Investors are deserting a wind power sector that until now had benefited from twin climate and energy concerns, as a debt squeeze forces developers to rethink projects. The sector has enjoyed explosive growth, at more than 30 per cent per year during the past five years, partly on aggressively priced project finance debt. Now that debt is more expensive, if available at all, harming the economics of wind farm financing.

According to wind developer FPL, wind conditions over the 3rd financial quarter were the least productive in the last 3 decades in the Great Plains -- go figure. Over the quarter, wind power generation came in 38% below expected totals, down 47% in September alone.

On Michigan's ‘thumb,' a broad peninsula whose gusts make it one of the best places in the US to site a wind farm, Noble Environmental Power has erected 30 huge wind turbines - 16 more will finish the job. But the project was hit by a financial gale last month when key underwriter Lehman Brothers went bankrupt. With Lehman out, Noble was forced to sell in a hurry. Three more Lehman-financed wind-power projects in New York are also in doubt, according to published reports. ...wind generation may grow far more slowly in the United States next year, experts say.

Suzlon Energy Ltd, India's biggest wind-turbine maker, suspended a rights offer announced a month ago to raise Rs1,800 crore to buy an additional stake in Repower Systems AG. In a separate announcement, Repower said in Frankfurt on Monday that it was in advanced negotiations with a syndicate of banks for loans to fund its growth. It said banks had demanded that Repower refrain from entering into a domination and profit transfer agreement with Suzlon, and that the two companies had decided to comply. ...Suzlon shares have dropped 88% this year.

FPL Group, the largest operator of wind-power generation in the United States, said on Monday it would slash its 2009 spending because of the economic slump, reducing its wind turbine additions. The company said it would cut 2009 planned capital expenditures nearly 25 percent to $5.3 billion and add 1,100 megawatts in new wind-power generation rather than the 1,500 megawatts it originally had planned.

Despite declining oil prices and fading interest in wind power across the nation, local experts are confident that Illinois won't bow down to competitive pressures. ...According to the AWEA, wind-power production is expected to slow nationwide in 2009, discouraging any new construction projects. Currently there are approximately 8,000 megawatts under construction, expected to finish by the end of 2008 or early 2009.

The federal government is about to open up to wind energy development vast swaths of deep ocean waters, and states and wind park developers are vying to be the first to seize the new frontier. Wind parks in these waters can generate more energy than nearshore and onshore sites, they don't ruin seascape views, and they don't interfere as much with other ocean activities. ...Some groups say the rules leave too many barriers for developers to overcome. "Are these waters really open?" asks Sean O'Neill, founder of the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition. O'Neill says the leases may be prohibitively expensive and the environmental review process too extensive.

3M Co., best known for its Scotch Tape, Post-it brand notes and adhesives, is going into the wind-energy business, with a new line of fillers and protective coverings that can extend the life of wind turbine blades. The 3M Wind Tape product line, part of the $24.5 billion Maplewood-based company's new Renewable Energy division, puts 3M Co. in the middle of the scramble to develop renewable energy ..."Wind (turbine) blades spin at 180 miles-per-hour. Remember that these blades are composite materials. After a year or two years of use, you can get erosion or pitting at the leading edge of that (turbine) blade.

The Coast Guard revealed this week that it has contracted for a study of the effects on marine radar from the wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound. At the end of a radar and navigation forum Tuesday in North Falmouth, Raymond Perry, captain of the port for Sector Southeastern New England, announced the study, Coast Guard Senior Chief Richard Uronis said yesterday. The $100,000 study should be completed by December, Uronis said. It will be performed by Maryland-based Technology Service Corp.

Renewable energy equipment, such as windmills and solar panels, are cool to look at, but they're not an economically feasible investment for most typical homeowners -- yet. A few renewable energy sources, such as thermal solar systems, can pay for themselves in a few years. But experts say you often get better bang for your buck by lowering your consumption, for instance by insulating your walls better. A few renewable energy sources, such as thermal solar systems, can pay for themselves in a few years. But experts say you often get better bang for your buck by lowering your consumption, for instance by insulating your walls better.

Wind developers in the United States could be the first among the energy sector to fall victim to the global financial meltdown emanating from Wall Street. The banking crisis that began with bad loans in the US housing sector has now brought down several commercial banks, one of the world's largest insurance companies and leading investment banks. These last have been particularly important in funding advanced energy technologies (through partnerships with wind developers) and in promoting international carbon markets.

The United States faces significant risk of power brownouts and blackouts as early as next summer that may cost tens of billions of dollars and threaten lives. ...While renewable energy proponents, and some elected officials, are saying that the U.S. needs to only add renewable power facilities such as wind farms, the annual capacity factor of wind generators is typically about 25 - 35 percent. However, the probability that wind generators are available at their rated value during annual peak periods is only between 5 - 20 percent and varies greatly from year to year and region to region. Wind cannot be considered a reliable baseload capacity resource.

Morgan Stanley cut its rating on Vestas to ``underweight'' from ``equal-weight'' yesterday, citing ``early signs of softening demand among small developers'' and the recent increase in raw material prices, particularly steel, which it said would constrain profit margins.

The manufacturer may change, but without major revisions to Cape Wind's plans for a Nantucket Sound wind-energy plant, further complications in the project's regulatory review are unlikely. General Electric - identified earlier as the prospective supplier of wind turbines - appears to have dropped the 3.6-megawatt model Cape Wind had hoped to use, said Rodney Cluck, Cape Wind project manager for U.S. Minerals Management Service. "However, other companies out there are" making similar models, he said.

Blue H's 328-foot-tall wind turbine is different from the offshore generators that have sparked opposition from U.S. coastal residents. Because it sits atop pontoons, this turbine can operate in water farther from shore, where winds are stronger and more reliable - and where it's not visible from land. ...Linowes said that those opposing onshore wind projects - which often are gigantic schemes spanning tens of thousands of acres - welcome proposals to place turbines out in the water. She calls current onshore turbines "dinosaurs" and says she finds Blue H's idea appealing because it shows "that we should look to new technology rather than bigger land-based turbines," she said.

Investors in alternative energy are confident entrepreneurs will find ways to drum up finance without deepening the global credit crisis. Many people fear that as many alternative, low-carbon energy sources are more expensive than gas and oil, developing them will add to the current economic problems, but investors say projects will be aided by private capital. ...A diversified energy mix would help keep the lid on costs, executives told the London conference. "We must keep ideology out of our choices," said Pierre Gadonneix, chief executive of French utility EDF , who said the supply mix must include hydropower, nuclear, wind and high-efficiency coal and gas.

Wind power is suddenly becoming more attractive because the fuel is free; what makes it expensive is the up-front capital costs of the turbines and wind farm installation. That's almost the opposite case with power sources like natural gas, where the upfront costs are pretty low, and the fuel bill is the main variable. At a time of wildly volatile oil, coal, and gas prices around the world, that kind of long-term price predictability is a big advantage.

But without the mandate, wind power would be at a severe disadvantage against an energy grid designed around coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear power plants that were bought and paid for decades ago, industry experts said. Thomas Casten, chairman of Recycled Energy Development, said that without the renewables mandate "we wouldn't have any wind here because it can't compete with a dirty old coal plant." Even with the mandates, not everyone considers wind the optimal choice in limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

Imagine 30 wind turbines whirring ATOP two remote Maine peaks. The 300-ton towers, with blades sweeping 400 feet high and aglow with aircraft-warning lights, would each produce 9,000 megawatt-hours of renewable electricity per year. So what's wrong with this picture? A lot, according to groups like the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC)–like the fact that the windmills in this proposed farm would be visible from a 34-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail.