LM Glasfiber announces mass lay-offs in Denmark as a result of the on-going financial crisis. Wind turbine blade producer LM Glasfiber has announced that it is to fire one fifth of its Danish workforce in what is being called the biggest domestic firing-round of recent times. ...‘We believe 2009 will be a year with stagnant growth in the windmill market and LM Glasfiber has a clear case of over capacity,' said Rothausen.

Operators of wind turbines are already under pressure to improve the structures' quake-resistance strength. Now, they face another problem with nature: endangered birds flying into the turbines' blades. The bird strike problem has become so serious that measures to protect the fowl are slowing the spread of wind power as a source of electricity generation. ... A total of 14 birds designated by the government as national treasures, including white-tailed sea eagles, have died at different sites by flying into completed wind turbines.

The big challenge, wind developers acknowledge, is modifying site permits that restrict the spacing and height of turbines. Neighbors are often put off by the visual impact of the turbines themselves ...Wind developers face an additional hurdle to repower in Denmark, where legislation going into effect next year will require wind-park operators to compensate residents if wind turbines reduce their property values.

He says that by 2020, the US, Europe, China and India will want to have 20% of their power supply from renewables. The issue is about making wind power "cost competitive" with carbon sources, especially coal, which fuels 65% of India's electricity and costs at least a quarter less. "Today wind power is just 1% of supply. It can grow to 7% by 2020. That is the maximum because industry has to find resources, material and execute projects. With greater volumes the price [of wind power] will drop ... and [governments] will ask what is the cost for pollution from carbon fuels. You will need a carbon tax. "

Three Taiwanese coastal villages voted to reject a proposal by a German firm to build a wind farm Saturday, while the German firm insisted the project would not harm the environment. More than 300 people from the three villages in Xinwu, Taoyuan County, north Taiwan, voted on the wind farm plan by Germany's InfraVest GmbH "All the participants are opposed to building the wind farm, unless InfraVest offers better proposals," Yeh Si-kuai, a member of the Self Help Group, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa by phone.

The regional authorities have been opposing the plan to build two more wind-farms in Vysočina region. They fear that the facilities would harm the landscape and make the region less attractive for tourists. ...the study about the effect on the environment has showed that the wind-farms would significantly affect the landscape and may possibly decrease the numbers of tourists that are attracted to the region by its rural scenery.

While Greek authorities are taking steps to harness the country's untapped potential in wind and solar energy, and to meet European Union targets on curbing the use of polluting fossil fuels, the residents of Aegean islands are opposing the drive, afraid that towering wind turbines will mar the natural beauty of their communities and offend the tourists on whom they rely.

Falling prices for European carbon emissions permits could stunt investment in the renewable energy sector both within and outside Europe, but the credit crunch continues to have a greater impact. ...A falling carbon price could worsen the economics of renewable energy further, as falling demand for carbon emissions permits in a deepening recession pulls down carbon prices, benefiting fossil fuels.

Theolia SA, the French wind-power company part-owned by General Electric Co., dropped the most in more than five years in Paris trading after abandoning financial and operational targets. ..."Theolia is getting short of cash,'' Exane BNP Paribas analyst Yohann Terry, who has an "underperform'' rating on the shares, said today in a report. "We believe it will be difficult for the company to create significant value'' from its pipeline of wind-power projects.

Babcock & Brown Ltd (B&B)has sold wind farm assets held by B&B Wind Partners in Portugal for $2.23 billion. The assets were sold to a consortium of investors led by Magnum Capital. B&B said it would earn $285.82 million in net proceeds from the sale of its 50% share of the portfolio. This represents a price above book value and will be used to pay down project debt secured against European wind assets, it added.

Wind farms could be having a radical impact on North Sea wildlife, a new study warns. ...In a paper published this month in the Journal of Marine Systems, Goran Brostrom, of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, warns that generating power at sea threatens marine life.

Extracting energy from wind changes regional air currents, which can in turn affect how the nearby ocean circulates, according to Goran Brostrom of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute in Oslo. In a paper published this month in Journal of Marine Systems, Brostrom shows in a model that winds swirling at 11 to 22 miles per hour downwind of large farms are uneven. As they blow over the ocean they can roil the waters, causing upwelling. ...the effect is enough to bring nutrient-rich waters up from the depths, which marine life can thrive on.

Media reports suggested that the company may defer 15 per cent of its recruitment plans till March next year. When contacted, a Suzlon spokesperson refused to comment. "We have no comment on whether the company has deferred its recruitment plans till March or not. We have no information about that. We cannot confirm this information." ...The energy experts say that the prospects of renewable-energy companies soared with oil prices moving northwards, but the fortunes have since reversed.

Big American utilities are slashing their investments in alternative energy. Florida Power & Light has cut its planned investment in wind power next year by 400 megawatts. Duke Energy of North Carolina has lopped $50m off its budget for solar power. And on October 31st VeraSun Energy, one of America's biggest ethanol producers, caught out by gyrations in the prices of corn and petrol (gasoline), filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In the European Union the price of carbon permits has fallen from a high of almost €30 in July to around €20, making clean-tech investments less attractive.

BP Alternative Energy has pulled out of a partnership with a subsidiary of Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind Science & Technology Co. BP Alternative Energy had originally signed a framework agreement to jointly develop three wind farms in Inner Mongolia. In a statement posted on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Goldwind said that BP was suspending its wind power business in Asia.

William Kovacs, at U.S. Chamber of Commerce, warns: "Anyone who thinks you can have a cap-and-trade system in which trillions of dollars of new securities will be traded is just not paying attention to what's happening on Wall Street." Meanwhile, prices in emerging carbon markets (Carbon Finance) globally have held up better than in other commodities markets, but financial analysts caution that these markets are too immature to provide a safe haven for investors (Reuters). Though sales of carbon emission offset credits--investment in green projects in lieu of direct emissions reductions--have been strong, some experts still express concern over the quality of oversight (WSJ) these projects receive.

An Industry Ministry official said the energy watchdog would check how many wind and solar power plants were installed in time to receive full subsidies before official aid was cut. "There are some signs that there may be fraud in the installation and functioning of wind and solar parks," the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

Suzlon Energy Ltd, India's biggest wind-turbine maker, suspended a rights offer announced a month ago to raise Rs1,800 crore to buy an additional stake in Repower Systems AG. In a separate announcement, Repower said in Frankfurt on Monday that it was in advanced negotiations with a syndicate of banks for loans to fund its growth. It said banks had demanded that Repower refrain from entering into a domination and profit transfer agreement with Suzlon, and that the two companies had decided to comply. ...Suzlon shares have dropped 88% this year.

Spain is inspecting renewable-energy installations suspected of claiming they started producing electricity before they actually entered service. ...Wind generators, which supply about 11 percent of Spain's power, and solar stations earn premium rates that are being scaled back. The generators have an incentive to get their stations operating as soon as possible to get the better price.

Some 150 people today protested against the construction of wind turbines in Poland and the Czech Republic at a Czech-Polish tourist border crossing. According to the protesters, various investors plan to build up to 400 windmills in the area - the Czech and Polish side of the Orlicke hory mountains. They say the construction of up to 200 metre high windmills would go against the character of the landscape.