The Pennsylvania Game Commission today signed cooperative, voluntary agreements with 12 companies to avoid, minimize and potentially mitigate any adverse impacts the development of wind energy may have on the state's wildlife resources.

Delmarva Power and state officials have until the end of February to decide who could be a new electric provider in Delaware. Among the choices is offshore wind power, which could be a first for the First State. “We know that the on-shore wind resource is really pretty poor, we know that the offshore wind resource is really much better,” said Phil Cherry, energy program administrator for the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

With a company ready to buy its wind power for the next two decades, PPM Energy LLC on Monday announced plans to begin construction on a 23-turbine wind development in the summer. About a third of the proposed 1.5-megawatt wind turbines in the Casselman Wind Power Project are to be built on reclaimed surface-mining areas. The project encompasses nearly 2,000 acres near Rockwood and Meyersdale – though the “footprint” of used land should be less than 40 acres.

Debate over a proposed wind farm has ended with Northumberland County commissioners signing a 29-year lease with a Sunbury firm that more than doubles the amount the county had been slated to receive under the original contract. The deal will allow Penn Wind LLC to set up three wind turbines on county land in Coal and East Cameron townships.

Construction could begin in the spring on the first wind farm in Bedford County, a $100 million facility proposed for the top of the Dunning and Evitts mountain range. Iberdrola Renewables Inc. of Portland Ore., has filed a construction permit application with the state ..."A lot of people are concerned about property values," she said. SOAR is pushing for protection for the timber rattlesnake, endangered bats and the golden eagle.

Fayette County's zoning hearing board on Monday issued a split decision on an Oregon company's request for special exceptions for 22 wind turbines, granting 14 of the requests while rejecting eight others. ...The board then denied setback variances and special exceptions that had been requested for eight of the towers, meaning 14 of the towers have all of the required approvals for construction. The company will have to ensure those 14 comply with a number of conditions imposed by the board, including a measure that could shut them down temporarily if the blades kill too many bats.

High atop Armenia Mountain, near this Bradford County borough and close to the Tioga County line, the first of nearly 70 giant wind turbines is rising into the sky. According to Matt Riel, general manager of operations and maintenance with AES Armenia Mt. Wind, as of Tuesday three turbines had been erected and four others have been partially built.

During the agenda meeting, Commissioners Vincent Zapotosky and Vincent A. Vicites voted to place a motion on Thursday's agenda to approve an agreement between PPM Atlantic Renewable Energy Corp./Iberdrola Renewables, the county and property owners that petitioned the court to be included in the case. Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink voted against the action, saying she doesn't believe the commissioners have the authority to approve changes to the proposed project. Zapotosky said the agreement eliminates one of the proposed sites and also does not include any mention of a scholarship fund funded by PPM and administered by the county that was part of a prior agreement.

An Atlantic City-based helicopter plucked two crewmen from the RV Russell W. Peterson at about 9:30 a.m. after they reported the ship was being pushed onto a jetty, taking on water and in danger of sinking. Both men were ferried to Peninsula General Medical Center in Salisbury, Md., according to Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher McLaughlin. Their names and condition were not immediately available. The Peterson, a former Gulf Coast oil industry service boat, was christened March 29 and sent to sea to support Bluewater Wind LLC's efforts to build a 150-turbine offshore wind farm in Atlantic waters east of Delaware.

Three Pennsylvania men have filed a federal lawsuit against a Spanish wind turbine manufacturer, saying that they were illegally replaced by younger workers. The three also claim the company gave Spanish workers preferential treatment. ...Their federal lawsuit filed in Johnstown says the men were all replaced by younger employees and that two of the three replacements were also Spaniards.

International power company Iberdrola Renewable Energies and Wisconsin-based Alliant Energy EPC are building the windmills on a mountaintop off Route 42. Seven of the turbines will be in Conyngham Township, said supervisor Chairman James Tarlecki. The rest, as he understands it, are to extend about 10 miles east and connect to the area where 13 turbines were built on 1,038 acres of land north of Mahanoy City, Schuylkill County, last year. That project is called Locust Ridge Wind Farm, and, fittingly, the new project will be called Locust Ridge II.

The galvanizing force behind several community development projects stemmed from the process of creating the first comprehensive plan in 40 years, county commissioners said. The commissioners adopted a comprehensive plan Monday immediately after a final public hearing that drew little public comment..... Some of the early accomplishments generated by the plan include Somerset County wind farm regulations, the Hotel Tax Tourism Grant Program, the Somerset County Leadership Program, an education workforce initiative, the Somerset County Job Fair, the Somerset Lake Park Feasibility Study, the Quemahoning Water Supply Project and the Laurel Highlands Business Park, said Commissioner James Marker.

The petition is asking for the court to revoke "improperly issued zoning certificates" and building permits, to issue a cease-and-desist order to stop the wind turbine project immediately and to award Bozek all damages to which he may be entitled and costs of the suit.

About 30 wind turbines will be coming to the hills over Dunlo after Adams Township supervisors approved the Krayn Wind Corp.'s request for the Highland Wind Farm. The approval Tuesday at the supervisors' regular meeting followed a final public hearing on Krayn's conditional use application under the township's zoning ordinance. ...The quiet meeting was in contrast to the first Sept. 17 hearing - when a line of residents spoke of their concerns about the wind farm. Most expressed concerns about reduced values for their property near the proposed turbines, but Barbin noted the supervisors only can apply the existing regulations on the project.

McIntyre Township supervisor Albert E. Boyer Wednesday told the county zoning hearing board that he supports the proposed construction by Vermont-based Catamount Energy Corp. of 47 wind turbines in northern Lycoming County.

The Union Township Planning Commission listened to concerned residents about potential wind turbines being constructed on Jack's Mountain at its Monday night meeting. Volkswind, a German wind farm development company, has not submitted anything to the planning commission.

Although Bluewater Wind has revised its offshore wind farm bid to keep the project alive, its fate is in the hands of four state agencies that will soon decide whether to consider it. ...Delmarva's President Gary Stockbridge said Bluewater is welcome to make a proposal for offering renewable electricity as part of Delmarva's long-term planning process. "That's the only way we can be sure, at this point, whether their offer is what's best for our customers," Stockbridge said.

DOVER -- Environmentalists exchanged high-fives on Tuesday after four Delaware agencies ordered Delmarva Power to negotiate to buy power from a proposed offshore wind farm -- the first in the United States. Negotiations begin Thursday between Delmarva and Bluewater Wind to see if they can strike a long-term agreement to harness the wind over the Atlantic Ocean for Delmarva's standard offer service customers.

Four state agencies are expected to meet in Dover today to begin the final phase of state approvals for an offshore wind farm contract. ...The contract between Bluewater and Delmarva still needs the approval of the Office of Management and Budget, the legislative Controller General, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the Public Service Commission.

The state Fish & Boat Commission has been responsible for ensuring that wind energy development does not harm water or aquatic life since corporations began erecting turbines in Pennsylvania. But with the wind energy industry growing quickly - and showing no signs of letting up - Fish and Boat commissioners have decided to put the agency's regulatory policy in writing. The commissioners made the decision at their most recent meeting. They are accepting comments about the policy from the public. ..."Anytime there's encroachment on a ridgeline, you're dealing with headwater issues," Lichvar said. "If you have a problem where it begins, then you have a problem where it ends."