GREEN lobby groups that oppose nuclear energy were accused of "fundamentalism" yesterday as the Government announced a review of whether to build a new generation of nuclear power stations.

The Tipton County Board of Zoning Appeals placement of conditions on the Prairie Breeze permit of a 1,500 foot setback from property lines and development of a property value guarantee ...could make future wind farm development in the county impossible, or difficult at best, he said.

Ridge Protectors, a group fiercely opposed to industrial wind power on Vermont's ridge lines, has launched a letter-writing appeal to Gov. Jim Douglas, who they hope will veto S.209, the so-called Energy Efficiency and Affordability Act. The bill, which is aimed at promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency, has passed both the House and Senate, and is on the governor's desk. The letter-writing campaign is a last-ditch attempt to change a part of the measure that gives industrial wind power a tax break at the expense of the education fund, said Paul Brouha of Sutton.

Members of a group campaigning against a windfarm are urging people to sign a petition calling on Tony Blair to withdraw subsidies for onshore turbine developments in “valued landscapes”. Members of Den Brook Valley Action Group (DBVAG), which has been fighting plans to build nine 394ft tall wind turbines in the valley between North Tawton and Bow, are awaiting the outcome of a public inquiry into the plan, which was held in November. In the meantime, the group is calling on people to sign an online petition set up by anti-windfarm campaigner Bill Short, from the North of England.

The House this week plans to take up a bill crafted by Democrats under the auspices of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It would roll back oil and gas tax incentives to pay for renewable energy investment while opening large new areas to energy production. The measure, which has yet to be formally introduced, would also pressure oil companies ..."New, punitive taxes and higher fees targeting the oil and natural gas industry could push investment overseas, reducing US production, US jobs and US revenues," API president Red Caveney warned Congress.

Arizona's rules requiring certain utilities to get 15 percent of their electricity from alternative sources, such as solar and wind, by 2025 survived a fourth legal challenge from the Goldwater Institute watchdog group Thursday.

In a move which acknowledges almost a year of bureaucratic missteps, Aquinnah selectmen have announced their plan to scrap an energy district of critical planning concern, created to help push through a pioneering bylaw on wind turbines. But those involved have voiced a determination not to give up on an initiative ...Earlier this week selectman Camille Rose scheduled a hearing to rescind the energy district with the Martha's Vineyard Commission for Sept. 16. If approved, it will end the energy district and lift the building moratorium.

Peltz sees windmills as “a small piece of the puzzle,” with the major roles in the energy drama occupied by oil and coal.

"My wife and I decided to file the lawsuit after the PSC adopted the rules in their current form without doing an environmental assessment on the rules or evaluating the adverse environmental impacts of wind energy projects." Stoddard said the commission violated the Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act and the state's smart growth law.

Interviews with architects, engineers and energy experts on Wednesday suggest that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's proposal to place wind turbines atop the city's skyscrapers and bridges, as well as off the coastline of Queens and Brooklyn, would be complicated and expensive and barely begin to meet the growth in demand for electricity that is expected in the coming years. ...Even if Mr. Bloomberg could find investors willing to build turbines capable of generating 1,000 megawatts of electricity, experts said, operators of the city's grid would be able to count on only 100 megawatts, or less than 1 percent of peak demand.

During the 1990s, capacity margins in the United States declined almost one third, falling from 21 percent in 1991 to less than 15 percent in 2001. In some regions, margins shrunk to less than 10 percent. Concerns grew over electricity reliability and possible upward pressures on electricity prices. However, as new gas-fired power plants began to come on line in the late 1990s, the developing electricity generation capacity surplus began to raise concerns. The U.S. capacity margin growth of 2002 should have eased upward pressures on electricity prices. However, electricity prices surged in many areas, such as New England, where surplus electricity capacity has developed. This suggests that the standard definition of capacity margin may not be appropriate in the context of current market realities.

They're fine for making the odd cup of tea. But, says the Mail's Science Editor; if we wanted to go totally green, we'd have to carpet the country with more windmills than exist in the whole world. ...Wind farms are, it is claimed, noisy and they allegedly shred flocks of birds as effectively as aircraft jet engines. Worst of all, say the antis, wind technology simply doesn't work. It will neither solve the energy crisis nor halt climate change. Salvation, they say, lies elsewhere.

State leaders believe harnessing the power of the wind would go a long way in meeting those goals, but the communities where turbines are being proposed are becoming increasingly divided. That's currently the case in southern Brown County.

"It takes away local control," Burling said Monday. "I'm not anti-windmill. I'm indifferent on it, but I believe the local people should have the final say, and not the state of New York." Burling said a lot of good things were also included in the Power NY Act, but he couldn't support it due to the windmill issue.

It was the threat of Article X legislation that prompted Town of Hamlin Supervisor Dennis Roach to speed up the timeline for the town's Wind Tower Committee's work. The ...The committee was originally given a timeline that extended to December but was summarily moved up by Roach when talk of Article X began surfacing among state representatives. Roach has consistently said he wants to have the town's regulations in place before the state made its own determination on sitings for turbines. ..."We agree that we have to do something to generate more electric power so we can reduce utility costs for businesses and consumers, but we have to go about it in the right way. As we look at legislation to reauthorize Article X, we need to make sure that local governments have a sufficient amount of input into the siting process if a generating facility is proposed in their community," said Maziarz in a press release.

WASHINGTON, March 28 (UPI) -- A proposal made by the Arizona Corporation Commission that will require 15 percent of electricity generated to come from renewable sources by 2025 brings Arizona to the forefront of states with aggressive renewable portfolio standards.

Before the 11-8 vote, however, Rep. Janice McGeachin told the House State Affairs Committee on Wednesday that she knew of two lawmakers who hadn't publicly disclosed their personal financial ties to wind projects while voting on a previous measure this session to extend a tax break for wind energy developers.

On Aug. 21, when afternoon temperatures in Washington state soared, Avista Corp.’s (AVA) utility division asked customers to cut their electricity use while it scoured the region for power supplies. Utility operators were frustrated, in part, because the company’s supply of wind power was producing nothing, thanks to a lack of wind. Avista wasn’t alone. Throughout the West during that August heat wave, a growing fleet of windmills met triple-digit temperatures with impotence. California’s grid operator was serving up a record amount of power that afternoon, too, while its 2,850 MW of wind turbines were churning out just 112 MW.......What can all these windmills do to help prevent a blackout in a heat wave? Utilities’ estimates of that range widely. When figuring out how to keep the lights on during the coming summer’s hottest day, PJM pencils in 20% of wind capacity for serving peak load. The California Independent System Operator figures 5% will be there. For Texas, which has more windmills than any other state, Ercot counts on just 2.6% of capacity. Avista, like many utilities operating their own grid, doesn’t count on any wind power during the summer peak. As more windmills come on line, overestimating could mean a blackout, while underestimating could mean paying a lot of money for unneeded standby generators.

The nonprofit that runs the New England power grid is exploring incentives to encourage gas-fired power plants to commit to long-term contracts, which could in turn finance more pipelines. The Governor's Energy Office is looking at ways to facilitate capital investment. The Maine House minority leader has a "bold proposal" - but he's not sharing it just yet.

The Wind Siting Reform bill would mandate turbines go up at least 1,800 feet from property lines, the strongest regulation in the country. The restrictions would prohibit any future wind projects from being built and threaten the same jobs that Obama heralded just weeks ago, the industry says. While the state legislature agreed last week that it would not take up the bill during the current special legislative session, Walker has pledged to continue to fight for tougher regulations, according to news reports.