Dubbed "biomass energy," the push to help wean the state off coal-burning plants by incinerating trees and wood has the backing of state officials and many environmentalists. The Patrick administration already has invested $1 million to help jump start the development of four wood-burning plants in the western Massachusetts ...But a coalition of neighborhood groups and other environmental advocates is pushing back.

The proposed American Clean Energy and Security Act, currently being debated in Congress, calls for a 17 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions below 2005 levels by 2020 and an 83 percent reduction by 2050. But even though the bill provides $75 billion in direct loans and other financial support for clean-energy projects, it is unlikely to spur much new investment in renewable energy in the near term. An earlier draft of the legislation required that 25 percent of the electricity produced by most U.S. utilities come from renewables by 2025.

State officials have scheduled the last of five public hearings on a draft ocean management plan released last month. ...The final version of the plan, which is being developed under the state Oceans Act of 2008, is set to go into effect Jan. 1.

Transmitting electricity over hundreds of miles to market constrains wind energy development, speakers told 600 participants at a conference at the University of Wyoming last week. So do local, state and federal regulation; and taxation issues, they said. But Laura Ladd, energy economics advisor to Gov. Dave Freudenthal, noted a major omission to that list. "Nowhere in here did we hear of economics as a constraint," Ladd said.

The State Government will roll out a series of renewable energy projects to prove its environmental credentials ...Development charges for wind power projects in NSW will be slashed and the approval process will be sped up. Until now such projects have come with an approval price tag of up to $3 million. This is to be cut to $50,000. Projects that have a capacity to generate more than 30 megawatts of electricity will be treated as ''critical infrastructure'', and so be eligible for the fast turnaround times previously given to 250-megawatt projects.

The state renewable energy law that made it feasible for controversial new "wind parks'' will also cost New Hampshire consumers in higher electricity bills. They may pay $2 billion by the year 2025 under the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) -- an extra $5 a month, a University of New Hampshire study concludes. But these are just estimates. The state's consumer advocate and utility companies say there really is no way at this point to figure the actual cost.

A task force of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association is recommending a new state law to create county regulations for wind energy development, even in counties without zoning. Participants in the association's Industrial Siting and Wind Energy Task Force discussed their proposals Friday during the Wyoming Wind Symposium at the University of Wyoming. More than 600 people registered for the two-day event, which was hosted by Gov. Dave Freudenthal.

Will wind-generated power save the environment or sacrifice it? The answer depends on who you ask ..."Your senators are very brave in what they're doing," said Lisa Linowes of New Hampshire-based Wind Action. "The legislature already concluded when it adopted the Ridge ordinance that your mountains have cultural significance to the state. When asked now to consider whether that value is worth more - or less - than wind generated electrons on the grid, your mountain senators are doing what most politicians in the U.S. have not done. They're putting a cold eye to the options and deciding wind is not worth the sacrifice, at least for now."

With plans moving forward in New Jersey and Delaware - not to mention recent progress in Cape Wind's years-long fight in Massachusetts - it's far from certain that Deepwater and Rhode Island will succeed in their quest to be first. And make no mistake, being first is important. For the developer, it means more than just bragging rights. It gives the company a leg up on its competitors as it tries to develop additional wind farms elsewhere. For the state, it means much-needed economic development and valuable green-collar jobs.

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.

With a great deal more hope than expectation, Tisbury selectmen decided on Tuesday evening to make application for a share of $10 million in state grant money to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives. The trouble is, the money comes with conditions attached - conditions Tisbury and other Island towns cannot possibly meet.

The emerging wind industry in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest could be shut down by the cost of connecting to high-voltage transmission lines if a proposal by the organization that controls the Midwest's power grid goes through, wind advocates say. The grid operator and some utilities say the wind industry is overstating the effect, but the long-simmering dispute over who should pay for new transmission lines boiled over Thursday.

Two bills currently before both houses of the state legislature would give more of that kind of control to Wisconsin's Public Service Commission, taking it away from municipalities. "I'd rather have my town board be able to have my destiny in their hands, rather than three guys appointed by the governor," said McIlrath. Wind energy firm, Wind Capital told WISC-TV that they are conducting land and wind surveys in the area, but have no long term contracts for projects.

The topics stretched from the economy to wind turbines. Introductions were made between government officials and environmentalists. ...Patrick asked for a show of hands on who supported the local proposal, called Hoosac Wind. About one-third of the crowd supported it, one-third opposed it, and one-third had never heard of it. Mount Washington resident Bobbi Hallig told the governor: "There's plenty of things to do rather than put turbines across the landscape."

The city of Grand Rapids has advised Grand Haven Township officials it may ultimately seek permits to erect large wind turbines at the city-owned Lake Michigan Filtration Plant on the shoreline. ..."We've got what we think is enough land there to create some isolation from the homes along the lakeshore, and still be able to capture the lake winds that blow strongly through that area," said Heartwell.

Bryne Purchase, a former deputy minister of finance and energy in Ontario, now executive director of the Queen's University Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy, says Dalton McGuinty's government seems to be flying by the seat of its pants when it comes to energy. "This has all been driven by relatively simple political thinking: coal bad, wind good," he says. A carbon tax, whatever the form, would have had the advantage of pricing the pollutants out of the market, rather than making wind the default winning technology.

The fall in power consumption has been dramatic. In the first quarter of this year it dropped by 5 per cent compared with the same quarter last year. It was the lowest figure in over five years, reflecting the economic downturn dampening electricity consumption, and reduced use at the biggest single user, the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, in the first half. ...That has generators reworking their numbers - projects that were marginal while the economy was growing don't stack up in today's terms.

Energy Task Group members this week continued to question language included in recently passed state legislation designed to facilitate an agreement between National Grid and Deepwater Wind. Deepwater is proposing two offshore wind farms - potentially the first in the country - in the waters off Block Island. ...As part of that proposal, an underwater cable would be laid from the smaller farm to the island and another cable laid from the island to the mainland. ...On Monday task group members strongly disagreed with language in the new law that requires island electricity customers to shoulder proportionally more of the cable cost

Virginia's national forests are emerging as a potential battleground for wind energy, a key part of efforts to develop alternatives to coal and oil in the United States. Few proposals have been made so far for wind farms in the thousands of acres of Virginia national forest, but those that have been submitted have sparked intense disagreement. ..."The whole wind energy thing is brand new to the forest service. We don't really have any experience or guidance with this," said James T. Smalls, district ranger for the Lee Ranger District of the George Washington & Jefferson national forests in Virginia.

Jeremy Paxman's brother has launched a battle against plans for nine 120ft wind turbines overlooking Dartmoor national park which he said would "stick out like a sore thumb". James Paxman also criticised the Government's policy of subsidising wind energy, arguing that turbines were one of the least cost effective and reliable ways to generate electricity.