Eric Glitzenstein, a Washington, D.C., attorney who is preparing the lawsuit, referred to the Endangered Species Act. "The courts view the unauthorized loss of even a single member of such a species to be an irreparable harm that should be prevented," he wrote in an e-mail. The letter of intent is required by the Endangered Species Act, he said. The groups have yet to decide where the suit would be filed, Glitzenstein added. "Our hope is that Gamesa - which touts itself as an environmentally responsible company - will agree either to do the right thing and abandon this ill-considered project site or, at least, do what is required by federal law and not proceed without applying for an ‘incidental take permit' from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service." The Indiana bat has been a protected species since 1967.

A windfarm application at a north-east beauty spot, which has prompted the formation of two campaign groups, will be formally submitted on Monday. Local people have already raised concerns about the proposal for seven wind turbines and a substation in Cushnie which will be visible to residents in both Tarland and Alford. The long-awaited application has been drawn up by Cushnie Wind Energy, a joint venture between energy firms Falck Renewables and RDC Scotland. The manufacturers claim the 410ft turbines would have the potential to provide power enough for 7,500 homes and displace more than 35,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. Worried about the impact the turbines could have on the surrounding landscape, residents formed two campaign groups to voice their objections.

The den Brook Valley Action Group has announced the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the Dartmoor Preservation Association have joined forces to fight a wind turbine project.The announcement was made last week, in an effort to fight the appeal from Renewable Energy Systems to build nine wind turbines in West Devon.

The legal battle over two large wind energy projects on the South Texas coast escalated Tuesday when the Coastal Habitat Alliance asked a federal judge in Austin to halt ongoing construction. Citing the threat of irreparable environmental harm, lawyers for the alliance, a loose coalition of opponents of the massive projects, asked U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel to issue a preliminary injunction against the developers. "The wind farms threaten a particularly precious, vulnerable area surrounding the Laguna Madre," reads the motion. "If (construction) is allowed to continue, this will cause one of the most serious environmental disasters ever to occur on the Texas coast."

Ward 4 Councillor Susan Hampson presented a motion to pass the resolution, which would halt the 'construction of industrial wind turbines until science-based and peer reviewed regulations have been implemented to ensure public health and well-being.'

“We had 30 hours of public hearing, a marathon, but the participants did a great job adhering to a very strict schedule… Everyone who offered testimony was helpful for the commissioners to make their decision. “We have not had a hearing that was that long and with so many people that I can remember,” Carroll said.

The dispute centered on the mechanisms that allowed the power generators to connect safely to the province's electrical grid. One monitors the turbine's electrical output for any anomalies and shuts it down in the event of an emergency, while another prevents energy produced by the turbine from flowing onto the public system.

Hopes for a renewable energy park to be developed appear to be dashed, at least for now. The partnership hoping to open the park, which had three options on land in town including a 50-acre parcel owned by the school district, has pulled the plug on those options this week. The reason, Levine said, is the transmission lines in the North Country are not able to accept the level of power that would be generated from the venture, which had already been given the name Groveton Renewable Energy Park. Levine said the project is in line behind two wind generation projects in the approval process as well as for connecting to the power grid transmission system in the region.

Caledonia State Senator Joe Benning wants a three year moratorium. Benning says he recently flew over the Northeast Kingdom, which is already home to large wind developments in Sheffield and Lowell. "The pilot pointed out to me that there is no peak in the Northeast Kingdom from which you would not be able to see a power plant if this new project goes forward."

Pennsylvania's mountain ridges are on track to teem with industrial wind turbines -- enough that, if placed on the 359-mile Pennsylvania Turnpike, they would stretch seven per mile. The turbines will require clearing a combined 10,000 acres of mountaintops. Each turbine would reach heights that rival Pittsburgh's skyscrapers. They could make their owners more than $300 million in federal subsidies and power more than 1 million homes. But they wouldn't remove a single coal-fired power plant from service.

A National Academy of Sciences report Thursday criticized "the lack of any truly coordinated planning" in the rapid growth of wind farms across the country, and called on federal, state and local governments to pay more attention to the effects of turbines on wildlife and scenic landscapes.

The lingering public perception of gentle Dutch-style windmills in the countryside does not match wind’s stark reality, critics say. Turbines are industrial machines that can exceed the height of the Statue of Liberty, and they’re increasingly financed by subsidiaries of Big Energy giants such as BP and Florida Power & Light.

The coal burning power plant at Rawhide constructed 25 years ago provides PRPA with 70 percent of its energy needs. Of the remaining gap, 17 percent is generated through hydro projects in scattered locations with the remaining 13 percent gained by natural gas, wind and power purchases made from surrounding utilities. Pending federal carbon tax legislation could make coal plant operations increasingly more costly forcing many utilities, including PRPA, to turn to cleaner, albeit more expensive, energy forms suc wind. Historically, PRPA has bolstered its renewable portfolio through the purchase of renewable energy credits, or RECs, that allow it to invest in wind farms owned by others who pay for main-tenance and repairs. If a carbon tax were instituted, PRPA would not get credit for RECs and would only see benefit from its homegrown Medicine Bow wind project built nearly a decade ago. Last year, wind power generated 1 percent of PRPA's total energy, Moeck said. ..."Basically we're becoming more dependent on electricity every day, Troxell said. "It's not simply the plasma screens and air conditioners, either. We live in a digital world that is powered by electricity ..."

The line of towering wind turbines stands motionless on the ridgeline above Interstate 70 in central Kansas, Y-shaped silhouettes amid the swirling snow. Despite the weather, dozens of technicians are working to get the 10-mile-long Smoky Hills Wind Farm ready to begin producing electricity. Jason Martinson, who is supervising the 56-turbine operation on behalf of Enel North America Inc., said after almost a decade in the industry he's still amazed by how fast wind farms like Smoky Hills are going up across the country. But he also said workers like those braving the blizzard-like conditions outside his office are becoming increasingly rare. "Finding experienced techs is impossible with wind growing as fast as it is," Martinson said. "You get one year's worth of experience, and it's like dog years."

RES UK & Ireland Ltd has received full planning permission to build a 10 turbine wind farm at Gruig, near Loughguile, Co. Antrim.

The large auditorium was filled to capacity with concerned men and women threatened by industrial takeover of their land who had driven from as far as the Upper Hunter and the Monaro. Those attending the meeting represented over 3000 members of 10 organisations.

AS the dust settles on last week's decision to approve of the Taralga windfarm, the development's opponents are digging in and seeking legal advice to stop the project going ahead.

"My opponent wants to industrialize our ridgelines. I don't," Douglas said.

TWO RIVERS – A guest speaker will outline his research results on bird and bat mortality at wind farms in Kewaunee County at a meeting of the Aegolius Bird Club at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, at Woodland Dunes Nature Center.

Developers of wind-power projects in Nova Scotia will have a better understanding of Environment Act requirements because of new information online. A Proponents' Guide to Wind Power Projects, on the Environment and Labour website, can help people prepare an Environmental Assessment Registration document.