Haldimand council last week rejected a motion from the county's agricultural advisory committee calling for a moratorium on solar energy projects on viable farmland. The advisory committee is not convinced that land used for solar energy can be easily reverted to agriculture.

Halifax regional council put off a decision on wind turbines in rural and industrial areas Tuesday following a long public hearing. More than 20 people spoke out during the meeting at City Hall. Most of them were in favour of allowing turbines.

Storeys-high wind turbines might not be the first thing you think of as part of the Halifax skyline, but city officials want your input. ..."While wind energy is valued as an environmentally friendly power source, the size of the wind turbines and wind farms also raises planning issues regarding compatibility with homes from noise and impact on views, et cetera," says the report drafted for regional council

The city of Hamilton may soon be a test spot for wind energy. A private company wants to put 150 small wind-driven generators on public buildings in the city to demonstrate how effective they can be in cutting electricity bills and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Signs are pointing away from Hamilton for new wind energy production by Siemens Canada that could help cushion job losses in the pending closure of an existing company factory in the city.

Wind turbines are turning neighbour against neighbour and Essex town council is caught in the middle. Farmers who have signed property leases for wind turbine projects spoke of them at a special meeting Monday as a renewable energy of the future that should be embraced.

Fledgling industry spins forward in Ontario. Energy Probe's Tom Adams says he's a big fan of wind farms and other forms of renewable energy, but says the province's Liberal government is going about it all wrong.

If wind power is always an exotic, costly and unreliable source of electricity preferred by wonks, counter- culture people and enthusiasts, it will never really go anywhere and it risks a rebellion from consumers." Moreover, says Adams, neither nuclear or wind energy will fill the void caused by shutting down coal-burning plants. Coal has the advantage of being ramped up or down to meet variable demand -- something neither nuclear or wind projects can do.

Federal ethics commissioner Mary Dawson appears to have invented a secret bureaucratic process to avoid posting public disclosure statements by ministers who are in conflicts of interest, say the Liberal and NDP ethics critics and a government watchdog group. ...The Chronicle Herald reported Monday that Shea did not file a public recusal statement declaring her conflict of interest in dealing with a federal grant worth $10 million to $20 million for a wind farm to be built by the Wind Energy Institute of Canada - headed by her son-in-law, Scott Harper.

Following several weeks of dramatic price increases where the stock of the Bromont, Que.-based company more than quadrupled on the TSX Venture Exchange to above $1.60, the shares have plunged in the past three days below $1.18. The start of AAER's runup coincided with the Sept. 19 announcement of the bids for Hydro-Québec's latest call for tenders to build wind farms connected to the province's power grid. ..."The fact that so many [developers] specified [AAER] is what really drove the stock up," said MacMurray Whale, an analyst who follows the alternative energy scene for Cormark Securities Inc. in Toronto. ...In the past few days, however, some investors clearly decided the stock had overshot its true value, and there may also be concerns over the company's untested turbines

The Grey Bruce Health Unit needs to be more vocal. A few wind turbine concerns need to be addressed by the public health unit. Huron-Kinloss Mayor Mitch Twolan says comments on the wind turbine proposals may put some of the public’s concerns at ease. He says it would provide some reassurance to the public and to the area councils that another body has looked at the proposal and feel comfortable with the project. Wind turbines have raised a number of health related concerns including noise, blade flicker and shadow, ice throw and possible collapse. Twolan says the health unit normally doesn’t get involved, but if there are potential health risks the health unit needs to assess and address the issues. There are a few wind turbine project proposals in Bruce County, the largest being 110 turbines to be erected in Kincardine.

About 75 people jammed into the gymnasium of a small school on Wolfe Island yesterday to see the first day of proceedings of a long-awaited hearing into a controversial wind project proposed for Wolfe Island. But the appeal by the Ontario Municipal Board, which deals with land disputes, got bogged down as soon as it started with debate about what evidence should be permitted. Before the day was over, four witnesses who were supposed to testify for the citizens were struck from the witness list and will no longer appear before the hearing. Dr. James Day and Sarah McDermott filed appeals with the board last January. The Wolfe Island residents want to see changes made to the project proposal, which includes erecting 86 turbines on the western portion of the island over the next 18 months.

While Huron East Against Turbines is preparing a response to changes that are currently being proposed to the Green Energy Act, HEAT members are hoping that other affected community members also take the time to make their opinions known to the province before the Nov. 21 deadline.

Grey Highlands resident Larry Close recommended that wind developers post a performance bond to cover the cost of repairing any roads, bridges and culverts damaged by heavy equipment during the construction phase. "I think the municipality should have money in hand, a cash bond, to fix up the roads. I don't think they should leave that to the proponent.

Construction work on a windmill as tall as a 20-storey building on the peak of Grouse Mountain was halted Friday because of safety concerns about lifting the massive blades. A Skycrane helicopter was expected to lift the three 37-metre-long blades up to the mountain ski resort from a barge.

When Nova Scotia Power announces the successful tenders to become part of its initial phase of wind farm electricity producers Higgins Mountain will not be on the list, says Graham Findlay, general manager for 3G Energy. After a year of working on its proposal the energy producers did not make the cut. That's not to say, however, the energy company hasn't cut new ground in the wind farm technology sector. "Nova Scotia Power is playing very tough with our industry," Findlay said addressing the Springhill Chamber of Commerce last week. "They have penalties for not delivering on schedule ...

Manitoba's green-energy projects are sucking wind compared to other provinces and companies that develop and service wind farms are starting to take their business elsewhere. While Manitoba's newest wind farm, a 300-megawatt project near St. Joseph, is mired in delays and nine more proposed projects have been shelved, Ontario has launched a radical program aimed at fast-tracking turbines. ...Wowchuk, who is in charge of Manitoba Hydro, said it's not fair to compare Manitoba to Ontario, since our province already relies almost exclusively on renewable energy but Ontario is powered largely by dirty coal. And, she said, Manitoba is blessed with cheap power, meaning ratepayers would take a hit if the province threw open its doors to wind power like Ontario has done.

Financial troubles for Entegrity Wind will increase because dozens of turbines sold by the P.E.I.-based company have to be checked for a possible manufacturing flaw, says the firm's CEO. Last week, a judge gave the company 45 days to come up with a plan for dealing with at least $9 million in debts. ...Company CEO Jim Heath told CBC News last week that a problem with the turbines will dig the company into deeper troubles.

The home, currently under construction in the 3400-block of West 22nd Avenue, will have rooftop solar panels, while a ten-metre wind turbine is to be built beside the garage at the back of the property. But neighbours Bruce and Gale Arnold and others say they're going to fight against the construction.

"We believe any lawsuit is unfounded," he added. "City council approved 14 of 18 sites and by executing the lease the City is fulfilling its obligations to move forward on this project having completed its due diligence."