Gov. David Paterson has ambitious renewable energy goals for New York state -- most of which he is trying to meet by encouraging the construction of large wind turbines. But wind farm advocates say that a new regulation adopted less than two weeks ago by the state Public Service Commission may severely curtail future construction of large-scale commercial wind farms in upstate New York. The rule requires that developers of new renewable energy projects in New York study whether there is enough transmission line capacity to handle the additional power their projects will create.

With wind turbines literally on the horizon, Naples officials are again calling on state leaders to make sure the power-generating machines are farther away from the town's borders. ...Turbines on the hills near Naples became operational earlier this year. Plans for more turbines in Prattsburgh in Steuben County and Italy in Yates County give new urgency to the call for re-siting, said Naples Supervisor Frank Duserick

State utility regulators today authorized an auction to distribute $95 million to new power plants fueled by the wind, the sun, biomass or other renewable sources. The auction will be the fourth conducted under a standing state mandate to derive 25 percent of New York's electricity from renewable energy sources by 2013. Members of the state Public Service Commission ...noted that the time is right for new renewable energy projects.

The 29th Congressional District is ground zero for wind farm development with more than 1,200 turbines ultimately planned for the region, according to U.S. Rep. Eric Massa, D-Corning. Massa was in town Monday night to discuss his opposition to the federal health reform act, during a 1.5-hour long town hall meeting, saying the act would impose a higher surcharge on New Yorkers and undermine Medicare.

For the first time ever, the House on Friday passed a plan to combat climate change, a top priority of President Obama's that Rep. Brian Higgins said could rescue the Western New York economy. The bill's opponents, however, were vehement in their contention that the bill could break the bank of the nation's consumers. ...The bill now moves on to the Senate, where its prospects are murky.

Gov. David Paterson met with four other governors of Mid-Atlantic states who joined together to announce on Thursday, June 5 the formation of a bureaucracy that will serve as infrastructure for future conservation and alternative energy projects in the Atlantic Ocean. The newly created Governors Mid-Atlantic Council on Oceans has the dual focus of preserving the natural habitats in and around the Atlantic Ocean while promoting "offshore renewable energy."

Businesses ranging from Menter, Rudin & Trivelpiece law firm, Watertown, to Erie Boulevard Hydropower, Potsdam, likely will lose their Empire Zone tax benefits following Empire State Development Corp.'s announcement on the status of the 8,000-plus businesses enrolled in program. In the north country, the biggest losers are Erie Boulevard Hydropower in Potsdam's Empire Development Zone, which filed for about $9,035,000 in benefits. Maple Ridge Wind Farm, in Lewis County's zone, would lose $7,197,197 in tax benefits.

A New York state utility is exploring whether it is possible to put electricity-generating wind turbines in the Great Lakes, rather than inland or along the shoreline. The state-owned New York Power Authority on Wednesday began asking potential developers how they would go about constructing an offshore wind project in Lake Erie or Lake Ontario.

State regulators voted Tuesday to block consideration of rate increases this year for Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. and New York State Electric and Gas Corp. The Public Service Commission, voting unanimously, said the Rochester-based companies hadn't proved that the safety and reliability of their operations were threatened without more money.

Connecting the nation's largest proposed offshore wind farm to the Long Island and New York City power grids is "feasible" but won't come cheap, according to a joint study by the Long Island Power Authority and Con Edison, which projected that land-based upgrades alone would eventually top $800 million. That price tag for the project off the coast of the Rockaways matches the cost of the entire offshore wind-farm off Jones Beach that LIPA scrapped in 2007.

The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) and Consolidated Edison Inc (ED.N) said Monday they will move forward with plans for a new phase of study on a major offshore wind farm. In a release, the companies said the first phase of the study released Monday concluded the interconnection of up to 700 megawatts of wind power located at least 13 miles (21 km) off the Rockaway Peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean would be feasible with upgrades to their transmission systems.

The Cohocton Wind Farm Controversy continues -- this time, over print reports the turbines were not producing power. ...Local print reports quoted an official from the New York Independent Service Operator saying even though the turbines are spinning, the energy wasn't actually going into the power grid.

Green companies are in retreat, with a wave of staff layoffs and production cuts that could have dire consequences for governments' efforts to fight climate change by quickly bringing low-carbon power projects on stream. Siemens, Clipper Windpower and even BP are among the big names that say they are reacting to a slowdown in the clean energy sector, which had hitherto seen massive growth.

New York State Electric & Gas, which serves 45,000 customers in the Capital Region, on Tuesday filed for a rate increase to shore up its financial condition. The increase ...comes just four months after Spanish utility giant Iberdrola SA acquired NYSEG and other utilities in New York and New England in a $4.5 billion acquisition of Energy East Corp. ...Late Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-NY, issued a statement saying the proposal should be rejected by the PSC "without hesitation."

New York State Electric & Gas Corp., acquired last fall by a large Spanish utility, wants to increase rates and plans to reduce capital spending this year as it faces serious financial issues. ...It is unclear how any rate increase sought by NYSEG would be impacted by the $275 million that the PSC has ordered Iberdrola to return to upstate customers as a condition of the merger.

Whitley wants to import more hydropower from Quebec and foster more wind power in New York. He said existing transmission lines need to be upgraded to carry more clean energy into and across the state to places like New York City that need more power. "Let's start working on our infrastructure," he said. "Studies show that these investments will pay for themselves."

Wind development in New York has hit a bit of turbulence. The nationwide financial crisis has put the brakes on a wind farm under construction in northern New York and another developer has aborted possible projects in eastern and central New York after trouble securing land. And wind energy companies are now being asked to abide by a code of ethics by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

Newly named New York Power Authority chief executive Richard Kessel is drawing up a 10-year plan that includes a wind farm "of significant size" off the Atlantic coast and a new sub-Atlantic power cable, he said Thursday. ...Kessel said he has already had a phone conversation with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg about the wind farm, which he envisions producing between 200 and 500 megawatts of power - potentially 150 turbines. A Bloomberg spokesman said the mayor and Kessel will meet on the topic in coming weeks.