On the heels of an intergovernmental agreement approved Monday, District 300 officials will meet with two other school districts today to put into action a plan to build a 13-turbine wind farm in Stark County.

With a study under way to determine whether District 300 would benefit by installing a wind turbine at the new Hampshire High School, the district now is beginning to look into joining two other school districts to build a wind farm in central Illinois that would generate enough electricity to power the entire district. But if a state law doesn't change, the off-site wind farm idea is moot, Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Crates said. Under current law, school districts, community colleges, and municipalities that produce energy using a wind turbine are only credited for 20 percent of the power they produce beyond what they need ...

Anti-windfarm protestors will find out next month if plans for five 320 foot turbines near Allonby will go ahead. Allerdale council’s development panel will meet on December 7 to decide if the Nuon Renewables scheme for Brownrigg Hall will be given permission. More than 1,000 people have objected to the windfarm.

A decision over whether to allow three large wind turbines to be built in the heart of the Hawker country is due to be made next week. Campaigners have spent more than two years fighting the proposals by West Coast Energy to site three 81m wind turbines near Crimp, just outside Morwenstow.

Protesters have taken a step forward in their fight to stop proposals for a windfarm on the outskirts of a village. The Campaign to Limit Onshore Development (Clowd) says a Bedford Council planning officer's report recommends the local authority refuses permission for the turbines to be set up at Airfield Farm in Podington, near Wollaston. Bedford Council, the controlling authority, will vote on whether to approve plans for the windfarm at a meeting on Monday. A spokesman for the council said: "After careful deliberation, officers have now concluded their findings.

LISSETT airfield could be home to a wind farm by the end of the year, if the proposals are accepted by a planning committee today. An application has been made to erect 12 turbines on the site of the former airfield. And should the application prove successful, Novera Energy – the company behind the proposals – hopes to begin building in the summer in time for an operational winter.

THE comprehensive landscape reasons for planners recommending the IW Council turn down the controversial Wellow wind farm have been unveiled to the public, ahead of Monday’s planning decision on the scheme. Consultants acting for the IW Council concluded the six turbines, two of which are nearly 110 metres tall, would have significant adverse effects on the protected landscape, nearby homes and rights of way, and insufficient consideration had been given by applicant Your Energy to mitigating adverse effects on the countryside. Insufficient information was provided on the impact of the turbines on bats.

Wildlife advocates hoping for a stronger voice in regulations concerning wind energy development on land and sea are expected to testify Wednesday at a hearing before the House Natural Resources Committee in Washington, D.C. While the Cape Wind proposal isn't specifically on the agenda, you can bet that folks on both side of the proposal will be interested in the aftermath of the hearing. At issue will be the proposed "Energy Policy Reform and Revitalization Act of 2007," filed by U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.

Moving to a greater level of energy independence by increasing the amount of electric power the state produces within its own borders would be a good thing, MacDougall said. But that scenario doesn't rely heavily on another much-discussed alternative energy source - wind power. "Wind power is not the answer for Vermont's power needs," he said, adding that care needs to be exercised when choosing appropriate locations for wind turbines. Wilderness areas might be one place to look, but not on ridgelines that would be considered unsightly by local inhabitants, he said.

"Investors have long memories," said Brad Alford, who runs Alpha Capital Management LLC in Atlanta, which selects hedge funds for clients. "D.E. Shaw was one of the poster children for treating investors poorly in 2008."

District 300 would shoulder 80 percent of the costs - as well as potential benefits and decision-making - associated with the consortium that would build wind turbines to generate the electricity. Dave Ulm, the district's energy coordinator, said the entire project is estimated to cost between $46 million and $50 million.

Community Unit School District 300's plan to invest in a wind farm as part of a consortium of school districts from across the state is more than just hot air. Now that plan has $44,000 behind it. The D300 Board of Education voted Monday to approve Phase I of its School Wind Consortium plan, which would create the first wind farm owned by such a consortium in Illinois.

With little fanfare, the Community Unit School District 300 Board drove a spike into an intergovernmental agreement to develop wind energy to power its schools. But, ...there was no feasible way to fund the venture without large upfront investment.

"The investigation started because of a number of allegations made pertaining to easements and contracts related to the wind tower developments and alleged elected officials being connected to that development," Champagne said in a telephone interview Thursday. Although Champagne did not name anyone, the Malone Telegram reported in late January that court filings showed that Councilman Arnold Lobdell had ties to Jericho Rise Wind Park LLC, and David Vincent had ties to Noble Chateaugay Windpark LLC. According to county Legislator Daniel Crippen of Burke, the two have since recused themselves from any further board decisions on the town's wind laws.

The District Attorney, New York State Inspector General and the New York State Attorney General have started investigations related to members of the Burke Town Council and its wind ordinance, and similar issues across New York State. My office is currently examining concerns brought to my attention," Franklin County District Attorney Derek Champagne said. "The State Inspector General has asked to have information forwarded to her office." Complaints of impropriety caught the attention of the District Attorney. "A number of citizens have contacted my office regarding Burke and other towns and their wind energy regulations," Champagne said. "Because of the on-going investigation, I really can't comment on specifics." Champagne and Assistant Attorney Glenn MacNeill attended a meeting in New York City on Thursday to discuss the issue with state officials. ...Residents in Burke have raised questions about the ethics of town board members regarding their actions on the proposed ordinance regulating wind power.

A proposal to build the metro area's first major wind power project reaches an important turning point this week, with proponents and opponents lining up to be heard. The state of Minnesota is accepting public comments through the end of today on a proposed wind farm in southern Dakota County that has many residents in the rural farming community in an uproar, even as renewable energy advocates keep their fingers crossed.

The first windfarm ever opened in the Craven area of the Yorkshire Dales only operates at 8.7 of its potential ability, according to a report published in the Sunday Times yesterday. ...The report will comes as a major snub for the Government, which wants to put thousands of windfarms inland.

In a court battle closely watched by the growing wind energy industry, a Dallas judge has reversed an earlier jury verdict and ruled that Dallas-based TXU Corp. is not entitled to any damages in a contract dispute with major wind farm operator FPL Energy. The dispute centered on claims that Florida-based FPL Energy had not supplied levels of wind energy from three West Texas wind farms as agreed upon in a contract. The wind farms counterclaimed, alleging that they could not satisfy the contract because TXU intentionally had clogged high-voltage transmission lines, preventing the delivery of electricity produced by FPL Energy's wind turbines.

Though more consistent than such sources as wind energy and solar power, the Haw River hydroelectric project would produce full power only about 50 percent of the time, depending on the amount of water available.

Trucks carrying 400 to 600 tons will be rolling through northwest Richland County this summer to facilitate the construction of wind turbines. Commissioners took steps Tuesday to be paid for any residual road damage. The heavy loads, including a 600-ton crane, must be hauled over asphalt streets that are graded for less than a 10th of that weight.