...Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri's pledge nearly two years ago to bring wind power to a state where there is just one operating wind turbine. His goal was to get 15% of the state's electrical power from wind by 2011 - which would require about 100 turbines. Several major challenges now stand in the way of the small state's big plans. Among them: No one has decided where to put a wind farm, it's not clear how the project will be paid for, and public opposition - a major wild card - is unknown, according to Carcieri's top energy adviser, Andrew Dzykewicz. ...No other state has built an offshore wind farm, forcing Rhode Island's government to invent the process nearly from scratch. One of the state's main environmental regulatory bodies, the Coastal Resources Management Council, has not even decided what it requires from prospective wind power developers.

Planning Board chairman Gary Gilbert said his board has begun that exploration, which will include hiring a consultant and visiting wind facilities. Gilbert has prepared a draft bylaw, but "the board is not ready to go through that yet because they want to learn about the general subject matter first," he said. "It's new to many people on the board." Board of Selectmen chairwoman Sue Thorne said she supports developing a comprehensive wind bylaw "as long as there are reasonable and sensible guidelines. By having a bylaw in place, it gives any applicant an opportunity to be aware of what the parameters are" for building a tower to harness wind energy.

Minnesotans soon can tell state officials what they think of a plan to add hundreds of miles of electric transmission lines across the state. A group of 11 utilities, led by Xcel Energy and including Otter Tail Power Co., has proposed building three high-voltage transmission lines in Minnesota, claiming they are needed to improve service and prepare for growing electricity demands in areas such as the Red River Valley. ...Red Wing attorney Carol Overland has tracked the CapX 2020 proposal and operates a Web site that attempts to debunk the utilities' claim about needed transmission expansion. Overland said a better alternative would be to add generation facilities close to where the electricity is needed. "We're dealing with this false justification of need," said Overland, who will challenge the utilities' claims at the upcoming meetings.

One of Britain's largest green energy companies has damned the MoD as being "biggest single obstacle to wind power in the UK" after it opposed a second Norfolk wind farm. The future of wind energy in the county was thrown into doubt last night after it emerged that the MoD has raised concerns over Ecotricity's plans for six turbines between Sporle and Swaffham. The MoD says that trials conducted in 2004 and 2005 on the effects of wind turbines on radar systems identified that even solitary turbines can significantly reduce operational effectiveness when in line of sight.

The moratorium on the building of thermal power stations announced by the Government this week will lead to rotating blackouts. This is the view of Auckland energy consultant, Bryan Leyland, who is also chair of the economic panel of the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition. ..."In all that time, I have never seen anything that is potentially so disastrous for electricity supply and for the economy as the New Zealand Energy Strategy and the Emissions Trading Scheme," said Mr Leyland. "The central focus is climate change and political expediency not strategy and energy. It also demonstrates that electricity supply is now more firmly under government control than it was in the 'bad old days' when the Power Planning Committee issued reports that anyone could understand and that clearly set out the options as well as the arguments for and against them.

The cancellation of a proposed coal-powered generating plant in Holcomb might delay the construction of some new transmission lines, but demand for wind power is growing so fast that, sooner or later, the lines will be built, a state board was told Monday. ...The cancellation of a proposed coal-powered generating plant in Holcomb might delay the construction of some new transmission lines, but demand for wind power is growing so fast that, sooner or later, the lines will be built, a state board was told Monday.

According to the Daily Mail, government advisers believe the environmental cost of making, transporting and installing domestic turbines usually outweighs their benefits in built-up areas. They say that wind speeds in towns and cities are simply too low to produce enough energy to justify their installation. It is the latest finding to show how apparently "green" lifestyles can be less environmentally friendly than they seem. The latest finding comes from the Building Research Establishment Trust, which advises the Government and the private sector on energy efficiency.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has defended selling off state-owned wind farms, saying the sale has delivered the country's biggest climate change fund. Ms Bligh on Thursday announced the government had sold off its wind farm assets, spread across Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria, to Transfield Services Infrastructure Limited for $460.4 million. Proceeds will go to Queensland's climate change fund, established to provide an ongoing funding source for climate change initiatives. But the decision on Friday was met with criticism by the Queensland Sustainable Energy Industry Development Group.

A state council halted Energy Northwest's application to build a $1.5 billion petcoke/ coal gasification plant at the Port Kalama Tuesday, saying the public power giant's plan failed to meet new state requirements for sequestering greenhouse gases. ...The proposed plant would use a new, cleaner technology called Integrated Gasfication Combined Cycle to produce power. Energy Northwest's plans call for gasifying petcoke, a waste product from manufacturing gasoline, though coal could also be gasified. Company officials have argued that state environmental rules prevent them from injecting carbon gases into the ground, and they've made a "good faith" to develop a sequestration plan.

... Westar's proposal [is] to add 300 megawatts of wind energy -- about enough to power 90,000 homes -- at a cost of $830 million over the next 20 years. The Kansas Corporation Commission is expected to rule by year's end on how to allow Westar to recover the cost. If approved, Westar's plan would add about $2.25 a month to the average customer's bill. ..."Something tells me there are going to be cost overruns and the capacity they're expecting won't be there and we'll get stuck with the bill,"

With hearings on a wind power case set to begin Monday in front of the Kansas Corporation Commission, a complication is developing. One of the three commissioners already has recused himself from the case, and now a watchdog group wants the other two recused, suggesting they may have been improperly influenced by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. The governor's office says she did no such thing but has no idea how the matter would proceed if there was nobody to hear it. ...But even if Moffet and/or Wright wished to recuse themselves at this point, they could not, according to the office of Attorney General Paul Morrison. Citing a legal principle known as the Rule of Necessity in Administrative Law, the office said that commissioner who may be subject to disqualification for "bias, prejudice or prejudgment of the issues" are not disqualified if their absence prevents a decision from being made.

Minnesota renewable energy advocates see great opportunity in wind-generated electricity, but the state struggles to reach that goal. ...efforts to increase Minnesota's use of wind energy face an inconvenient reality: The state lacks enough transmission lines to move the new electricity from wind turbines to customers. ...Also, while wind-generated electricity is more than half of Minnesota's renewable energy, even supporters acknowledge it only works when the wind is blowing, so other energy sources still are needed.

A watchdog group is asking that all three members of the Kansas Corporation Commission be recused from hearing Westar's wind energy request, citing a meeting nearly a year ago in which the governor's office reportedly promised the CEOs of several utilities that KCC would ensure their companies would be fully compensated for investments in wind. The meeting was detailed in a confidential e-mail sent by Westar's CEO and was later obtained by the Citizens' Utility Ratepayer Board. ...Joe Harkins, who was at the meeting and is now a KCC commissioner, voluntarily recused himself from the case on Nov. 9. A week later, CURB formally asked that the two remaining members, Michael Moffet and Thomas Wright, be disqualified also.

Despite Colorado's drive to develop renewable energy, the state will still need the equivalent of 13 new 350-megawatt plants to satisfy its power needs by 2025, according to a report by an independent research group with ties to the energy industry. The Colorado Energy Forum says even with additional power from wind, solar and other renewable sources, the state could need up to 4,500 megawatts of electricity 18 years from now. ..."There's probably a sense out there that people need to do something about climate change and with all the talk about renewable energy this year we're concerned that people will say, ‘Boy, I'm glad we got that taken care of,"‘ Bruce Smith, former director of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and executive director of the group said Wednesday. "Even with those (renewable energy) contributions, there's still a large amount that we've got to get yet."

Four state agencies will decide today whether to give a proposed offshore wind farm a second chance. Members of the public are expected to pack the hearing at Legislative Hall, which is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. The agencies will take public testimony before deliberating about whether to send Bluewater Wind and Delmarva Power back into negotiations for a 25-year agreement to buy wind power. ...Bluewater has faced an uphill battle since late last month, when the Public Service Commission staff recommended ending negotiations. The deal would be too risky and expensive for ratepayers, the staff wrote.

For decades, coal-fired power stations have been among the biggest contributors to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Now, as climate change moves near the top of the world agenda, a sizeable investment opportunity is emerging for coal power equipment manufacturers and companies that build power plants and coal producers. This is one of many conclusions reached at AllianceBernstein after two years of research into the investment implications of climate change. Our analysts conducted more than 500 visits and interviews with companies, consultants, scientists and legislators. ...But renewable energy is not the cure for the world's addiction to fossil fuels, our research found. Wind power, solar energy and hydropower have compelling advantages, such as inexhaustible fuel supply and minimal emissions of CO2. But initial costs, reliability and transmission problems are severe disadvantages. We expect renewable energy, including hydropower, to gain market share, growing from 17% of global electric output this year to 19.5% in 2030. But wind power will supply only 5% of total world electricity in 2030, even after a 10-fold leap in global production.

A massive wind farm project in Gray County is on hold today because County Commissioners decided more information is needed. The wind farm is proposed by T. Boone Pickens, who would like Northern Gray County to be designated as a reinvestment zone so they can apply for a tax abatement. ..."So many people here that have built Gray County and they've paid their taxes, year, after year, after year. I just feel like Mr. Pickens and his wind farm machine, I think he ought to pay his fair share of taxes if he's going to come in here." said Kathleene Greene of Pampa.

Looking east into Gilliam County and north into Washington, turbines are strung over ridgelines as far as the eye can see. And there are nowhere near enough of them. ...West Coast utilities and independent power producers are locked in a land rush to secure the best wind sites and the power they produce. Coupled with a worldwide shortage of turbines and a falling dollar, the resulting scarcity is driving up the cost of wind power, a burden electricity ratepayers will shoulder.

The University of Michigan's Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise. Greenhouse Gas Reductions or Greenwash? looks at utility companies that participate in the Department of Energy's Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Registry to determine if their claimed CO2 reductions equal their actual reductions. ("Greenwashing" is when a company purports to be environmentally friendly, but its actions indicate the opposite.) ..."They report on a project level, so they chose to tell you good things, but they don't tell you the bad," says Lyon, a professor of sustainable science, technology and commerce and of economics, public policy and natural resources at the University of Michigan. "We weren't trying to call out the worst companies," he says. "We're trying to show that this is pretty much a worthless number."

Shares in renewable energy companies with assets in the US could see further declines tomorrow on ongoing fears that the US energy bill might be passed this week without including tax incentives for generators and promoters of renewable energy, market sources said. ...Yesterday, website renewableenergyaccess.com reported that the Democrat house leaders in the US are preparing to cede to demands from Republicans and remove all tax breaks for renewable energy companies from the bill in order to push it through parliament before the Thanksgiving break on November 16.