The U.S. military is growing increasingly concerned that proposed wind farms can disrupt or block radar designed to detect threats and protect America's skies, a problem that is stalling the alternative energy projects around the country. A top U.S. general told Congress on Thursday that federal agencies need to work better together on a formal vetting process for the wind projects.

A bill to clarify what wind energy developers should pay communities that host wind projects has received unanimous support from the Legislature's Utilities and Energy Committee. A wind energy project now can earn swifter approval from regulators if a developer provides "significant tangible benefits" to a community. That language is too vague, said Pete Didisheim, advocacy director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine.

Voters at Monday night's annual town meeting will decide the fate of a proposed municipal commercial wind energy facility ordinance. A little over a year in the making, the proposed ordinance grew out of discussions surrounding the potential of a large-scale wind farm running through this northern Maine town.

With no discussion and little fanfare, Thorndike residents voted at Saturday morning's annual town meeting to adopt a comprehensive, strict wind energy ordinance, which would require mile-long setbacks between wind turbine towers and homes. ...With the vote, Thorndike joins the nearby towns of Dixmont and Jackson in adopting ordinances that give towns high levels of control.

A 76-signature-petition to impose a 180-day moratorium on wind power development was presented to selectmen Tuesday. The question will be voted upon at the March 29 Town Meeting. ...The town's Planning Board is currently considering an application from Patriot Renewables LLC to erect three to five commercial wind towers on Spruce Mountain, but the company has committed to a total of 10 towers eventually, Maxfield said.

A group of environmental organizations and opponents of wind energy projects say they likely will file suit if the federal government approves the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm. A 60-day notice of violations of the Endangered Species Act was sent this week to Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin and to the U.S. Interior Department and other federal agencies that have reviewed Cape Wind's plan to build 130 wind turbines in the sound.

Cape Wind critics threw up an eleventh-hour roadblock this week, accusing two U.S. government agencies that approved portions of the proposed offshore wind energy project of violating federal laws. "We put them on notice," said Lisa Linowes, executive director of the Industrial Wind Action Group, which tracks the benefits of wind energy projects. Her group and eight others filed a 60-day notice of violations with U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

The U.S. military is growing increasingly concerned that proposed wind farms can disrupt or block radar designed to detect threats and protect America's skies, a problem that is stalling the alternative energy projects around the country. A top U.S. general told Congress on Thursday that federal agencies need to work better together on a formal vetting process for the wind projects to prevent them from being built where they will interfere with radar defenses.

Residents will decide at Saturday's annual town meeting whether this small Waldo County town will become the latest Maine community to clamp down on potential wind energy projects. A lengthy wind energy facility ordinance, which follows a yearlong moratorium on wind development voted into effect at the 2009 town meeting, would require mile-long setbacks between wind turbine towers and nearby homes.

The towns of Blue Hill, Orland, Brooklin and Stonington also are in various stages of considering a moratorium. ...Many of these smaller towns have limited land use restrictions, Jenkins said Thursday, and developers of commercial wind turbines and communications towers are attracted to those areas where the permitting process is relatively easy.

Several months after TransCanada announced plans to expand its Kibby Mountain wind project to adjacent Sisk Mountain in western Maine, the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission has begun reviewing the request. Local residents turned out to wholeheartedly endorse the project. But several environmental groups are only offering partial support. They're worried about development of what they say is an ecologically sensitive area.

TransCanada's petition to add 156 acres to the state's accelerated, wind power development permitting process drew mixed reaction during a public hearing Wednesday. ...The company proposes to add 15 turbines to the 44 already permitted in 2008 for the Kibby Wind Power Project in northern Franklin County.

U.S. companies are getting squeezed out of the big Chinese wind-power market even as Dallas investors are bringing Chinese firms here via a big wind farm in Texas, according to a new industry report.

The Maine Board of Enviromental Protection rejected an appeal to withdraw a permit for a wind power project in western Maine. Former governor Angus King is one the principal investors of Record Hill Wind. The company received a state permit last summer and is the process of building a 50 megawatt wind farm in Roxbury, just northwest of Rumford.

Over 40 voters gathered Saturday and agreed to give town leaders time to draft an ordinance for wind power, said Selectman Robert Ellis. During the 180-day wind-power moratorium, town officials will create an ordinance for any future wind-power projects within the town, he said.

Fred Smith hopes that the passages of a wind farm moratorium in New Vineyard last Saturday doesn't hinder the process of building a possible wind farm on his and others property. New Vineyard residents voted for a moratorium, which will allow the Planning Board to draft an ordinance guiding the permitprocess.

A bipartisan coalition of 29 governors is pushing to solidify a national standard for renewable power to boost green job creation, environmentally friendly economic development and energy independence. In a report delivered Tuesday to President Obama and Congress, the Governors' Wind Energy Coalition asked lawmakers to require utilities to obtain at least 10% of their electricity from alternative energy such as wind, solar and biofuels by 2012.

A coalition representing governors of 29 states -- including Maine's Gov. John Baldacci -- is urging the federal government to take steps to boost wind energy, such as a renewable energy standard requiring utilities to produce at least 10 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2012. The bipartisan Governors' Wind Energy Coalition plans to make the recommendations Tuesday in a report to Congress and the White House. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the report ahead of its official release.