A proposed wind farm project for Higgins Mountain is causing some concern for the operators of Ski Wentworth and others in the Wentworth Valley-Folly Lake area. "I want to make it clear that we are in favour of renewable energy and all of the benefits that come with it, but we do have some concerns about the proposal that will see 400-foot (120-metre) turbines being erected right across the valley from the ski hill," Ski Wentworth spokeswoman Leslie Wilson said Monday. Ottawa-based 3G Energy Corp. proposes to build 66 turbines along a seven-kilometre stretch of the Cobequid Mountains. They would be on a ridge on the opposite side of the valley from the ski hill. The project is among the largest ever proposed for Nova Scotia.

The Alberta Utilities Commission's approval Tuesday of the proposed Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. line was the final Canadian permit needed for the 240-kV AC line, which would interconnect electricity markets and carry 300 MW north and south. The commission said the proposed line satisfied its conditions, including a process for negotiating disputes with landowners. ...Wind farm developers in Alberta and Montana have fully subscribed the line for marketing power both north and south.

Following complaints from farmers, the U.S. Department of Energy is now planning its toughest environmental review of a proposed $120 million power transmission line between Great Falls and Lethbridge, Alberta.... Wind farm developers have said the line is critical to construction of their projects. To date, three companies have signed up to use capacity on the line to ship power from wind farms they're planning between Great Falls and the Canadian border.

Alternative power is all the rage but even a magic bullet can draw blood. Dave Bidini visits Ontario's bucolic Wolfe Island, where an Alberta firm wants to build a $410-million wind farm, bigger than any now operating in Canada. Many residents are bitter - their home is a major stopover for species that migrate in the dark, 'when you can't see the birds getting chopped out of the sky'

Just like the July public information session held by Energy Farm Ontario Inc. about its study to develop a wind turbine farm near Grafton, the public meeting held Thursday night by those in opposition, drew a huge gathering of concerned people. It was far beyond standing room only for those squeezed around the edges of the seated audience packed into the Centreton Community Centre. Some were unable to get into the building, forced to stand on the steps and sidewalks outside.

The Quebec Environmental Public Hearing Board has rejected a $350-million wind power proposal from a Toronto company that wanted to build an expansive farm in the province’s northeastern region. The board, known by its French acronym, BAPE, gave the thumbs down to Skypower’s plans, which would include the construction of 114 windmills in four communities bordering the St Lawrence seaway, near Rivière-du-Loup. The board, which held several hearings on the project, concluded Thursday that the turbines would ruin a picturesque view, threaten the region’s natural and wildlife heritage and threaten the agricultural economy.

Even Canada's leading promoter of wind power admits that the industry has to learn from its critics and work with them. Sean Whittaker, policy director of the Canadian Wind Energy Association of Ottawa, says public concerns can be expected with any new technology. "Their concerns are definitely legitimate and something we have to take seriously," Mr. Whittaker said recently in Halifax. ... Ms. Betts and 450 other members of the Gulf Shore Preservation Association oppose a developer's plan to build 20 to 27 large wind turbines in the area. Last summer, Ms. Murray wrote a commentary in The Chronicle Herald, saying many people want to build their "dream home" in the area. A wind farm would be catastrophic, she said. Ms. Murray said she supports the idea of wind-generated electricity but opposes the location of the turbines in an area close to where people live and said there are too many unanswered questions concerning the effects of noise, vibration and shadow flicker.

The need for proper setbacks in Chatham-Kent between wind turbines and homes and natural settings was voiced loudly Tuesday by Chatham businessman Harry Verhey. Verhey told Chatham Sunrise Rotary Club members - of which he is a member - that he isn't challenging the use of wind turbines, but is convinced there is an urgent need to determine setbacks that are right for the municipality. "The recent proliferation of industrial wind projects will have a negative impact on the community," he said. "The massive size of industrial wind turbines conflicts with the scale and character of the Chatham-Kent landscape." ...Verhey said ads run in local papers by the proponents of wind farms aren't enough - "for the most part the public is unaware of turbine developments and locations."

No doubt about it, green is good. So why is it that across the country, more and more people are seeing red over wind energy? Some say that in the rush to develop wind power, current government regulations aren't doing enough to protect human health, or the environment. ..."I think the government really needs to step up to the plate and make sure they do their due diligence and make sure they do their history checks on where they are putting these wind turbines because it's about location, location, location," said one member. "The government has made rural Ontario residents expendable in the name of green energy."

...despite meeting the international green guidelines established by the Kyoto Protocol, plans for the huge turbine have sparked dismay among residents in nearby Hebburn Village and ward councillors, who argue the structure will be a blot on the landscape. Coun Joe Abbott, for Hebburn North, said: "I have spoken to some residents and they are up in arms about the massive scale of this wind turbine. "In terms of size, you are talking about six Angels of the North on top of each other, or two Concordes placed nose to tail.

A controversial wind farm slated for a pristine piece of prairie in southeastern Alberta has cleared a major hurdle, despite opposition from environmentalists who are now bracing for a deluge of similar proposals in the region....Although some councillors voted against the proposal, council ultimately approved two sets of land-use amendments that give the wind farm the green light, and potentially allow further development.

Six sites in Enbridge's 110-wind turbine project have received zoning approval and are a step away from construction, with another 14 site plans approved on July 11. Enbridge Ontario Wind Power general manager, Bob Simpson, said they're hoping to start building the construction roads at the approved turbine sites within the next week. Simpson expects more of the turbines will surface at upcoming council meetings, requesting additional site plan approvals for each individual site.

Plans to build a wind turbine park for Digby Neck hit a snag this month when Nova Scotia's deputy minister of environment told an executive at Skypower Corp. in a letter that more information about the project is needed before an environmental assessment application is approved. Skypower Corp. of Toronto and Scotian Windfields of Dartmouth have jointly proposed a 30-megawatt wind farm on Digby Neck comprised of 20 wind turbines, each generating 1.5 megawatts of electricity.

A proposal to erect a 65-metre wind turbine near the peak of Grouse Mountain will be going before District of North Vancouver council Monday night. If approved, the tower will be visible from much of North Vancouver and other parts of the Lower Mainland. The 21-storey structure (34 storeys to the tip of the blade) is slated to begin operating at the top of Peak Mountain next to the Heaven's Sake ski run in 2009.

A ban on wind energy projects within 200 metres of the Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River shoreline is among the many recommendations in the final draft of official plan changes proposed for the County of Essex. Bans would also protect national parks, conservation areas and a host of smaller natural areas, particularly those with endangered or threatened species. The recommendations by the Jones Consulting Group divide the county into four different management areas and requires that proponents show their wind farm proposals won't harm communities or the environment. New policies would protect "heritage resources and significant cultural heritage landscapes." The visual impact of turbines, that could be 120 metres high, has to be weighed for the impact on scenic viewpoints and landscapes.

A few studies will proceed immediately to see if wind turbines are appropriate for Caledon. The studies Caledon council wants undertaken are for setback, noise and flicker effects. The results will be brought back to a public meeting. Councillors spent more than three hours on the issue at last Tuesday's meeting. They heard presentations from concerned residents living near a potential wind project site, as well as a representative from Windy Hills Caledon Renewable Energy.

The noise and vibration from heavy equipment has been known to frighten emus to death, Debi VanTassel said in a recent interview. She wonders what living near a wind turbine will be like. Ms. VanTassel has another worry, though. Her husband is an epileptic who may have grand mal seizures. They can't have wallpaper in their home because the patterns could seem to come alive and bother Mr. VanTassel.

Nova Scotia's Deputy Minister of Environment has issued a decision on the Digby Wind Power Project's Environmental Assessment Report that appears to leave the project twisting in the wind. ...In a June 19 letter addressed to SkyPower Corporation VP Charmaine Thompson, Deputy Minister of Environment Nancy Vanstone states quite simply, "I have determined that the registration information provided is insufficient to allow me to make a decision."

Three Alberta families near Three Hills have taken their fight against a proposal to build wind turbines near their homes to a local appeal board. FPLE Canadian Wind plans to construct 54 wind turbines in Knee Hill County northeast of Calgary for a project called the Ghost Pine wind farm.

Farmers in southern Alberta have filed an appeal with the province against a proposed transmission line that would cut a swath through prime irrigation land, arguing the Montana-Alberta Tie Line does not meet the public interest. A group of 16 landowners, lead by the Lavesta Area Group, want to see the 346-kilometre line between Lethbridge and Great Falls, Mont., rerouted five kilometres east of the provincially and federally approved route.