Takeover target Canadian Hydro Developers Inc. (TSX:KHD) says its net income plummeted 99 per cent during the second quarter due to higher expenses at two Ontario wind farms. Net income for the three months ended June 30 was $23,000, or zero cents per share, down from $2.88 million, or two cents per share, booked in the same 2008 quarter, the Calgary-based company said Friday. The lower earnings were due in part to an increased interest expense at Canadian Hydro's Melancthon II wind farm northwest of Toronto.

A Toronto-based company's financial problems won't blow over its plans to erect a wind turbine farm in Prince Edward County, a spokesperson for SkyPower says. The company, Canada's leading developer of renewable energy projects, announced Thursday it filed for restructuring under the terms of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.

Long Point Waterfowl is worried that the McGuinty government is flying blind when it comes to the development of wind power. The waterfowl study group has set aside $300,000 for a two-year probe of wind turbines and their potential impact on waterfowl in the lower Great Lakes. Long Point Waterfowl is undertaking the research to address gaps in its understanding.

New Brunswick's first commercial wind farm will lose several weeks of electricity output from one of its 32 turbines after a major fire damaged the towering structure on the weekend. The blackened shell of the wind turbine, much of its white coating peeled away, was obscured by fog and clouds at the TransAlta wind farm in Albert County.

The province of P.E.I. has confirmed that it will increase the distance wind turbines must be from homes, but not by as much as some were looking for. The setback distance will now be four times the height of the turbine, as measured from the ground to the top of the blade. For the biggest turbines, the V90s, that would mean increasing the setback to 500 metres. Currently it is 375 metres. Noise was the biggest concern.

SkyPower Corp, a Canadian developer of renewable energy projects owned by bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK), said on Wednesday that it has filed for court protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. SkyPower said it was seeking to quickly sell its assets through a court-approved process and that several potential bidders have expressed interest in a deal.

An information meeting on proposed wind farms in Formosa and Paisley has eased the concerns of some local councillors about their impact on Brockton. But officials are still unsure about the future of the industry and its impact on the social and economic aspects of rural life, as well as the health of nearby residents.

Bryne Purchase, a former deputy minister of finance and energy in Ontario, now executive director of the Queen's University Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy, says Dalton McGuinty's government seems to be flying by the seat of its pants when it comes to energy. "This has all been driven by relatively simple political thinking: coal bad, wind good," he says. A carbon tax, whatever the form, would have had the advantage of pricing the pollutants out of the market, rather than making wind the default winning technology.

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.

New Brunswick's first commercial wind farm will lose several weeks of electricity output from one of its 32 turbines after a major fire damaged the towering structure on the weekend. The blackened shell of the wind turbine, much of its white coating peeled away, was obscured by fog and clouds at the TransAlta wind farm in Albert County on Monday.

A proposal to build wind turbines in Arran-Elderslie, Georgian Bluffs and Chatsworth drew criticism from the public and members of Arran-Elderslie council. "I think these things are a joke . . . I don't want them. I think Arran-Elderslie can remain special by not having them. I think they are going to (visually) pollute the countryside" Coun. Mark Davis said after a presentation by representatives of NextEra Energy to council yesterday.

Ingo Stuckmann is a director with Energy Farming Ontario, which is in the early stages of determining if a wind farm with 10 turbines could be built. About 85 people attended the open house at Millbrook's Royal Canadian Legion. Stuckmann said the project is still years away from becoming a reality and there are many studies needed, including one for the Ministry of Environment, as well as finding financial support and farmers to lease their land.

One of the 32 wind turbines operating at the Kent Hills wind farm caught fire over the weekend. ...A passer-by saw smoke and called the fire department. Officials haven't been able to confirm the cause of the fire yet. Vestas, the company that supplies the turbines, will have a team on site today to try and determine what happened.

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.

TransAlta Corporation today announced at approximately 8:00 am (eastern time) a fire occurred at a single turbine located at its Kent Hills wind farm in New Brunswick.

Sparks flew at an information session in Calgary Thursday night on a bill that would give the Alberta government more control over new power projects. Alberta Energy officials are touring the province trying to convince environmentalists, landowners and private citizens that Alberta urgently needs more electric transmission lines.

Proposition National cap-and-trade system will level out playing field between wind and other sources of energy: ministerFederal Environment Minister Jim Prentice says a national cap-and-trade system will not only curb carbon emissions, but also help boost the country's lagging incentives for the wind power industry. The federal government has recently been criticized for it's lack of incentives for wind power companies.

A citizens group opposing development of a wind farm in Alnwick/Haldimand Township has asked the environment ministry for an extension of the public consultation period on proposed provincial regulations on wind turbines, and has been granted the chance to comment. That's important to the group because proposed distances to residences are not sufficient, nor are the maximum noise levels, spokesperson Tova White contends.

As Brighton-based Energy Farming Ontario Inc. presents its proposals to build a series of small wind turbine farms on leased farmland in Northumberland and Peterborough counties, local communities are also becoming aware of some of the issues that have fanned the controversy around this source of alternative renewable energy.

New York Power Authority President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Kessel met recently with the Press-Republican Editorial Board to outline his agency's plan to "do the biggest energy project in the state since the St. Lawrence/Robert Moses power project 50 year ago." The authority would import up to 2,000 megawatts of power from multiple sources, including hydropower from Canada and renewable resources both here and in Canada.