CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- Gov. Jim Gibbons isn't joining U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in condemning three proposed coal-fired power plants in rural Nevada that would supply electricity to Las Vegas. Although coal plants long have been criticized for the pollutants they spew into the air, the Republican governor said new technology "minimizes the production of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emission." Reid, D-Nev., said he opposes the coal-fired plants in White Pine and Lincoln counties because they would produce millions of tons of pollution. As an alternative, he wants the state to consider renewable forms of energy and improved energy efficiency.

A new CIBC World Markets report supports what the Power Workers' Union (PWU) has been saying to the provincial government and the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) for years: the closure of Ontario's coal plants will lead to higher electricity prices for consumers and businesses. Since making the 2003 election campaign promise to close the coal plants, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and the OPA have continued to raise concerns about the significant risks to electricity reliability and price. Now another independent review has reached the same conclusion. "Successive IESO and OPA documents and recent speeches show these risks have not gone away but are actually worse," says Don MacKinnon, President of the PWU. Key risks include: uncertainties about load growth forecasts and what realistic contributions can be expected from conservation and demand management (CDM); how volatile natural gas prices will affect electricity prices; the need for more gas pipeline infrastructure to service new gas-fuelled generators; the costs of redesigning and building new transmission and distribution infrastructure to integrate natural gas and renewable generation from wind farms; and, the need to have a back-up plan if replacement generation is not in place.

Wind power advocates are unhappy with the Alberta government for suggesting that the current cap on wind energy in the province might be raised, rather than eliminated completely. Last year the province's energy operator set a "threshold" of 900 megawatts for wind power production, because of concerns that amounts above that level could destabilize the power grid. As wind is intermittent and requires backup, anything above that level could be a problem, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) said. About 500 MW of wind power is generated in the province already, and many more projects in the planning stages would push past the 900 MW mark.

Projects are picking up the most speed in Ontario, where the provincial government has embraced wind energy as a symbol of its green friendliness, and municipalities are signing on with a fervour because the province's above-market prices mean they can reap cash in land sales and tax revenues. But as Canada experiences a rapid rise in these developments, there is a growing opposition to wind power as a clean energy alternative, with complaints that it is high-cost, energy-inefficient, causes noise pollution and even wreaks havoc on birds' migratory patterns. After raising many of these concerns with the Ontario Municipal Board, residents of Wolfe Island, Ont., celebrated a victory this week when plans for an 86-turbine megaproject by Canadian Hydro Developers, Inc. was modified to place the turbines farther away from residential areas and wetlands.

Green may be in vogue, but that doesn't mean utilities want the government forcing them to build windmills. It could happen. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., proposes making the biggest utilities across the nation acquire 20% of their electricity from renewable energy sources like wind, solar and geothermal power by 2020. The plan is gaining momentum as the House of Representatives readies for debate on a massive energy bill this week. "We've had growing support over the last 10 days," says Udall, noting the proposal's 150 co-sponsors and support from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "I think we're coming very close to the numbers in terms of our count, but the leadership's working very closely with us."

WASHINGTON: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi solidified Democratic support behind her energy initiatives and quieted rebellious party members who feared U.S. energy production would be hurt. Democratic leaders reached agreement on legislation that would impose nearly $16 billion (€11.71 billion) in additional taxes on oil companies over 10 years and use the money to promote renewable energy programs and energy conservation and efficiency. To garner broader Democratic support, Pelosi scrapped proposed changes in the way royalties are collected from offshore federal oil and gas leases. Also dropped was a provision that would have made it harder for the federal government to designate nationally significant corridors for pipelines and electric power lines. Pelosi, bowing to Democratic lawmakers in oil-producing regions, agreed to some changes in the way permits are issued for energy leases on federal land.

ST. PAUL - It could be years before many Minnesotans see the impact of a series of energy-related laws that soon go into effect. Lawmakers and Gov. Tim Pawlenty agreed on what was described as historic renewable energy and conservation legislation earlier this year, and major components become law Wednesday. A renewable energy standard requires most utilities to derive a quarter of their electricity production from renewable sources - including wind, solar and hydroelectric generation - by 2025. Xcel Energy has a tougher mandate. Ratepayers will not notice a difference in their electricity bills. A provision included in the law is meant to prevent significant price hikes for consumers. There is an effort to push renewable energy initiatives, but not at the expense of cost or reliability, said Ed Garvey, deputy commissioner at the Department of Commerce.

The Stelmach government foresees nearly doubling the amount of wind-power generation allowed in Alberta, even as the province remains the only jurisdiction in Canada to cap the production of wind energy. "There is every possibility that (the cap) could move to, in the interim, someplace around 1,500 megawatts," said Energy Minister Mel Knight. "As we move along and Alberta's system becomes more robust, and we're able to integrate more wind, I can see it moving beyond that."

CALGARY - The Stelmach government foresees nearly doubling the amount of wind-power generation allowed in Alberta, says Energy Minister Mel Knight, even as the province remains the only jurisdiction in Canada to cap the production of wind energy. Industry groups are demanding the province go further than raising the amount of production permitted and remove the cap.

House lawmakers are expected to debate this week a hotly contested effort to require electric utilities to produce more power from renewable sources such as wind and biomass. The proposal is strongly opposed by the utility industry's biggest trade group, the Edison Electric Institute, and by Atlanta-based Southern Co., a major coal burner that has made defeating the measure a priority. In a letter sent to lawmakers last week, Thomas Kuhn, the trade group's president, said the industry is "deeply concerned" by the proposal, arguing that it would discriminate against utilities in places without lots of wind or other renewable resources.

Anticipating the need to replace the supply of about two-thirds of the state's electricity, 200 Vermonters will sequester themselves in a hotel for a weekend in early November to study energy options and consider how to balance Vermont's energy portfolio for the next generation. Energy discussions - whether considering wind, nuclear, or hydroelectric power - attract crowds of special-interest groups and political activists. The competing rhetoric can be overwhelming. The goal of the $500,000-plus worth of studies - the largest energy sampling ever conducted in the United States - is to cut through the slogans and give policymakers a fresh look at how Vermonters envision the state's energy future, said Stephen Wark, the Department of Public Service's consumer affairs director. Vermonters will pay for the bulk of the studies, through rate charges on utility bills and state tax dollars. "We are looking for mainstream Vermonters, not advocates," Wark said. "What we are looking for is people with an open mind, people that are willing to learn and share their opinions with us."

TOPEKA | With a lump of coal in one hand and the prairie wind in the other, Kansas is marching into its energy future. The state is poised to approve one of the largest coal-fired power plants ever built west of the Mississippi River, even as officials announced plans recently for transmission lines designed to encourage more wind farms. To utility companies and key officials, this is the right direction. They say that the state must embrace an energy mix of coal and wind and that pitting the two sources against each other is wrongheaded. "Adding wind generation to the Kansas electrical generation portfolio is part of the solution - but we cannot expect it to be the solution," Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said in a news release.

QUEBEC - The nationalization of Quebec's hydroelectric power in the 1960s was the crowning achievement of Rene Levesque, then a Liberal energy minister, who later became the first Parti Quebecois premier. More than 40 years later, some suggest the province should follow in his footstep and nationalize a booming new industry - wind power. Government-owned Hydro-Quebec has become a symbol of Quebec's pride and know-how and developed into the largest single electricity producer in North America. The utility has a virtual monopoly on the distribution of electricity in the province, most of it produced by its own dams. Quebec has been called the "Saudi Arabia of wind energy" and experts say it gives the province a bright future.

Shouldn't eco-friendly Townshippers want in on this kind of technology? "It's not the technology we're opposed to, and it's not because we have a 'not-in-my-backyard' mentality," said Fabien Poirier, a fourth-generation resident who restores old houses and furniture, has a head for statistics and history, and is a member of the 'No' committee. "It's just that we don't think these wind towers should ever be put up in an inhabited area, so close to where people live. They're totally out of proportion to everything around them." The residents fear a variety of ills documented from turbine use in other countries: the shadows of the blades at sunrise and sunset, creating a strobe effect that catches the eye and makes people nauseous; interference with analog TV reception, making channels hazy; blinking lights atop the towers that distract and annoy at night; falling house prices caused by the towers being so close; the constant noise of the rotating blades (generally under 40 decibels), likened to the uneven pitch of an overhead fan, the hum of a beehive or the sound of a school bus approaching from a distance; the effect on bird and bat migration; and disruption of drainage caused by a soil structure that gets degraded by the foundations of the towers, each one with a footprint that is wide and deep and hard: 600 cubic litres of poured concrete.

CHICAGO - The $1 billion electric rate-relief package that Illinois lawmakers approved this week contains not only savings for consumers but also an expected boon to the state's growing wind-farm industry. A provision of the bill that passed the House and Senate on Thursday requires utility companies to get increasing shares of their power supplies from renewable sources, especially wind turbines. The green threshold would start at 2 percent next year and would gradually increase to 25 percent by 2025, according to lawmakers and other proponents familiar with the details. Utilities previously agreed to voluntary goals, but environmental advocates have been pushing for binding requirements with penalties for companies that don't comply.

Dr Williams argues that those calling for carbon-emission cuts of 25 per cent by 2030 do not understand what it would cost. "We would need an extra 4500 two-megawatt wind turbines, 20 biomass generators, 30 new gas-fired base-load power stations and 12 best-of-breed coal-fired plants," she says. "It would require $60 billion in new infrastructure costs to build these." Instead, she advocates replacing old coal-fired power plants with new ones, rather than "squeezing everything you can out of old assets" and looking at energy resources that have not been considered. "What the council seeks is more investment in research, particularly in the sectors that it makes sense to invest in," she says. "Investment needs to be made in technology that can produce viable returns."

The N.C. Utilities Commission dismissed Calhoun's application Friday, saying he provided insufficient information, despite being granted a 120-day extension. The commission denied the application nine days after Calhoun submitted a letter explaining that no financial institution was willing to invest in his project until the commission approved it. The project was also opposed by the Public Staff, the state's consumer agency in utility matters. The Public Staff concluded that wind turbines are barred in the mountains under the state's Mountain Ridge Protection Act of 1983. The law prohibits the construction of buildings or structures more than 40 feet tall on mountain ridges, but it exempts windmills. Wind power advocates say the windmill exemption allows wind turbines, but the interpretation is unclear. The Public Staff relied on a 2002 legal opinion from the state Attorney General, who concluded that the 1983 law bars commercial-scale wind-power operations.

WASHINGTON -- Several Western lawmakers are leading an effort in the House to set a national requirement that utilities produce 20 percent of their electricity from wind, solar and other renewable energy sources by 2020. Democratic Reps. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Diana DeGette and Mark Udall of Colorado, are among a group of lawmakers pushing to add the renewable electricity standard to a House bill promoting clean energy. The renewable electricity proposal is a key -- but controversial -- measure that environmentalists say must pass if the nation is going to take meaningful steps to combat global warming and reduce dependence on foreign fossil fuel. A similar effort failed in the Senate earlier this summer. The Western House members hope their effort will make it through Congress.

Plans to increase charges to remote generators could undermine renewable energy schemes in Scotland, according to campaigners. Electricity regulator Ofgem said it was "minded to" back changes to the cost of transmission losses. Generators nearer cities and areas of high demand, which have least losses en route to users, would pay less. Opponents fear the changes would discriminate against projects such as wind farms in the north of Scotland.

A grandiose plan to link Europe's electricity grids may recast wind power from its current role as a walk-on extra to being the star of the show. Plug in your toaster-or your television or your vacuum cleaner-and the electricity that surges through it is an alternating current. The question of whether the world would be powered by direct current (DC), in which electrons flow in one direction around a circuit, or by alternating current (AC), in which they jiggle back and forth, was decided in the 1880s. Thomas Edison backed DC. George Westinghouse backed AC. Westinghouse won. The reason was that over the short distances spanned by early power grids, AC transmission suffers lower losses than DC. It thus became the industry standard. Some people, however, question that standard because over long distances high-voltage DC lines suffer lower losses than AC. Not only does that make them better in their own right, but employing them would allow electricity grids to be restructured in ways that would make wind power more attractive. That would reduce the need for new conventional (and polluting) power stations.