allow the city to collect property taxes on a portion of the Steel Winds turbine project. By state law, renewable energy projects, like the partially completed Steel Winds farm along Lake Erie on the old Bethlehem Steel site, are tax-exempt. However, municipalities that host such projects are allowed to opt out if they adopt a local law rescinding that tax exemption, which the Lackawanna Council did Monday at its regular meeting.

The dairy farm became a supplier of "offsets," marketable credits purchased by companies or others trying to compensate for the amount of carbon dioxide, methane or other greenhouse gases they emit. His manure-digesting system has generated a stash of greenhouse gas offsets -- some of which Morris has sold, some of which he's keeping -- worth nearly $250,000 at current market prices. ...The Cincinnati Reds went to bat for a wind farm in India, buying enough credits to offset the carbon emitted at a single home game. Why are they buying? Largely to placate customers, shareholders and employees who are nudging them to get serious about global warming.

Australia's prime minister, facing a tough re-election fight and under pressure over his climate credentials, has pledged new "clean energy" targets in a move environment groups said would not sway green-leaning voters. By 2020, John Howard said, 15 percent of Australia's energy would come from "clean" sources including solar, wind, nuclear or clean coal, reversing his coalition government's previous reluctance to lift its renewable energy target from 2 percent. The promise also dropped "renewable" from the government's agenda, paving the way for a controversial switch to nuclear energy, backed by Howard as a greenhouse-friendly alternative.

However, the wind power market has a long way to go before it catches up with the more established fossil-fired generation market in terms of capacity of plants and market penetration. This is partly due to the inadequate supply of essential components, rising installation costs and over-dependence on subsidies. ..."Long-term government incentives and installation rebate supports are expected to help wind power participants meet the heavy capital required for production and installation," observes Thaler. "To become independent of government subsidies, the market has to implement intense end-user marketing and increased output to match conventional fuels."

Critics have said the wind farm plan would include heavy up-front costs for building the turbines and installing them at sea. But Jim Lanard, spokesman for Bluewater Wind, said wind power will end up being less expensive than traditional fossil fuels once the government begins taxing emissions.

Reed said the economic benefits were not sufficient to make a compelling case for a municipal wind farm at this time, due in part to the uncertain availability of any federal incentives for municipally owned wind projects.

Ventus Energy, which is building a new wind farm in West Cape near O'Leary, is trying to negotiate a longer-term share of green credits, but P.E.I. isn't willing to give them up. There's no market for green credits yet, but when that market becomes a reality it could generate another $10 million a year for the West Cape wind farm. "We're just not giving up on benefits that help P.E. Islanders down the road build their roads, build their highways and build their schools and hospitals," said Environment Minister George Webster Thursday. "We're just not giving that away."

Plymouth has been awarded a grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative for Wind Turbine Project Feasibility Studies at a number of sites in town. The feasibility study will provide crucial information that will help Plymouth determine the most appropriate ways to pursue potential wind projects at up to three sites, including the wastewater treatment plant, Plymouth South High School and the Indian Brook Elementary School.

The European Commission was accused yesterday of a "grotesque" waste of taxpayers' money after it allocated funding for an organisation that exists to lobby Brussels. The lobby group, Friends of the Earth Europe, received £562,000 funding from the EU Commission last year. Its commission funding rose this year by 200,000 in order to meet "increased running costs." The group, which has a 25-strong staff in Brussels, is pre-eminent in lobbying the EU for tighter controls to combat global warming.

A variety of groups is discussing tax abatements in the northern Panhandle. Counties and other taxing entities are considering abatements for a handful of projects, several of which involve renewable energy. On Tuesday, the Palo Duro River Authority passed an abatement for Sunray Ethanol, which is planning a plant north of town, said Jim Derington, general manager of the authority. Other action included amending abatements for the North Texas Wind Center in Hansford County, a planned electric generation project previously granted an abatement as Great Plains Wind. The Palo Duro board also adjusted an agreement for a wind project by John Deere in Moore County and extended an agreement made earlier with a delayed fertilizer manufacturing plant in the S.B. Foot Tannery at Cactus.

Donley County Commissioners approved a ten-year tax abatement agreement for a $90 million wind farm project on the Trew Ranch during their regular meeting Monday. Dale Cummings, a tax attorney who represents wind farm developer Iberdrola, said the agreement means good things for both parties. "I think it's a good deal for us and for the county," Cummings said. "Hopefully it opens the door to a lot of wind power developments in Donley County."

On the Internet, erasing your role in climate change seems as easy as ordering a DVD -- and cheaper than a cup of coffee a day. With a click, a credit card and $99, visitors can pay a Silver Spring nonprofit group, Carbonfund.org, to "offset" a year's worth of greenhouse-gas emissions. Whatever the customer put into the atmosphere -- by flying, driving, using electricity -- the site promises to cancel out, by funding projects that reduce pollutants. Sites such as this one, offering absolution from the modern nag of climate guilt, have created a $55 million industry that once would have been beyond the greenest of imaginations. The market for "voluntary carbon offsets" now encompasses dozens of sellers and thousands of buyers, including individuals and corporations. But in some cases, these customers may be buying good feelings and little else.

One of the major concerns for Illinois counties looking to lure wind farms to the area is the tax assessment. That problem is now a step closer to being resolved. Thursday, during the prolonged legislative overtime session resulting from the budget impasse, the Illinois Senate voted 53-0 to pass legislation that sets an assessment rate. It still must pass the House and be signed by the governor. If enacted, the tax value would be $9,000 per megawatt for wind farms.

The Illinois Senate today approved legislation to set up a uniform way of determining the property taxes that wind farms will pay. Wind farms, a fledgling industry in Illinois, at present can be assessed in varying ways, depending on where they are located. Different counties have been using differing methodologies. But if the legislation becomes law, a wind farm installed in 2007 would pay a tax of $9,000 per megawatt, no matter where in Illinois it is. That figure would drop slightly each year because of physical depreciation. The legislation, which is designated House Bill 664, sailed through the Senate on a 53-0 vote and next moves to the House of Representatives. To become law, it must pass there and be signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Another part of the bill would phase out an existing 7 percent cap on property assessments in Cook County.

DOUGLAS -- The monetary impact on Converse County of a proposed wind project in Glenrock may be realized as soon as construction starts through impact assistance payments from the state Department of Environmental Quality's industrial siting division. From that division, Tom Schroeder prepared the county commissioners Tuesday for what he said could be a "fast and furious" process as Rocky Mountain Power files its application for an industrial siting permit this fall. In conjunction with the permit, the state Industrial Siting Council will decide what sort of money it should approve for the county as impact assistance fees. State permits are required for all projects with construction costs of $163 million or more. The council evaluates the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the construction work on communities before issuing construction permits. The assistance fees are intended to help communities address impacts.

CHICAGO - The governor announced an expansion of the Bureau and Putnam County Enterprise Zone on Monday, a move that should clear some final hurdles for construction of two wind farms. The enterprise zone, which allows income and job creation tax credits to companies that build within it, will be extended by a total of 18.2 acres for Midwest Wind Energy's Big Sky and Crescent Ridge II wind farms.