When the Bureau County Board voted to exclude a certain type of wind turbine from consideration for seven Walnut Ridge sites, the company was understandably concerned. ...On Nov. 17, Suzlon issued a statement regarding the S88. According to the statement, the problem with the S88 near Buda was with the V2 version, which has since been replaced with the V3 version.

On Monday, Vermilion County Board members will get their first opportunity to discuss a new ordinance that will regulate the creation of wind turbines in Vermilion County. Several developers of wind turbine farms are considering building in the county, more specifically in the southwest, northwest and northern parts of Vermilion.

Village officials heard mixed opinions from residents Monday as they looked to gather information on potential regulations for wind turbines. Roughly 25 people gathered at Poplar Grove's Village Hall for a public hearing, which is mandatory before any ordinance can be adopted. The feelings of those who spoke were split between proponents and opponents of commercial wind farms.

County commissioners paved the way Monday toward granting a tax abatement to wind power giant Duke Energy. ..."I didn't feel like it's a benefit to the citizens of Ector County," he said. Simmons said wind turbines deteriorate quickly, and chances are they won't be worth much once a 10-year abatement is up, leaving little to nothing to collect property tax off of. He also said there's no guarantee permanent jobs would be created in Ector County since the majority of the Notrees Windpower Project is located in Winkler County.

Tuesday morning, county board chairman Dick Logan joined Railsplitter Wind Farm and Horizon Wind Energy officials at the official groundbreaking for the project that will place the first wind turbines in Logan County. The progressive date was accomplished when a special adjourned county board meeting was called on Oct. 30 in order to get the board's approval of the final document, a decommissioning agreement, that finished meeting all the county's requirements for the construction of the wind farm.

Separately, Otter Tail seeks to charge customers who will get wind-generated power from its portion of the new Ashtabula Wind Farm a separate fee above the usual rates. ...[the]proposed increase is known as a "renewable resource cost recovery rider 2009." Under state law, utilities are allowed to charge extra for the cost of generating electricity through alternative forms such as wind farms.

Otter Tail Power Co. wants to increase a special charge to electric customers that helps pay for its wind energy projects. ...Otter Tail is asking North Dakota's Public Service Commission to increase the charge, starting Jan. 1. It would raise the payment from $1.45 to $3.83 monthly.

A public hearing was packed Tuesday night with people who wanted to tell the Lee Village Board exactly why they are for or against a proposed wind farm along the DeKalb-Lee county line. The project would consist of 133 electricity-generating wind turbines owned by Florida-based FPL Energy. All of the proposed turbines are in unincorporated areas, but a state law passed last year allows municipalities to exercise zoning authority on wind turbines within one and a half miles of their corporate boundaries.

The Princeton City Council has approved an ordinance to expand the Bureau/Putnam Area Enterprise Zone to include the proposed Walnut Ridge wind farm in northwest Bureau County. The city council took its action at Monday night's meeting in city hall.

Vermilion County officials forged ahead Monday with their first discussion on how to regulate the potential construction of wind-turbine farms in the absence of a countywide zoning system. Several wind-turbine companies are seriously considering the county for development of alternative-energy farms, but the county is different from other counties where wind farms already exist because Vermilion has no zoning. ...Attorney and Vermilion County Board Member Bill Donahue, D-District 7, has been working on developing an ordinance that would contain the same type of regulations that would be developed through a regular zoning process in other counties.

A proposed wind farm in northern Young County took a major step toward reality Monday when commissioners voted to approve a tax abatement plan for British Petroleum. After more than two hours of negotiations between BP and representatives from Young and Archer counties, Young County legal counsel Alan Carmichael announced an agreement had been reached.

The passage of a resolution by the Legislature last Wednesday established Herkimer County's negotiating position regarding payment in lieu of taxes agreements for wind projects: Closing an interconnected effort amongst affected municipalities and school districts over four years in the making. Ongoing proposals by Iberdrola Renewable Energies to build wind turbines include: The Hardscrabble Project in the towns of Norway and Fairfield, with Owen D. Young Central School District; and the Jordanville Project in the towns of Stark and Warren, with West Canada Valley Central School District. The resolution sets a PILOT payment of $8,000 per megawatt.

Trucks hauling giant wind turbines continue to trek through Lincoln - and some residents say they continue to cause problems. One such truck got off course Thursday and ended up stuck at the intersection of Keokuk and Logan streets, said Lincoln resident Morris Trent, who lives nearby. ...None of the turbines going through Lincoln are bound for the RailSplitter Wind Farm in northern Logan and southern Tazewell counties, according to that wind farm's project supervisor.

Horizon has also started work on access roads for construction and maintenance of the wind towers, Parker said. Although these roads are private, landowners who live within the wind farm property can use them for their farming operations, he said. Construction is progressing on electrical substations, overhead lines and underground cables, Parker said, and the erection of the wind turbines has also begun. Twenty-five foundations have been completed, he said, and two base sections have been installed on three towers.

Vermilion County economic development officials are in talks with at least four companies interested in building wind-turbine farms in Vermilion County. The county has no zoning system, but county board officials are taking steps to regulate the construction and operation of the alternative-energy farms by writing an ordinance. ...Haugen said landowners need to be protected, and the companies need to know the expectations before making major investments.

Bureau County officials want to try and ensure that a wind turbine failure like what was experienced on a farm southwest of Wyanet last month doesn't happen again. The Bureau County Board this week voted not to allow future wind farm developments to use the S88 type turbines produced by India-based Suzlon Energy. "I am personally making the motion (to exclude Suzlon) due to the uncertainty of their turbines," ESDA and zoning committee Chairman Bill Bennett.

Residents hoping to sound off on wind turbine laws Monday were told to come back in two weeks. The village of Poplar Grove delayed a public hearing on potential zoning-law changes for wind towers because the legal notice of the meeting was published incorrectly, village President Roger Day said. ...village officials say they want to protect residents who may not want a wind farm near their homes or fear it could lower their property values.

The Iroquois County Planning and Zoning Committee voted unanimously to recommended to the full board a wind farm request. Friday morning the committee heard from Vision Energy representatives Mark Gerson and Turner Hunt as they asked for the conditional use to build 47 wind towers in Milks Grove Township.

If California expands its renewable power generation to be a third of electricity delivered in the state by 2020, it may cost $60 billion, the state's utility regulator said in a report issued on Thursday. It is more costly to make electricity with renewable power -- solar, wind, geothermal and other sources that emit no or low amounts of global-warming greenhouse gases -- than with natural gas, nuclear and coal power plants. ...On Tuesday, California voters overwhelmingly -- 65 percent of the vote -- rejected a statewide ballot measure that would have required 50 percent of power to be generated from renewables by 2025.