A transmission company that wants to take North Dakota's wind energy to Eastern markets says its plan hinges on a federal change in how transmission facilities are paid for. Representatives of ITC Holdings in Novi, Mich., joined officials with Denali Energy, a company involved in the proposed Hartland Wind Farm northwest of Minot, at a meeting in Minot with landowners Wednesday.

They've included hazards to boaters, hazards to endangered migratory birds, hazards to aircraft flying between the Vineyard and the mainland, and of course, hazards to the property value of big-buck homes with scenic views of Nantucket Sound. Oh yes, one can't forget the installation of transmission lines to link the turbines to the utility grid. And that's just for one relatively small wind farm.

The cost of building new power plants fell 3% over the past six months, marking the first time in nearly a decade that the costs of non-nuclear plants have decreased, according to the IHS CERA Power Capital Costs Index.

Wind has become the nation's most viable renewable energy option, and industry experts see plenty of potential in Wisconsin as policymakers demand that a larger percentage of energy come from wind, the sun and other clean-energy sources. ...a major question remains: how to move electricity from the wind-swept prairies where it's generated to the big cities where it's needed.

New York Regional Interconnect Inc. is seeking help from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to revive plans for a large electrical transmission line from Marcy in Oneida County to New Windsor in Orange County. In two years of meetings and hearings, the proposed line was condemned by most local residents, officials and activists, who deemed it unnecessary, too expensive, and a threat to health and property values.

On a vacant piece of land near Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, the promise of solar energy has collided into the demands of military training. And a solar project that would have featured a vast field of mirrors, a molten-salt storage facility and a 600-foot "power tower" appears to be heading for defeat.

Shares in Iberdrola SA (IBE.MC) plunged Wednesday as its announcement to increase its capital by EUR1.325 billion raises questions about the viability of its divestment program. Iberdrola Wednesday said it will issue 250 million new ordinary shares, at a price of EUR5.30 each. That increases the company's capital by 4.9977%.

Three Illinois wind farms within 100 miles of Chicago were acquired Monday by an Irish energy company making its first U.S. investment amid hopes that President Obama's economic stimulus package will bolster the renewable energy business. Dublin-based Mainstream Renewable Power bought the assets, which are at various stages of development, and plans to invest $1.69 billion over four years to fully develop them.

Indian wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy Ltd (SUZL.BO) has decided to slash 160 jobs, or more than half of its workforce at a U.S. plant, following a drop in orders, a company spokesman said on Thursday. "There has been a slowdown. There's not enough work to keep all people busy," Vivek Kher said.

Wind power is booming -- at the moment. Companies are flocking to build turbine and blade plants in the United States, such as the one Siemens will build in Hutchinson. The amount of energy harvested from wind rose 50 percent last year to 25,300 megawatts. For the people in the ethanol industry, it must sound sadly like deja vu.

The wind, a favorite power source of the green energy movement, seems to be dying down across the United States. And the cause, ironically, may be global warming - the very problem wind power seeks to address. The idea that winds may be slowing is still a speculative one, and scientists disagree whether that is happening. But a first-of-its-kind study suggests that average and peak wind speeds have been noticeably slowing since 1973, especially in the Midwest and the East.

Essex, Conn.-based Noble Environmental Power has withdrawn registration for a proposed $375 million initial public offering. The company, which develops wind-powered renewable electric generating projects, gave no explanation for the cancellation of the IPO.

Suddenly it's not so much how sunny or windy a site is, but rather how much money is available. States generally have guidelines to prevent people from installing a solar panel in a forest: Solar projects require a specific exposure to the south, and wind needs a certain expected average speed. But weather conditions vary wildly, and states often don't require businesses to perform tests to verify estimates. The danger: Government money will be poured into renewable projects that won't produce much energy.

U.S. power sales have plunged in the past six months on the back of an unprecedented demand decline that was caused by sharp contractions in the economy, and recovery is not anticipated until the 2010 to 2015 period, an analysis from Edinburgh-based Wood Mackenzie shows. "The power industry is headed into the ‘Perfect Storm' low-price operating environment, which will likely get worse before it gets better."

When it comes to new sources of electricity, few things have moved faster over the past decade than wind. But the wind-power industry is looking for a bit of stability: a commitment from the federal government that could help pull it out of the doldrums of the past six months by guaranteeing it a place in the country's long-term energy mix. And industry officials are cautiously optimistic that they'll get their wish.

The conflict between President Barack Obama's vision and Texas' reality boils down to a mix of politics and industry. While Obama has staked his economic recovery agenda on creating millions of green jobs, Texas depends on carbon dioxide jobs. Texas Republicans, out of power in Washington but still ruling Austin, oppose much of the Democratic energy agenda. Gov. Rick Perry says the policies would "have a devastating impact on the use of fossil fuels" and put "downward pressure on jobs, on our ability to create wealth."

The letter, in part, asks that the committee's work be suspended "at least until you have had a chance to make a fresh evaluation of its composition and operation, and to take steps to ensure that the Committee has the genuine scientific expertise and independence necessary to develop recommendations that are truly protective of migratory birds, bats, and other wildlife resources.

General Electric Co., the biggest maker of wind turbines in the U.S., wants a trade agency to block Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. from importing rival energy equipment to the U.S. Turbines made by Mitsubishi, Japan's largest heavy- machinery maker, infringe three patents, GE lawyer Scott Breedlove told U.S. International Trade Commission Judge Carl Charneski today. The technology being used brought "wind energy into the mainstream," Breedlove said in opening arguments to the judge.

From January to March, venture capitalists spent $277 million on clean-energy projects, compared with $715.3 million in the same period last year, according to an Ernst & Young analysis based on data from Dow Jones Venture Source. "Investors took a deep breath and paused," said Ernst & Young's Joseph Muscat. "The weak economy has caused demand for energy in general to go down."

The Department of the Interior has given Bluewater Wind approval to build a weather testing station off Rehoboth Beach. Bluewater Wind announced Wednesday that it has approval to build two meteorological towers off Rehoboth Beach and New Jersey's coast.