Sagamore Hill, part of Hanscom Air Force Base, is home to a radio observatory and Geophysics Laboratory and is also the final resting place of Masconomo, a 15th century chief of the Agawam Sagamore Native American tribe. Two years ago, Capt. James Bono of the Air Force approached the Hamilton Board of Selectmen about installing a wind turbine on the hill and using the electricity it generated to power the base as well as town buildings. Moe Olmsted, a former GE engineer, reported on the results of a preliminary study conducted by the University of Massachusetts Renewable Energy Research Lab to measure the site's viability. The study found Sagamore Hill to be a suitable location for a 220 ft., 660-kilowatt wind turbine based on statistical evidence.

In a civil suit filed against the town last week, a group of 11 residents is asking the court to overturn the Planning Board's approval of a two-turbine wind project. "These turbines are going to be placed unreasonably close to these residences, to these homes," said Ann DeNardis, who is representing the plaintiffs. "It is an unreasonable burden that these plaintiffs are being asked to bear for the benefit of the entire community - and the benefit of an individual developer in particular," she said.

Former selectmen Chairwoman Veronica F. Beaulieu said the state Attorney General's Office ordered work stopped on the proposed Town Hall wind turbine after she filed a complaint over the bidding process. ...Contacted earlier Monday, Jill Butterworth, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office, said the office is not involved in the turbine proposal at this time. However, Ms. Beaulieu later showed a letter from the office seeking a suspension of work and announcing the hearing.

Asked last week about Cashman's previously undisclosed presence at the Oct. 18 meeting in DiMasi's State House office, DiMasi confirmed that Cashman was there, but said that they did not specifically discuss Cashman's pending plan to build a wind farm on Buzzards Bay and that he never influenced legislation to help Cashman. ..."It was not my intention to give the impression that I didn't meet with Mr. Cashman," DiMasi said. "Whether Cashman was here or not, I believed DeVillars was talking for Cashman's interests." John DeVillars, former state environmental secretary, is a consultant working for Cashman.

Selectmen learned last night that the town doesn't appear to have enough wind available to power a large municipal wind energy project. Selectman Stanley A. Zagorski reported that a feasibility study of three possible sites for such a project indicated that none of the three would be able to produce sufficient wind power to make it worthwhile for large scale use. The survey was conducted by Global Energy Concepts, an engineering and technology consultancy specializing in the wind industry and was authorized by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

The agreement does not give any special consideration to a controversial wind farm in Buzzards Bay. ...Under the new legislation, no renewable projects could be built in the state's ocean sanctuaries - the entire coastline except for a stretch from Boston Harbor to Marshfield - until the management plan is completed, and only then if the project is deemed appropriate for the region where it is proposed and consistent with the plan. Cape Cod Ocean Sanctuary, which includes the Cape Cod National Seashore, would be excluded.

Teams of men and women watch hawkishly over power supplies and power demand 24 hours a day, year-round. But the infrastructure that keeps the juice flowing - throughout New England and onto the Cape - faces serious challenges, from both inside and outside the system. "The same 14 million people are using more electricity every year," Gordon van Welie, president and chief executive officer for ISO, said during a recent interview in a conference room above the busy control room.

The fate of the Town Hall wind turbine was again delayed Monday as selectmen held voting on a contract until Wednesday to get more information on costs and other variables. The town and contractor Steve Pitney, of Alternate Energy, agreed in principal to a contract last week, but some selectmen wanted to find out how much it would cost for the Highway Department to do preliminary and foundation work and how much the cost in materials has risen since Alternate Energy bid on the project more than a year ago. ...[Selectman Mauk said] he has opposed the turbine because no one has ever proven that he's wrong about the project not producing enough energy. Exact figures for increases in material costs are missing, too, he added.

Developers of a proposed trio of wind farms in Buzzards Bay have dropped part of the project planned off the Fairhaven shoreline, citing the area's high boat traffic and population of endangered roseate terns. Patriot Renewables, LLC, a Quincy firm affiliated with Jay Cashman Inc., announced the decision Monday to end plans for the cluster of turbines off Fairhaven in the area south of Sconticut Neck and West Island. Patriot Renewables continues to study two other Buzzards Bay locations - off Dartmouth and Naushon Island, one of the Elizabeth Islands. ...the firm's goal would continue to be to develop a project that would generate 300 megawatts of electricity. Instead of the three locations for up to 120 wind turbines, there would be two.

NStar electric customers in Massachusetts will be able to buy renewable energy directly from wind farms - including one under development in Maine - under a newly approved billing option. ...The energy would come from either Maple Ridge Wind Farm in upstate New York, or from Kibby Mountain, a wind farm under development in Maine. NStar has signed two 10-year contracts to receive energy from the wind farms.

Beginning in 2010, wind in the Berkshires will help meet some of the electricity needs of 14 Central and Eastern Massachusetts communities whose municipal utilities belong to the newly formed Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative. ...The deal is expected to close next month. When it does, MMWEC and the 14 other municipal utilities that are members of the Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative will own the project, acquiring easements, permits, agreements, engineering documents, developed property and other assets of early preconstruction development work. At full capacity, the 10 wind turbines will produce 15 megawatts of power. One megawatt is enough to supply electricity to 300 to 400 homes.

More than 40,000 individuals and organizations have submitted comments on an environmental review of the wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound, according to federal officials. "I've never seen anything like this before," said Rodney Cluck, Cape Wind project manager for the U.S. Minerals Management Service, the lead federal agency to review Cape Wind Associates' plan to build 130 wind turbines in the sound. ...No other project reviewed by the agency during Cluck's 11 years with MMS has received as much attention, he said.

The contractor for the Town Hall wind turbine sent a proposed contract to the Board of Selectmen Tuesday requiring an immediate pay increase from the contract signed last October by selectmen. ...Under Pitney's proposal, the town would pay him 30 percent of the total project price, or $19,020, once the contract is signed, another 30 percent when the tower is completed, 20 percent when the town's Highway Department completes site work, and the final 20 percent when a certificate deeming the project complete is sent to the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. Pitney's proposal also stipulates that selectmen sign the contract before May 1 or pay an additional $2,500. ...Selectman Brian Valcourt said the board should vote on the contract before May 1, and Town Administrator Michael Coughlin said the town needs to have a face-to-face negotiation with Pitney before voting.

Tests on a floating platform technology for wind turbines in federal waters off the coast of Massachusetts will have to wait for the time being. U.S. Minerals Management Service director Randall Luthi announced yesterday that sixteen sites around the country have been selected where companies may compete for leases to collect data and test technology for renewable energy projects. Waters off the Bay State's coast were not among the areas selected. ..."It really has no affect on us," said Martin Reilly, spokesman for Blue H. Because Blue H submitted their proposal later in the nomination process than other applicants they could not be considered in this first round, he said.

It's now or never. The public comment period for a federal report on the wind farm Cape Wind Associates wants to build in Nantucket Sound runs out Monday. While many of the heavy hitters, including the anti-Cape Wind group, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will likely hold off until the last moment to submit their thoughts, the lead agency to review the project has already received more than 10,000 comments from the public.

Steve Pitney, of Alternate Energy, said this week he's been in contact with Town Administrator Michael Coughlin and is "somewhat interested" in building the turbine. Selectmen voted last month to give voters the chance at Town Meeting to put the money set aside for the turbine back to its original fund, which would essentially kill the project. ...The two sides differ on a payment plan. Under the terms of the contract, Pitney would be paid in equal installments over 13 years. Last October, Pitney offered a guarantee that the turbine would pay itself off during that time or else he would pay the difference on an annual basis. Pitney never agreed with the payment plan. "They had the money to do it but for some reason they didn't want to spend the money," he said Monday. "I'm not a bank... Most people who sign a contract actually want a turbine." Selectmen, he said, have disregarded the will of Town Meeting.

Coming soon to the Boston Harbor Islands: Wind turbines. Governor Deval Patrick and other state officials plan to announce today the long-sought installation of wind turbines on Deer Island, home to Greater Boston's sewage treatment plant. The Federal Aviation Administration recently signed off on two 190-foot wind turbines, with the possibility of three more in the future. Compared with the Cape Wind project proposed for Nantucket Sound, the energy generated by the turbines would be tiny - the equivalent of keeping 12,000 60-watt light bulbs on four hours a day for a year. ..."It's more of a leadership commitment from state government than it is a large portion of the total amount," said Ian A. Bowles, secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs. "Governor Patrick's conviction is that state government needs to lead and this is good evidence of what can be done in the space of one short year.

Residents attending a wind energy forum were told that a Kingston turbine would harness abundant, renewable and "climate-benign" wind power - and that making the turbine a reality is still several years away. Asked to estimate how soon Kingston could have a turbine up and running, green energy committee Chairman Brian Spires replied, "Unfortunately, it's still looking like three years, maybe, if we're lucky." ...