Cohasset could be on its way to getting its two biggest fans - wind turbines, that is. This coming Monday, Sept. 8 at 8p.m., the Planning Board will begin what will likely be a series of public hearings on an application proposing two wind turbines on the Graham Waste site off Route 3A. The project application, put forth by a private developer, proposes the installation of two 1.65-megawatt sized wind turbines. ...The public hearings, essentially a site plan review for the project, will include an in-depth look at all aspects of the project and its potential impacts. The application includes a 70-page feasibility study, which outlines the project from a wind analysis to potential noise, shadow flicker, visual and avian impacts to estimated energy outputs.

Town Planner Eric Smith has begun circulating a proposed bylaw that would regulate public and private use of small wind energy systems. The draft of the bylaw, which Smith sent via e-mail to numerous local leaders, lays out guidelines and requirements for installing and using wind turbines that generate less than 60 kilowatts of energy. Town leaders who received Smith's e-mail showed excitement Wednesday. ...Large turbines, which generate more than 60 kilowatts of wind energy, require a separate set of bylaws, drafts of which Smith began circulating among town leaders last week.

But renewed interest in wind turbines has brought with it a number of planning and logistical concerns. Much like the pre-zoning era of the Vineyard when neighborhoods and roads were laid out with minimal planning, there is now growing concern that a lack of uniform regulations could result in backyard turbines popping up all over the Island with little regard to aesthetics or scenic vistas. Many Island planning officials agree the Vineyard should explore wind turbine regulations as soon as possible.

Planning Board Member Andy Leonard said the effort comes in light of a movement in Ashburnham to build a 1.5- or 2-megawatt wind turbine on Blood Hill, near the Ashby town line. "The line between Ashburnham and Ashby is an invisible line," Leonard said. Board members reviewed Ashburnham's proposed zoning bylaw to regulate commercial wind turbines to see what can apply to Ashby.

Town Meeting referred the proposed bylaw back to a committee that would 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. With a handful of meetings already under its belt, the proceedings of the wind conversion facility bylaw subcommittee are not proceeding very swiftly, according to two of its members.

In a move which acknowledges almost a year of bureaucratic missteps, Aquinnah selectmen have announced their plan to scrap an energy district of critical planning concern, created to help push through a pioneering bylaw on wind turbines. But those involved have voiced a determination not to give up on an initiative ...Earlier this week selectman Camille Rose scheduled a hearing to rescind the energy district with the Martha's Vineyard Commission for Sept. 16. If approved, it will end the energy district and lift the building moratorium.

The fifth try, in the form of a special town meeting, was not the charm. A bare quorum of Aquinnah voters last week rejected a revised slate of regulations designed to implement an energy district of critical planning concern (DCPC). This morning at 9 am, Aquinnah selectmen are scheduled to meet and discuss what to do next. The choices include scheduling another special town meeting or dropping the quest, at least for now, for a DCPC designation.

At an occasionally raucous Aquinnah special town meeting last Thursday, voters made at least two things clear: that there is support for town action on wind energy, and that they view a proposed energy bylaw as a rush job prepared without nearly enough community involvement. The bylaw was postponed indefinitely at a meeting attended by 42 voters. But a second, more conceptual article supporting the ongoing investigation of community wind was resoundingly approved. ..."With all due respect for what is, overwhelmingly, good work you do for this town," he said, "there have been no meetings where the public can give input. How is it fair to ask people to vote on it?"

Two days before a special town meeting, Aquinnah selectmen are sharply divided over whether a pioneering energy bylaw should go to a vote, leaving the future uncertain for the Island's first set of regulations on energy use. ...The bylaw focuses purely on wind turbines and would form part of a separate energy district of critical planning concern for Aquinnah, the only Island town with its own townwide district of critical planning concern.

Almost four weeks after selectmen signed a contract to build a wind turbine for Town Hall, no application has been submitted to the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative for a rebate. The MTC rebate program expired June 13, more than two weeks before the contract was signed. MTC Project Manager Tyler Leeds said Friday he was aware of the project but hadn't received an application, and hadn't been contacted to ask for an exception to the deadline. The MTC will release information on new small wind turbine rebates as early as this fall, he added.

On July 2, the department issued a superseding order of conditions affirming the original order of conditions approved by the town's Conservation Commission. In the cover letter for its decision, the department said, "In the Department's opinion, the project as proposed and conditioned herein adequately protects the interests of the Wetlands Protection Act." An appeal of the Conservation Commission decision was filed two months ago by 14 town residents. In their appeal, the group questioned the accuracy of the wetlands delineation done by developer CCI Energy.

A proposal to install the city's first wind turbine died because a resident's neighbor didn't want to have to look at it, a Blossom Street resident said Tuesday. "I was very, very disappointed," Joseph D. Byrne said. "It's such a tremendous place to put it." Byrne submitted an application to install a 232-foot wind energy system on property he owns on Mount Vernon Street.

Town Meeting set the stage for commercial sized wind turbines with the unanimous passing of a zoning bylaw regulating the renewable energy technology. Preliminary data collected over the last year on Turkey Hill indicates Cohasset has "good wind." On a broader scale, Massachusetts just passed the Green Communities Act encouraging the creation of renewable energy sources. In the next year, whether ready or not, a wind turbine in Cohasset is a distinct possibility. Plans are in motion for the construction of two wind turbines on Graham Waste Services site off of Route 3A.

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.