Aquinnah voters rejected a bylaw for the Island's first energy district of critical planning concern (DCPC) last week, leaving a townwide building moratorium in place and selectmen unsure of their next move. Passage of the energy district bylaw would have allowed construction of windmills by homeowners and the town and would have ended a building moratorium that has been in place since last month. Following an hour of debate on Thursday evening, at a continued and final session of the annual town meeting, the bylaw passed 23-17 but fell four votes short of a needed two-thirds majority.

However, Christopher G. Senie of Westborough, attorney representing four abutters on Blacksmith Shop Road-Loretta O'Brien, Todd A. Drummey, his wife, Terri Pentifallo-Drummey and John J. Ford-argued that the town's zoning bylaws do not permit what he termed a power plant to be built on Webb Research's property. He explained that when the town changed its bylaws to allow a turbine here, it was for an accessory use. He said the turbine at Webb would not be an accessory use under the law. "This is a power plant," he said. "I'm glad they will sell [excess power] to the national gird, but this should be done thoughtfully and carefully." He suggested that they return to Town Meeting and change the zoning for this property to allow a turbine before this be permitted. ...After hearing both sides of the argument, the board closed the hearing with a four-to-one vote and took the matter under advisement, with Mr. Swartz, Ms. Favulli, Ronald H. Erickson, and Dennis D. Murphy in favor, and Kenneth H. Foreman opposed.

A third wind turbine has received City Council's seal of approval. Compared to the matched set of giants that will rise nearly 500 feet from a central high point in Blackburn Industrial Park and help Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates cut into its annual $2 million energy bill, the single tower authorized by the council last week is small. But the top of the blade, as designed, would be 180 feet above the granite ledge on which developer Mac Bell intends to construct an office building containing numerous "green" innovations other than the turbine. ...If it is built, Bell's smaller turbine will be much more obvious than Varian's to those coming into the city, since it would stand on the east bank of the Annisquam River...

Selectmen on Monday approved a contract for the proposed Town Hall wind turbine, resolving an eight-month impasse over the terms. ...During an Oct. 9 selectmen's meeting, the contractor, Steve Pitney of Plymouth-based Alternate Energy LLC, offered a guarantee that the town would recoup its $18,400 investment through energy cost savings in 13 years or he would pay the difference. However, when selectmen voted Oct. 22 for a contract stipulating that the town would pay its share in annual equal installments over 13 years, Mr. Pitney objected to what he considered a no-interest financing scheme. Under the new agreement, Mr. Pitney would negotiate with the town for payments if the 120-foot turbine fails to perform as guaranteed, Mr. Dionne said.

Supporters and opponents of the Town Hall wind turbine have each been given new ammunition in their fight over whether to build a town-financed turbine. Data from a test tower built by Lees Market on the west side of Main Road shows better energy potential than first expected, but a report on small wind turbines says energy production estimates are often too optimistic. The Board of Selectmen received both reports last week when it met to vote on a contract to build a 120-foot turbine behind Town Hall. No vote was taken on the contract, and the board will resume discussions tonight.

Despite vocal opposition from some town residents, a proposed wind project cleared another hurdle last week when the town's Conservation Commission issued an order of conditions. The commission approved the project last month. Developer James Sweeney of CCI Energy also needs approval from the Planning Board before the project can move forward. Mr. Sweeney is proposing to erect two, 397-foot wind turbines on town-owned land adjoining the waste treatment plant on Arsene Street. The Planning Board held a two-night public hearing on the project in April and will address the matter at its meeting tonight.

Last night, the second session of this year's Town Meeting approved a bylaw governing windmills, as voters continued to make their way through a hefty 43-article warrant. ...The bylaw will allow building-mounted units that do not increase the height of a building by more than 20 percent, but require those looking to build free-standing structures to obtain a special permit from the Planning Board. All windmills will be less than 150 feet in height and, in an effort to limit wind farms, only one turbine will be allowed per acre of land. The bylaw also includes color, noise and setback requirements for wind power units.

Town Meeting last night temporarily shot down a bylaw that would have set up guidelines for wind turbines, with critics saying the measure was inflexible and incomprehensible. Meeting members referred the proposed bylaw back to a committee that will include two members of the Planning Board, two members of the Standing Committee on Planning and Zoning, two members of the Greener Framingham Committee, and one member from the Board of Selectmen. That task force is to report back to fall Town Meeting with its recommendations, said Town Moderator Ed Noonan at the conclusion of the Town Meeting session. The town does not have a wind turbine bylaw.

While Massachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick continues to push for more renewable energy and conservation efforts, a plan to build 20 wind turbines in Florida and Monroe is stymied by a protracted legal challenge from environmentalists. ..."We want to be sure that the state's environmental regulations are properly enforced," said John C. Bartenstein, the attorney representing neighboring opponents and another organization, Green Berkshires.

Plans are still on track for construction of five, 2.5-megawatt wind turbines on West Hill, according to Don McCauley, president of the Framingham-based Minuteman Wind. Voters approved a zoning bylaw that would allow the project in January. Since then, the Attorney General's office approved the bylaw and according to Jane Phinney, town clerk, the new bylaw was posted last week. "The new law says that he'll have to apply for a special permit from the town," she said.

Proposals to create a residential and agricultural zoning district for John Wise Avenue, reduce spending on the Essex Youth Commission, approve a bylaw governing windmills, and take the latest step toward selling a portion of land on Conomo Point highlight a hefty 43-article Town Meeting warrant officials expect will take until Tuesday to settle. ...The bylaw would allow building-mounted units that do not increase the height of a building by more than 20 percent, but require those looking to build free-standing structures to obtain a special permit from the Planning Board. No windmill of any kind could exceed 150 feet in height and, in an effort to limit wind farms, only one turbine would be allowed per acre of land. The bylaw also includes color, noise and setback requirements for wind power units.

Just months after House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi killed a bill that was designed to block a controversial liquefied natural gas project from being built on 73 acres in Fall River, the landowner, Jay Cashman, sold the property to the terminal developers and made a $14.2 million profit, according to a Globe review of real estate and legislative records. ...DiMasi said he sought to open up Buzzards Bay to wind farm development because he strongly supports alternative energy, not because Cashman was interested in developing the site. "We don't talk about those things. It was all policy-driven," DiMasi said. Cashman declined to be interviewed. His spokesman, George Regan, said Cashman did not discuss his financial interest in the LNG terminal in Fall River or in the wind farm in Buzzards Bay with the speaker.

Looking to encourage the use of renewable wind energy while protecting the rights of residents wary of large windmills looming above the countryside, Planning Board members say they are open to tweaking parts of their proposed wind-energy bylaw at Town Meeting. ...For turbines not attached to buildings, the new bylaw would bar units on free-standing towers from exceeding 150 feet and would require them to be located one-and-a-quarter times their height away from the nearest property line, public road or utility lines. Owners would be required to get a special permit from the Planning Board, but not a variance. Holton said the Planning Board had reached a consensus on not wanting large commercial wind farms or towers in town since the lack of large, elevated, open parcels in Essex makes such endeavors better suited to other towns.

The Fairhaven wind project is one step closer to the finish line after being approved by the Conservation Commission Tuesday night, but it still needs to get past the Planning Board. A public hearing on the project was held before the Planning Board Tuesday; after more than two hours of public comment and questions, the board voted to continue the hearing to May 6. About 20 people attended the hearing. Fourteen of them raised their hands when asked by the chairman if they were opposed to the proposed site of the two turbines. "No one is saying here that wind turbines are bad," said Ann DeNardis, a resident who spoke against the project. "What you are saying is this is not the location for wind power in this town."

Webb Research is applying for a special permit from the Falmouth Zoning Board of Appeals to construct a 1.5-megawatt wind turbine on its property in the technology park. ...Colin P. Murphy, of Blacksmith Shop Road, also objected to the size of the proposed turbine, saying said that the large size is not necessary because 75 percent of the profits will be sold anyway, referring to Mr. Webb's statement that the company will use about 25 percent of the turbine's energy output and sell the rest into the grid. "He wants to coat his pockets and he wants to go home," Mr. Murphy said, adding that he thinks allowing the turbine would set a precedent for other turbines to be built in the park. "You don't think everyone else in the tech park is going to do it?"

The Planning Board will recommend that voters at the annual town meeting May 5 pass over the proposed bylaw that would allow the erection of wind turbines in the community. ...The action was hardly a surprise, since both Town Planner Micelle Buck and Planning Board chairman Debra Friedman had told selectmen Monday that the board had significant reservations about approving the measure without more thorough study. Ms. Buck said Monday that the board had not had time to fully evaluate the draft bylaw, based on one approved in another community and submitted by selectmen as a model, and felt it would need revision and could not be adopted "as is."

Douglas C. Webb, owner of Webb Research Corporation, is applying to the board of appeals for a special permit to install a 1.5-megawatt turbine on the company's property in the Falmouth Technology Park. ...The base of the turbine is planned to be 15 feet in diameter and 262 feet high, and the blade is 126 feet, according to the project's application on file with the town. Douglas Webb's son, Daniel H. Webb, who is president of Webb Research, has said that the turbine would provide energy for the company, and that any additional energy would be sold back into the regional power grid. Daniel Webb is also president of Notus Clean Energy, which will install the wind turbine. Though the only direct abutter to the property is Cape Cod Aggregates Corporation in the technology park, residents who live nearby have brought up concerns about the installation of the turbine.

The Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a hearing Thursday night on constructing a 164-foot-high tower at the Worcester Envelope Co. to determine whether a wind turbine is feasible there. The company is seeking to build a temporary tower that would gather information on wind speed and direction, according to the application for a special permit. ...If the test tower shows there would be enough wind, the company would purchase a 1.5 megawatt wind turbine that would cost between $3 million and $4 million, Mr. Pond said. That structure would be about 380 feet tall and it would be in the middle of Worcester Envelope's 7.3 acres at 24 Millbury St., Mr. Pond said.

A dispute over transmission lines for the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm landed in court this week. ...Barnstable officials filed a complaint in Barnstable Superior Court Wednesday claiming the Cape Cod Commission has exclusive jurisdiction over the transmission cables that would link the turbines to the shoreline. In October, the commission rejected a plan to have the transmission cables make landfall in Barnstable, and Cape Wind appealed that decision to the state Energy Facilities Siting Board. In the complaint filed Wednesday, Barnstable officials contend the state Energy Facilities Siting Board does not have the authority to review the commission's denial of the transmission lines.

Brooks made the comment during the Planning Board's April 7 meeting. Members were discussing the Annual Town Meeting at which voters rejected a citizen's petition to allow residential wind turbine by right. Enough support was voiced that the board could bring a new wind bylaw forward, said Brooks. ...Former associate planner Leo Blair, recently elected to the Board of Selectmen, attended the meeting to encourage the board to continue working on a wind-energy bylaw.