A GOVERNMENT minister admitted he didn't realise turbines planned for a massive windfarm off the North Wales coast would stand higher than Blackpool Tower.

Premier Denis Napthine has declared his personal love for wind turbines, but says his government's restrictions to where they can be built won't change. Dr Napthine on Friday launched the Macarthur wind farm in Victoria's south-west, the largest wind energy project in the southern hemisphere.

Indiana Michigan Power has invited 250 residents of Jay, Randolph and Wayne counties to meetings next week to discuss the possibility of developing a wind farm. The electric utility is seeking people willing to lease their land to I&M for the installation of two or three 200-foot meteorological towers to collect wind data. If the data show that a wind farm is feasible, either I&M or a developer would plan to lease land for the installation of wind turbines, typically 50 to 70 of them, each taller than the Statue of Liberty with rotors the size of jumbo-jet wings, said I&M spokesman Mike Brian.

"E.ON is able to sell us that power at a far better price than if we had built our own wind farm. E.ON brings a great deal of experience in building wind farms here and in Europe. They have extraordinary economies of scale.

Indiana Michigan Power has a range of energy sources — coal, nuclear power, hydroelectric power. Eventually, wind could be added to the list. I&M announced Wednesday that it would place meteorological test sites in east-central Indiana to explore the economic and technical feasibility of building a wind farm in the area. This is the first time for I&M to do any wind testing in Indiana, said David Mayne, spokesman for I&M.

Supporters of Initiative 937, the renewable energy measure on the Nov. 7 ballot, have out-raised their opponents by a 4-to-1 margin heading into the final two weeks of the campaign, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission. Washingtonians for Cleaner Cheaper Energy had collected $1.52 million and spent $1.46 million as of Oct. 10, while No on I 937 had raised $372,615 and spent $67,785. Leading the pro-initiative campaign funding is the Sierra Club and its political action committee with combined in-kind contributions of more than $132,000. The initiative addresses two of the Sierra Club’s top priorities, which are air quality and public health, said Sierra Club associate regional representative Shannon Harps.

Ian Bowles, the state's top environmental official and Gov. Deval Patrick's right-hand man on the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm, is stepping down.

The developer wants to put up two test towers, again to collect information for Horse Creek Wind Farm, said Iberdrola Communications Manager Paul N. Copleman by e-mail. "We are unsure of what the Horse Creek boundary looks like at this time," he wrote. "That's why we are seeking to erect these two met towers, so we can gain a better understanding of the wind resource."

Albany officials with Iberdrola SA reiterated Thursday the Spanish company is ready to walk away from its $4.5 billion acquisition of Energy East Corp. if state regulators continue to require the sale of wind-farm assets in New York state. The issue appears to be the most divisive between Iberdrola and staff at the Public Service Commission, the state agency with final regulatory say over the deal. ...The PSC staff argues that if Iberdrola were to maintain ownership of Maple Ridge and develop other wind farms, it would have too much sway in the state's wholesale power market, a key component of its deregulated energy industry.

Chairman Larry Stickney said although most residents in town may not have any financial interest in the project, they do have "intrinsic values" and an interest in the scenic nature of the town. "I've known Forbes Mountain all my life, and it's a landmark for the people who live here," Stickney said. "People feel there's an intrusion into their world with those big machines."

"We want to have a road agreement," he said. "We are not trying to get out of it. Right now we have two requirements to repair the roads and a road agreement would be a third." He went on to explain that if the commissioners pass a resolution so Iberdrola can operate under the provisions of SB 232, then the company must repair the roads.

"The rating is Iberdrola's number one priority. A downgrade to junk would be fatal, and if it feels more pressure from the agencies it will get even more aggressive with asset sales," one source with direct knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity, given the confidential nature of the sales process. ... Moody's rates Iberdrola Baa1, two notches above junk, with a negative outlook.

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%.

A company that may build wind turbines in Hancock County's Cass Township says it would be three to five years before any "good, clean" electricity is produced. Paul Copleman, communications manager with Iberdrola USA, a Spain-based company with offices in the Philadelphia, Pa., area, said Friday the company is in the early stages of evaluating land and measuring wind capacity in the area.

Iberdrola Renewables Inc., the wind company developing the Stone Church Wind Farm Project, has released a list of municipal officers and their relatives the company is paying to use their property. The four people named in the public notice are Hammond Town Councilman James C. Pitcher; John Mitchell, whose wife, Ann, was Hammond town clerk from 1988 to 2005; Hammond Planning Board member Steven S. Demick; and town of Oswegatchie Councilman Kenneth A. Wilson. The public notice was in compliance with state Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo's Wind Energy Ethics Code.

"The Company has failed to produce responsive answers to information requests... [for] Cape Wind's estimates of its ‘levelized' cost of providing power under the proposed power purchase agreements ("PPAs") at issue in this proceeding, and Cape Wind's estimates of its internal rates of return ("IRR") should the PPAs be approved."

Spain-based Iberdrola has announced that it is exiting the German wind energy market and has sold its remaining assets in the country to Germany-based utility MVV Energie AG. Under the recently signed agreement, Iberdrola sold seven onshore wind farms, all located in Germany, to MVV. The projects have a total installed capacity of 62.9 MW.

Though wind laws have not been approved in the towns of Hammond, Morristown, or Oswegatchie and the county clerk's office reports no new leases for hosting turbines, a spokesman for Iberdrola Renewables says an Iberdrola branch office may be opening in Hammond.

Spanish utility Iberdrola SA faces a new hurdle in its plan to acquire Energy East Corp., parent of Rochester Gas and Electric and New York State Electric and Gas. The staff of the state Public Service Commission has advised against the $4.5 billion proposal, filing a lengthy report outlining items it considers "deal breakers" for RG&E and NYSEG customers. The staff said it could find "no direct benefit with respect to electric service reliability that would justify approval as in the best interests of the customer." Staffers also said customers apparently wouldn't receive lower rates.

According to an e-mail sent to the Putnam County Commissioners last week by CIC director Martin Kuhlman, the Wind Energy Project in Putnam County has come to a standstill. Kuhlman stated in the email that Iberdrola is upset because a Sentinel reporter was present during a phone call between Iberdrola representative, Tim Lang and the Commissioners.