Betts’ Gulf Shore Association waged a bitter battle against Charles Demond’s wind farm project that would have seen between 20 and 27, 100-metre-tall turbines erected between the Gulf Shore Road and the Irishtown Road on the outskirts of Pugwash. The battle that pitted grassroots residents against Demond’s corporation garnered national headlines when Anne Murray entered the fray against the wind farm. ...A petition circulated along the Gulf Shore opposing the wind farm had the support of 80 per cent of the population.

Bear Mountain Wind Limited Partnership is a 120-megawatt, $190-million development on a mountain ridge located 16 kilometres southwest of the City of Dawson Creek in the Peace River Regional District. Since construction began last December, new access roads have been completed and the land has been cleared. ...The turbines are manufactured and will be installed by German-based Enercon. The turbines are designed without a gearbox, so they are more reliable and quieter than other turbines.

Maritime Electric wants to increase its capital budget by $13.9 million to construct a wind energy transmission line along the Confederation Trail, but the company says it won't mean rate increases for Islanders. Maritime Electric has applied to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission for the budget increase. ..."This line is paid for (by) Suez (Energy North America) and the government of P.E.I. so it has no effect on the customers of P.E.I. in terms of cost or risk.''

Despite failing to secure a contract with Nova Scotia Power, a controversial wind farm project proposed for the Pugwash area is not dead. "We have not abandoned our plans to pursue that project," Atlantic Wind Power Corporation president Charles Demond said Monday. "We're still interested in building a wind farm there. It may be scaled back a bit from what we were proposing, but it will still be a very good wind farm."

One of Canada's up-and-coming wind power developers, EarthFirst Canada Inc., has called in consultants to look for "strategic alternatives" after its key project in British Columbia was hit with cost overruns and a lowered estimate of potential energy production. EarthFirst's predicament underlines the precarious economics of the wind business - especially for small developers - even at a time of booming growth for the industry. ...EarthFirst has seen its stock price plunge to less than 50 cents in the past few months ...after the announcement in early July that the projected capital cost of building its initial Dokie 1 wind project in northeastern British Columbia had risen by $35-million, to $360-million.

A crowd of more than 200 people filled the Prince Edward Community Centre Wednesday evening to hear first hand about a large wind farm on Wolfe Island scheduled to start any day. Frontenac Islands (which includes Wolfe Island) Mayor Jim Vanden Hoek was on hand to talk about the process his municipality went through to see construction about to begin.

It is a debate gradually becoming more polarized. A calm beginning at Thursday's public meeting about the proposed wind farm project in Norwich, turned into a heated, yet respectful discussion among frustrated community members and representatives from ProWind Canada and MK Ince and Associates, the hired environmental consultant company.

Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. was granted a permit from the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board on Tuesday to construct the Canadian stretch of a 215-mile electrical transmission line between Great Falls and Lethbridge. The line is expected to spur wind farm construction in northcentral Montana. The EUB permit was the final OK needed for the Alberta portion, which makes up about 40 percent of the entire project, said Bob Curran, an EUB spokesman. Canada's National Energy Board previously approved the plan. "It means they can construct and operate the line now," Curran said.

Shear Wind Inc. is studying the idea of building up to 1,000 megawatts of wind energy in northern New Brunswick, a move that could pump as much as $2 billion into the province. The Halifax-based firm (TSX:V:SWX) is studying two sites in the province, one at Benjamin River outside of Campbellton an another at Mann Siding, which is located between Campbellton and Grand Falls, near Kedgwick. Both projects would begin as 150 megawatt farms and could expand up to 500 megawatts each, Shear Wind said Tuesday. ...Sean Whittaker, vice-president of policy for the Canadian Wind Energy Association said Shear Wind's proposed New Brunswick projects, in their first phase of development at 150 megawatts each, would be among the largest wind farms in Atlantic Canada.

All 10 turbines at a wind farm in eastern P.E.I. are back in operation for the first time since March, when six of them were taken offline due to problems in their gear boxes. ...Vestas paid for the repairs under warranty, but that's not the only cost to consider. A lot of electricity has been lost since while the turbine stood idle for five months, but most of that is also covered under the warranty.

An alternative energy company has pulled the plug on a proposed wind farm in the area. ..."It is with great disappointment that we write this letter to inform you of AIM PowerGen Corporation's decision to officially withdraw our interest association with the proposed Simcoe Shores Wind Farm," the letter reads. Despite numerous attempts, Mr. Ladner could not be reached to elaborate on the letter.

The wind turbine at the Cumberland RCMP detachment likely won't be spinning anytime soon. Detachment head Staff Sgt. Frank Kingston said Thursday he is awaiting word from the company on what caused a fire in an electrical panel before he allows the turbine to be reactivated. "We had a fire in one of our panels and subsequently it has been shut down," Kingston said.

Nova Scotia Power has asked the province's Utility and Review Board to help clear a logjam the company says challenges its ability to meet the Nova Scotia's renewable energy standard for 2010. A statement from the company said independent power producers who are contracted to build new power generation facilities have expressed concerns because of the volume of projects already waiting for power generation interconnection studies. ...A total of 26 interconnection requests, totaling more than 1,390 megawatts of generation, are currently in the line-up for study.

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.

The high cost of energy and the push for green power has prompted a gold rush of sorts, as companies eye Renfrew County as a host for a series of ambitious wind power projects. While still far from certain, several companies have made serious inroads into making large scale wind generation here a reality, with others making inquiries. ...This explosion in activity has alarmed some residents within the southern municipalities of Renfrew County, who are concerned about the impact windmills and turbines will have on the landscape, the environment and their everyday lives.

A majority of Prince Edward County councillors say they are ready to embrace wind energy. Council defeated a motion Monday that would have put a freeze on several wind turbine projects proposed for the county. ...A "procedural interim bylaw" recommended by the planning department would have put a ban on wind turbine development for up to two years to allow the municipality more time to study their pros and cons. But several councillors said they are tired of talking about the issue and it is time to embrace renewable energy.

Another phase in the installation of NeWind's wind farm in St. Lawrence was completed last week, when the final of nine turbines was erected. The crane used to raise the turbines - made up of the rotor, generator and structural support components - had to be taken apart, moved and reassembled to erect the last turbine Thursday and Friday. ... The 27-megawatt farm features nine, three-megawatt wind turbines and will generate roughly 100,000-megawatt hours a year.

Metro Moncton drivers will likely experience some delays while travelling throughout the region beginning today as the first of the windmills headed for Albert County are transported. The Department of Transportation issued a traffic advisory warning drivers of delays starting today and continuing until mid-September. ...There are 32 windmills being transported and each has nine sections. Trucks can carry only one piece of equipment at a time.

Momentum is growing in a protest movement against the proliferation of wind farm projects in Prince Edward County. The fledgling opposition group Alliance to Protect Prince Edward County (APPEC) is holding a public meeting at 10 a. m., Aug. 2 at Milford town hall specifically to discuss plans for wind turbine power generation plans in the county. Janice Gibbins, who founded the organization with her husband Gord, said they hope to draw people to the event to show "there are two sides to the story," and "turbines do not drop from heaven."