Wildlife advocates hoping for a stronger voice in regulations concerning wind energy development on land and sea are expected to testify Wednesday at a hearing before the House Natural Resources Committee in Washington, D.C. While the Cape Wind proposal isn't specifically on the agenda, you can bet that folks on both side of the proposal will be interested in the aftermath of the hearing. At issue will be the proposed "Energy Policy Reform and Revitalization Act of 2007," filed by U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.

Moving to a greater level of energy independence by increasing the amount of electric power the state produces within its own borders would be a good thing, MacDougall said. But that scenario doesn't rely heavily on another much-discussed alternative energy source - wind power. "Wind power is not the answer for Vermont's power needs," he said, adding that care needs to be exercised when choosing appropriate locations for wind turbines. Wilderness areas might be one place to look, but not on ridgelines that would be considered unsightly by local inhabitants, he said.

Though more consistent than such sources as wind energy and solar power, the Haw River hydroelectric project would produce full power only about 50 percent of the time, depending on the amount of water available.

A Danish scientist said the idea of a "global temperature" and global warming is more political than scientific. University of Copenhagen Professor Bjarne Andresen has analyzed the topic in collaboration with Canadian Professors Christopher Essex from the University of Western Ontario and Ross McKitrick of the University of Guelph. It is generally assumed the Earth's atmosphere and oceans have grown warmer during the recent 50 years because of an upward trend in the so-called global temperature, which is the result of complex calculations and averaging of air temperature measurements taken around the world. "It is impossible to talk about a single temperature for something as complicated as the climate of Earth," said Andresen, an expert on thermodynamics. "A temperature can be defined only for a homogeneous system. Furthermore, the climate is not governed by a single temperature. Rather, differences of temperatures drive the processes and create the storms, sea currents, thunder, etc. which make up the climate". He says the currently used method of determining the global temperature -- and any conclusion drawn from it -- is more political than scientific. The argument is presented in the Journal of Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics.

BBC Wales' Environment Correspondent Iolo ap Dafydd looks at the contrast between who invests, owns and benefits from wind energy in Denmark, compared to Wales, and other problems which may face the wind industry.

Billion Investment in wind turbines and utilization of biomass is useless if the goal is to reduce CO2 emissions. At worst, it can paradoxically harm the climate, says the Economic Council - sages - in an analysis in Berlingske Politiko. The complicated relationship skyuldes EU quota system for CO2 emissions.

Mr Darling said that whatever the review's findings, no nuclear power stations could be built in Scotland without the executive's consent.

Alistair Darling will make a hard-hitting attack on the Liberal Democrats' energy policy today as he condemns Sir Menzies Campbell's decision to rely on wind, wave and tidal power as populist and simplistic.

Britain's electricity network is not ready to cope with a plan announced today to massively expand offshore wind generation, experts have claimed. A 'Super Grid', the first stage of which would cost £10-15bn to build, would be needed before the country's electricity network could deal with the huge peaks associated with wind power.

Friday is the deadline for Delmarva Power to release details of agreements with three power companies to provide stable-priced electricity for the next 25 years. Homeowners, environmentalists and state officials are awaiting data to see if the wind farm will offer a competitive price, as well as whether the wind farm will be big enough to make a sizable contribution to the state's electricity supply. ...

Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat energy secretary, defended his green energy deal on Friday, after coming under fire for dropping a carbon emissions target and adding to consumers' rising energy bills. After months of infighting, Mr Davey finally compromised with his Conservative coalition partners, agreeing a deal that will pave the way for an energy bill next week.

"We are not deaf to the controversy around onshore wind. Indeed, we are sensitive to it. We don't want communities to feel that onshore wind is damaging their way of life; rather, that they are playing a vital role in meeting the national need for secure, clean energy. And we certainly don't want hostility to local onshore wind farms to poison a wider debate that is critical to the UK's energy security."

With Nick Clegg, deputy prime minister, representing Britain at the Rio environmental summit this week, Mr Davey is fighting to maintain the government's green credentials in the face of determined Conservative lobbying against onshore wind farms.

The think tanks also urge ministers to "stop building wind-farms and repeal (or suspend) the Climate Change Act", and abandon the multi-billion pound high speed rail link between London and Birmingham.

JOHNSTOWN - The Pa. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has put on hold a potential agreement between the Cambria Somerset Authority and Gamesa, a Spanish wind energy company.

The Martha's Vineyard Commission (MVC) last Thursday voted 12 to 1 to accept a nomination to create an Island wind district of critical planning concern (DCPC) that would cover the airspace above 220 feet over the waters of Dukes County. The purpose of the DCPC is to provide a framework to regulate large-scale wind turbine development, according to the MVC. ...Acceptance of a nomination immediately triggers a moratorium on development permits.

Among those ideas, he believes, are new solutions in alternative energies for future generations. That should not, however, include projects like the controversial Cape Wind offshore turbine project. "It's not a wind farm - it is a power plant, right in the middle of Nantucket Sound, and we should pass it on to future generations the way it is now," he said. "But there is a right way to do things, and not this way, which is really nothing more than a giveaway to a private developer for absolutely nothing. It is important to me that Nantucket Sound has been designated an ocean sanctuary by Massachusetts and that should be honored and respected - and it should be off-limits."

The state Department of Public Utilities yesterday approved a plan by National Grid to negotiate to buy power from the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm. The state agency must still sign off on any deal reached by Cape Wind Associates LLC and the utility.