The threat of Hurricane Bill has workers at New Brunswick's first commercial wind farm busily attempting to protect the blackened remains of one of its turbines. A major fire damaged one of the 32 turbines at the Kent Hills wind farm on Aug. 8. The burnt-out wind turbine still sits atop its perch in Albert County two weeks after a fire grounded its power generation capabilities.

The debate over Mag-Wind is raging on green energy Internet forums, too. Critics argue with supporters about whether the unproven technology will produce power as advertised. A few would-be customers in the U.S. also complained about an unauthorized dealer in the Midwest, now under investigation by the FBI, who allegedly took deposits for non-existent Mag-Wind turbines. The gale-force controversy has surprised Mag-Wind founder Rowan. The delays and problems are real, he admitted - but so is the technology. Back in 2005, when Rowan and co-inventor Thomas Priest-Brown unveiled their prototype in Thorold, they hoped to be producing and delivering commercial units by the end of 2006. ...Well-known wind advocate Paul Gipe has called the company's power claims for the turbine "outlandish" on his website, www.wind--works.org. ...Gipe's best advice: make sure you understand what you're buying. "If you're going to spend $10,000, or $50,000 or $100,000 on a wind turbine, do your homework," he said.

After multiple meetings, Chatham-Kent council has given the green light for Gengrowth to move ahead with four wind energy projects. The Toronto-based company is planning a total of 20 turbines for Dover, Harwich, Howard and Tilbury East. Each of these five-turbine projects is rated at 10 megawatts of electricity. "At the end of the day, this is something we need to support," said Chatham Coun. Don Clarke during Monday's five-hour planning meeting. The recommendation was deferred from March 25 - as well as Feb. 11 - when opponents raised concerns ranging from noise to wildlife impact. Several final speakers brought forth the same issues Monday, but the majority of council believed they had heard enough.

Established German wind energy companies see the nascent Quebec market as an opportunity to increase market share as well as work their way deep into the Americas, an industry networking session was told yesterday. Among the scores of companies - Canadian and international - that participated in Hydro-Québec's current call for tender of 2,000 megawatts of wind power was REpower Systems, a German-based giant that has yet to make its mark in Canada. "We see Canada as a premier wind market, one of the Top 10 globally within the not distant future," REpower's Matthias Schubert told a luncheon organized by the Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce. And Quebec's call for tender - which closed in September - offered a "very interesting opportunity to start"

"Be it resolved that Norfolk County council applauds the position taken by the Premier and the Government, and that, based on the position of Norfolk County council and the input received from the community regarding (industrial wind turbines), the Province of Ontario - and specifically the Ministry of Environment - be now advised that Norfolk County is not a 'willing host' for industrial wind turbine projects."

The government's recently announced $1-billion plan for wind energy development came under fire during the opening question period of the fall sitting Wednesday when the Opposition accused the province of protecting Maritime Electric's bottom line over the interests of Islanders. The government's 10-point plan for wind energy development was announced a few weeks ago with much ado. It seeks to grow the Island's wind energy production to 500 megawatts by 2013 and sets out a framework for wind energy projects, establishing ground rules for developers.

Ulrich Watermann has been keeping his high-resolution binoculars trained on the bald eagles since they returned to their old home atop the white pine a few weeks ago.

Noise and vibration from giant wind turbines may be annoying but pose no risk to human health, an industry-funded study has found. The study was financed by the Canadian and American wind energy associations ...Critics - who maintain the electricity-generating turbines disrupt the sleep and even the heart rhythms of those who live near them - aren't convinced. They dismiss the study as worthless, industry-financed spin.

The Winnipeg skyline may soon have a distinct feature that would stand as tall as the Richardson building. The province and The Forks are considering building a wind turbine if community consultations and wind-monitoring tests prove successful.

"Gillespie's opening statement outlined the reasons for the PECFN appeal of the project approval. He noted Ostrander Point was recognized by local, provincial and national and international organizations as the worst site for wind turbines and that Ostrander Point is in the middle of the PEC South Shore Important Bird Area.

Opponents of a wind farm project in the Charlevoix region have struck gold - the presence of a nesting pair of golden eagles means no windmill can be built within 20 kilometres of a their nest, they say.

Nova Scotians may face higher electricity costs in the short term as the province moves toward cleaner and renewable energy, says the man in charge of overseeing Nova Scotia's renewable energy strategy. Dalhousie University's David Wheeler said Monday it is inevitable Nova Scotia Power customers will face a jump in prices ..."If we end up with a global carbon energy tax, then producing energy from coal is going to be very expensive for Nova Scotia consumers," Mr. Wheeler told reporters.

Carman Creek Golf Club has been granted a variance from the city's planning advisory committee for a small-scale wind turbine and storage shed expansion. Terry Avery, spokesman for the golf course, brought the propeller-like wind turbine to a recent meeting to reassure the committee that it wouldn't generate excessive noise. Weighing about six kilograms (13 pounds), the wind generator has three propellers blades and its rotor diameter is about one metre (46 inches). ...The golf course hopes to generate enough power to run its cellphone charger, DC lighting and stereo. ..."If it disturbs anybody, it will come down," he said.

Municipalities across Ontario have expressed economic and environmental concerns about wind farms being forced on them under the Green Energy Act. "If Dalton McGuinty's plan for placing industrial wind farms in the backyards of Ontario communities was as popular as he pretends it is, why is he so afraid of allowing Ontario municipalities and local citizens to have their say?"

The plan for a new wind farm in Prince Edward Island that would produce 130 megawatts of renewable energy for both domestic and export markets is dead in the water, says Opposition Energy critic Mike Currie.

The expansion of Wind Rush Energy's initial 12- turbine Ashton Ridge wind project to a currently proposed 18 appears to be at the root of potential problems. The original 12 (in two phases of six turbines each) had been appropriately zoned by East Luther Grand Valley council following interviews with adjoining property owners. Although there was a public meeting about the expansion into a third and possibly fourth phase to be known as Grand Valley wind farm, as many as a dozen letters to the council are indicative of dissatisfaction over a lack of such personal contact for the expanded proposal. ...East Luther resident Susan Wilson, who favours renewable energy, says there has been either a lack of information or misleading information from both the township council and Wind Rush. For the Jan. 8 meeting, she had submitted a list of 30 questions, but not all were answered.

Innisfil's two top politicians lashed out at the province's new Green Act for usurping municipal powers. Mayor Brian Jackson and Deputy Mayor Gord Wauchope fear Bill 140 will take away local planning powers as it regulates alternative energy projects such as wind farms.

On the surface, it looked like bad news for dozens of farmers in Prince Edward County, about 200 kilometres east of Toronto, who had leased portions of their land to SkyPower Corp. for a large wind power project. SkyPower filed for bankruptcy protection in August, after which a creditor was able to register construction liens against about 150 parcels of those properties. ..."The take-home message is that people have good reason to be cautious on a number of different levels when looking at [renewable] energy projects," said Eric Gillespie, a Toronto lawyer who specializes in environmental issues.

Ontario's Green Energy Act is "splitting communities" and should be altered so the decision-making power over wind turbine developments is back in the hands of municipalities, PC Leader Tim Hudak said Feb. 2. A Progressive Conservative government would support a moratorium on wind farms until that happens."

He said by stripping the municipalities of power, they took away the peoples' only opportunity to express their concern or object to any wind or solar projects at public meetings or information sessions which would have been required prior to the Green Energy Act.