University of Calgary researchers are trying to understand why hundreds of bats are dying each year in Pincher Creek, inexplicably drawn to wind turbines. Robert Barclay, a University of Calgary professor who heads up the bat study at the Summerview Wind Farm in Pincher Creek, Alta., believes bats may be attracted by the sound of turbines or simply don't use their sonar when they migrate.

"My understanding is that we did not get many bids or any bids, and that we will not be selling Wigton," Wright told Wednesday Business. The divestment was meant to inject capital in the wind farm - whose output is running well below its 20MW capacity - to boost its performance. Wigton currently contributes about five megawatts of power to the national...

The renewable energy work plan was on the council's agenda, and as they began discussing the wind turbine portion, Wikwemikong elder Ida Embry interrupted and began to speak of the community's, especially the elders, opposition to wind turbines.

A proposal to put 700 wind turbines along the shores of Lakes St. Clair and Erie, each about as tall as a 40-story building, is provoking controversy in Canada and the U.S. The turbines, planted on the lake bottom and arranged in grids jutting more than 3 miles out into the lakes, easily would be seen from the marinas and mansions of the Grosse Pointes, as well as from Rockwood, Gibraltar and Grosse Ile.

A large group turned out for the heated debate over wind turbines being proposed in Adelaide-Metcalfe. The project which is moving towards construction is now attracting the attention of residents who say they knew nothing about it.

"There are two kinds of electricity supply. One is a firm supply where if you demand 100 megawatts, you get it at any time. Coal, gas-fired and nuclear plants can deliver that energy," Mr. Livet explains. "Then you have interrupted supply, because if the wind doesn't blow, you don't have any energy. So you need backup." The ideal clean energy mix of wind and water would work best in British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec, which have developed hydro dam infrastructures and a large storage of water, Mr. Livet says. "It makes quite good sense for those provinces to actually build more wind energy, since if the wind blows, they can save water until it's needed."

Jim and several other landowners in Lambton Shores are coming close to a deadline in the leases which would allow them to opt out of the contract. Jim has decided not to sign on again saying the turbines "are unsafe, they're not green and they're going to bankrupt the province."

Wind power is easy to set up and creates no greenhouse gases. So why are so many communities rallying against them? ...Residents complain that straight answers are scarce, with towers designed to measure wind speed popping up across the valley, even as local officials say they have not received any applications for zoning bylaw changes. A community group called Save Our Skyline, or S.O.S. Renfrew County, has formed to fight at least four separate proposals along the Madawaska Valley. Two weeks ago, S.O.S. joined with 23 other local groups to create Wind Concerns, an umbrella organization dedicated to "protecting rural Ontario for future generations." Similar fights are underway across the rest of Canada.

A wind turbine manufacturer with sales offices in Boulder has been ordered to pay its former Canadian employees the back wages they're owed, according to Prince Edward Island's labor department. Entegrity Wind Systems, which operates two manufacturing plants in Canada, laid off 35 employees in June, the majority of its workers.

"We want you to know that Wind Concerns Ontario is standing with Prince Edward County to ensure not one wind turbine is developed at Ostrander Point ...Turbines will have negative impacts on health, landscapes, wildlife habitats, migratory birds and the economy in Prince Edward County," said Laforet.

More than 100 Meaford residents packed Woodford Hall on Wednesday night to learn about the potential health, environmental, and property value effects of industrial wind farms. The recurring theme of the evening which featured several speakers, was that there is still much to be learned about how wind turbines impact neighbouring communities.

She wonders why citizens are urged to voice their turbine issues with the Ministry of Environment, if the complaints are not acted upon or at the very least, brought to the attention of the company involved. Enbridge admitted not receiving any concerns from the MOE during a presentation to Kincardine council.

A $14 million lawsuit was filed by 20 plaintiffs against more than 20 landowners and wind proponent WPD Canada last week for contracts to construct turbines on private property in South Marysburgh.

More than 40 opponents and supporters of the 78 MW, 32,000 acre project spoke before administrative law judge Eric Lipman, who will provide a summary of the comments to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, the agency that regulates large-scale wind projects.

Livingston argues wind-driven power green and cost-effective

One of the developers of the St. Joe wind farm says the project is still alive and well, despite a major delay in the start of construction. Work on the 300 megawatt project was scheduled to begin in spring.

The future of the wind energy industry has become a complicated matter in Ontario, and nowhere was that more evident than Monday night's meeting of Clearview Council, where wind turbines provided both the context and subtext of several of the evening's debates.

The two solitudes of the wind energy debate were on display at Grey Highlands council Monday morning. Grey Highlands council had multiple delegations concerning a wind energy project that is proposed for the municipality. The first delegation was from AIM PowerGen - the company that has made an official application for a wind energy project in the municipality.

April has been a very busy month for the wind energy industry in the western part of P.E.I. A German company, NewEn Canada, has announced plans to build a 100-megawatt wind farm in Anglo Tignish - the largest private-sector wind development in the province to date. Meanwhile, the federal government has ended the uncertainty regarding the future of the Canadian Wind Energy Institute by announcing long-term funding. ...NewEn Canada was established in January 2008 and is a subsidiary of NewEn Germany. The parent company is a family-owned business with experience developing over 25 wind farms, primarily in Germany.

Alternative energy makers are eyeing the Fraser Valley as the next possible region for wind farms, after a spring call by the provincial government for submissions of bio-energy projects, such as run-of-river micro hydro facilities and windmills. BC Hydro is asking power producers to submit proposals that collectively will add up to 5,000 gigawatt hours [GWh] of clean or renewable energy per year, enough to power 500,000 homes. The prospect has wind generation proponents, and the sector's advocacy group, Canadian Wind Energy Association, flying high about the possibilities.