Town Administrator Jonathan Butler told the Selectmen Wednesday night that the two "district local technical assistance grants" are not monetary awards, but consist of advising services from the planning commission. A joint project with Savoy is designed to help the towns gain further understanding of purchase agreements regarding commercial renewable-energy projects.

A group of environmental organizations and opponents of wind energy projects say they likely will file suit if the federal government approves the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm. A 60-day notice of violations of the Endangered Species Act was sent this week to Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin and to the U.S. Interior Department and other federal agencies that have reviewed Cape Wind's plan to build 130 wind turbines in the sound.

Cape Wind critics threw up an eleventh-hour roadblock this week, accusing two U.S. government agencies that approved portions of the proposed offshore wind energy project of violating federal laws. "We put them on notice," said Lisa Linowes, executive director of the Industrial Wind Action Group, which tracks the benefits of wind energy projects. Her group and eight others filed a 60-day notice of violations with U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

The U.S. military is growing increasingly concerned that proposed wind farms can disrupt or block radar designed to detect threats and protect America's skies, a problem that is stalling the alternative energy projects around the country. A top U.S. general told Congress on Thursday that federal agencies need to work better together on a formal vetting process for the wind projects to prevent them from being built where they will interfere with radar defenses.

Larkin Enterprises, Inc. of Lincoln, Maine, claims that the town awarded the contract to a Woburn company to settle litigation and ensure its funding schedule for up to $1.7 million in federal stimulus funds for the project would be met. It is suing for up to triple damages for lost profits and attorney's fees.

The winds of defiance continue to howl from the neighborhoods that could be in the shadow of two proposed commercial wind turbines. Monday night, about a dozen residents continued their protest of town plans to lease land to Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative. The rancor was fortified by news of two turbine failures in Nantucket and Marstons Mills. A broken blade was cast nearly 200 feet at Bartlett's Ocean View Farm on Nantucket in late January.

About a dozen critics of the plan spoke at length, pushing the meeting past 11:15 p.m., and several pleaded with selectmen to abandon the project. Resident Alice Kuntz asked Rick Toma to show the selectmen what the impact of shadow flicker would be like in a home. Toma walked to the light switch and began to turn off half the lights every one second to demonstrate the passing shadow of the turbine blades.

When the 100-foot-tall wind turbine at Bartlett's Ocean View Farm hurled one of its broken blades nearly 200 feet Jan. 18, it was a statistical anomaly. Wind energy experts claim, and statistics seem to show, failure rates are low. But when a second 100-foot-tall turbine, this time in Marstons Mills, shed its blades in a northeaster this Sunday, it seemed to some the start of a troubling trend.

Two of the three blades on the 15,000 Kw wind turbine at Peck's Boats in Marstons Mills broke off in high-gusting winds early Sunday morning. It was a bad day for windmills in Marstons Mills. At Peck's Boats, two of the three blades of its 15,000 Kw turbine broke from the 100-foot tall installation.

A federal panel charged with assessing Cape Wind's impact on dozens of historic sites includes an architect, an anthropologist and a Texan who runs one of the nation's largest beer distributors. Last week, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation identified a five-member Cape Wind review panel, as a final federal ruling on the controversial offshore wind farm appears on the horizon.

Around 12 p.m. Sunday, two blades of a wind turbine were reportedly blown off during the strong nor’easter ravaging Cape Cod. According to spectators near the scene, two blades atop the approximately 60 foot wind turbine blew off around noon.

One of the windmill's 40-foot-­long blades broke in half in moder­ate winds some time after dark Jan. 18, the broken piece plummet­ing to the ground where it landed nearly 175 feet away from the tur­bine. No one was hurt, but Bartlett's Farm now alleges in Nantucket Superior Court that the manufacturer of the windmill, Wind Energy Solu­tions (WES), of the Netherlands, knew of a design defect.

A federal panel charged with assessing Cape Wind's impact on dozens of historic sites includes an architect, an anthropologist and a Texan who runs one of the nation's largest beer distributors. Last week, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation identified a five-member Cape Wind review panel, as a final federal ruling on the controversial offshore wind farm appears on the horizon.

A group of Wampanoag tribes who say they've been cast aside on issues from the Nantucket Sound wind farm to the future of gaming are breaking away to create a new council to deal with state government. The state-recognized tribes are calling on Gov. Deval Patrick to disband the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs, the current liaison to state tribes.

Town officials are moving ahead with plans to place a windmill on town land a half-mile from Ocean View Drive. But opponents are organizing ...At the April 26 annual town meeting, voters have an opportunity to renew their support or openly oppose the $5.3 million turbine planned for the woods near White Crest Beach, in the Cape Cod National Seashore.

The Planning Board last night voted unanimously against recommending a change to the city's zoning ordinance that would have allowed wind turbines to be up to 450 feet in height in all zoning districts. Under the provisions of zoning laws adopted by the City Council in January, wind turbines can be up to 265 feet tall, though they can be even higher through a waiver process.

A site visit to the Massachusetts Military Reservation in Bourne to observe and learn about the operation of a large scale wind turbine brought a measure of détente between some local residents and town officials on Friday. Headwaters resident Noreen Donahue said the wind turbine which is similar in size to the one proposed for her neighborhood was a little smaller than she anticipated.

A brush fire, apparently started from a short in a power line from wind turbines in the area, burned 1,100 acres before firefighters were able to stop the wind-blown flames. The fire was reported about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, near the intersection of Weld County roads 111 and 128.

Economic Development and Industrial Corporation Director James Cowdell said the turbine project will probably be reviewed by the Waterfront Site Plan Review Committee headed by City Council President Timothy Phelan. "We will be looking for how it fits into development of the waterfront: Would it adversely affect future development?" Cowdell said Friday.