Her objection to the wind farm isn't about the obstruction of lakeside views or the potential impact on real estate prices. Hamilton says she's simply not convinced the plan will reduce fossil fuel dependence and could potentially accelerate erosion of the bluffs. But she believes the acronym for Not In My Backyard is a slur that suggests the wind project opponents are a group of self-interested snobs who believe their property values supersede the greater good.

Canadian Hydro Developers Inc (KHD.TO) said on Friday that harsh winter weather will delay completion of its 197.8-megawatt Wolfe Island wind project in Ontario by three months and increase capital costs by about 6 percent to C$475 million ($383 million).

In its submission to the McGuinty government, the Canadian Wind Energy Association says all parties to a development proposal should retain a right of appeal to the OMB. However, CanWEA wants the province to impose a three-month deadline for the OMB to make its decisions. "From a developer's point of view, you still want an automatic right of appeal, and as a citizen, you want the right of appeal to make sure the project is being done right," Lewis said.

Taking a swipe at those who oppose wind turbines off the Scarborough Bluffs, Premier Dalton McGuinty is signalling he won't hesitate to foist "green" energy projects on communities across Ontario. Only safety and environmental concerns will be legitimate objections to biofuel plants, solar panel fields and wind turbines under a green energy act to be proposed this month, the premier said yesterday in a speech on the economy.

Quebec will issue its third call for tenders for wind-powered energy projects by the end of the month, a wind industry conference in Montreal heard yesterday. The competition, open only to community-based or First Nations groups, will be for 500 megawatts of power and will pay no more than 9.5 cents per kilowatt/hour to power producers, an official with the department of natural resources told the event.

Thanks largely to the booming energy industry, Montana drivers - particularly those who frequent two-lane highways - have been encountering more and more supersize truck traffic. ...John Hanson, co-owner of Whitewood Transportation in Billings, said the superloads are "kind of becoming an industry standard." Especially when shipping industrial components to places like Canada, where wages are high and conditions harsh, it makes economic sense to assemble ever-larger pieces in foreign factories and put them together on site.

Skypower Corporation - a renewable energy developer and one of Wasauksing's partners in the venture along with Citizens Wind - put in a proposal in the fall requesting the OPA buy power from an up to 150-megawatt (or 100 turbine) farm to be located on the island. Instead, the OPA, which offers a 20-year contract to buy hydro generated at 11 cents a kilowatt hour, awarded the large-scale wind farm contracts to wind power projects located in Chatham-Kent, Essex, Prince Edward County and Thunder Bay, which when finished by the end of 2012.

Six Ontario wind farm projects, including one in Kingsville, jumped a major regulatory hurdle Friday when the Ontario Power Authority agreed to buy the power the wind farms would generate. ...Before a wind farm can be built, the OPA has to determine whether it can buy the electricity and transport it within the province's electricity grid.

A biologist with Environment Canada says there is little evidence to support the theory windmills pose a danger to migratory birds in Ontario. During a public information meeting on windmills here Wednesday evening, Dr. Lyle Friesen told a crowd of 150 that data collected from one of the earliest North American wind farm developments in Altamont Pass, California, is not relevant to newer developments, including those proposed for the north shore of Lake Ontario.

Health issues, noise, visual [issues], these are all community concerns," said Roy Wright, a 66-year-old retired artist. ...Health issues, noise, visual [issues], these are all community concerns," said Roy Wright, a 66-year-old retired artist.

Wind speeds have been studied and deemed insufficient at the water pollution plant off Black River Road "to feasibly and comfortably install a single wind turbine at current electricity prices," states a staff report, which heads to York's finance committee today. A 60-metre-tall Sutton tower was installed in September 2007 to monitor wind conditions, which found wind speeds needed to make the project viable were lacking.

DMI Industries, a manufacturer of turbine towers for the wind-energy sector, has cut 25 per cent of its workforce as it struggles with the cancellation and delay of major wind projects across North America. About 40 "green-collar" employees at the company's Fort Erie facility have been let go.

After more than a year of public meetings and discussion on how to integrate more wind energy from the southwest into Alberta's grid system, a $1.83 billion solution has been proposed. ...Last week the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) announced that it would be recommending the construction of a 240-kilovolt loop system to connect up to 2,700 megawatts (approximately 900 turbines).

The provincial government needs to be more considerate when entertaining new uses for Crown land in the Central Okanagan. That's the message the regional district board is delivering to the province's Integrated Land Management Bureau ...Case in point, the land bureau received an application for the installation of five, 60-metre meteorological towers in Lake Country's Beaver and Oyama Lakes watersheds, to test for wind energy.

The P.E.I. government has postponed its call for private wind power development proposals because of the downturn in the economy. In October, the province announced a $1-billion development plan to more than triple the wind power generated in the province, to 500 megawatts, by the year 2013.

Leamington Mayor John Adams said council had a large delegation of residents in 2006 who were opposed to the offshore turbines. At that time, council said it was opposed to the offshore wind farm. "We certainly support the residents even now," Adams said Tuesday. Council agreed Monday to forward its questions to the Ministry of Environment, meet with the developer and see if Kingsville is interested in hiring a consultant.

The economy is being blamed, in part, for the delay of an expansion of the Erie Shores Wind Farm. ...Wilgar said the bid model was unsuccessful for several reasons. These include decreased wind energy as the properties aren't as close to the lake, more stringent Ministry of Environment setback regulations from roads, lakes and existing turbines, escalating construction costs and the economy.

So-called compressed-air energy storage, or CAES, has been around for more than 20 years and while only two facilities have ever been built - a 110-megawatt plant in Alabama and a 290-megawatt plant in Germany - officials from New York, California, Texas and a number of other U.S. states are beginning to seriously explore the potential. Iowa has already taken the leap. The basic concept is that cheap, surplus electricity available overnight is used to compress air and inject it into underground reservoirs, like a salt cavern or depleted gas field. When power is needed during the day and can fetch a higher price on the market, the air is released, exposed to heat and put through an expansion turbine that generates electricity.

On Monday it called on Premier Dalton McGuinty to initiate a province-wide study on the health effects of wind energy generation and transmission. Moreover, it is calling on McGuinty to impose a moratorium on all wind generation projects in the province until a health study is completed.

Hydro reported Friday that it has received proposals for 17,000 gigawatt hours of electricity -- primarily small hydro and wind -- in response to its clean call, which closed this week. That's equivalent to a third of Hydro's annual output -- the amount of power consumed each year by the Crown corporation's residential customers. Preliminary tallies from the call, which closed Tuesday, show Hydro received bids from 43 proponents for a total of 68 projects.