Voters at the April town meeting will be asked to approve the town's first wind turbine bylaw. The bylaw would regulate the construction and operation of wind turbines and provide standards for placement, design, monitoring, removal and other specifications. It also is designed to address public safety issues and minimize the impact on scenic, natural and historic resources.

Hearing of the map from her neighbor, Nan Cook couldn't believe it. Drafted by the city's former planning director, Nancy Colbert, last March, the map shows possible locations where wind turbines could be placed in the industrial park. There are about 22. ...Cook, who lives on Hill Street, called the possibility of adding 22 more turbines to the industrial park "insane."

According to Tyler Fairbank, CEO of EOS Ventures, a renewable energy development company based in Hancock, four criteria must be acceptable before a wind project can move ahead: wind resource, electrical grid connectivity, community acceptance, and a sound financial structure. "If there is a big red flag in any of these four areas, there is a pretty low probability that anything is going to happen," Fairbank said. "You can very easily have a project that makes sense from a wind resource and electrical environment perspective, but the community is not going to accept it. That is a key evaluation that really needs to be looked at."

The lure of wind powered electric generation in Groton has spurred town planners to prepare an amendment to the zoning bylaws to regulate the location, construction and use of such devices in the future. ..."Instead of attempting to deal with the ramifications of wind-energy conversion devices and facilities after installations have occurred," the Planning Board stated in its presentation, "Groton will be best served by having zoning in place before such devices and facilities are installed."

After more than a month hiatus, the Planning Board will continue its public hearing on the proposed Cohasset Heights wind turbine project on Monday, Feb. 23 at 7:30p.m. ...The application is a landmark project as it is the first for the town and the first application under the Wind Energy Conversion Facility bylaw passed at the 2008 Annual Town Meeting.

Ward 2 Councilor Greg Earls will once again ask his fellow city councilors to take another look at the new wind turbine ordinance, now that a lawsuit against the city has been resolved. Earls submitted a notice to the City Council for Monday's meeting, stating that large, industrial-size turbines present "a public safety concern affecting the health and welfare" of citizens. He proposed a review of the ordinance, such as setbacks and density.

The continuation hearing on a proposal to construct wind turbines on the Graham Waste Services property off Route 3A was postponed by Planning Board members to Feb. 23 because some requested paperwork on the project had come in too late for the board's review.

After much discussion Monday about the benefits and disadvantages of selling a parcel of town-owned land known as the Blair Lot, between Routes 7 and 43 (New Ashford and Hancock Roads), the Selectmen unanimously approved letting the voters have the final say at town meeting in May. ...He said the land has the potential to provide an income of $20,000 to $30,000 to the town every 15 years or so from timber harvests and could be a future site for wind turbines.

Towns everywhere have pitched so-called shovel-ready projects - those with funding in place and designs completed - for President Barack Obama's proposed stimulus bill, and the contractor for the Town Hall wind turbine wanted the project included. But on Monday, the Board of Selectmen rejected a six-month extension requested on a contract to build the 120-foot turbine that expires Sunday.

After unanimously passing a zoning bylaw for wind power projects at town meeting last year, Cohasset is wrangling with its first wind-energy proposal. ...Planning board Chairman Alfred Moore said the board is gathering information about the proposal, which has some "very vocal opposition."

Opponents of the project, which include Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and other residents in the area, vowed to continue their fight. They maintain the 400-foot turbines would kill birds, threaten sea life, and hurt tourism and fishing. "I do not believe that this action by the Interior Department will be sustained," Kennedy said in a statement issued to the Associated Press. "By taking this action, the Interior Department has virtually assured years of continued public conflict and contentious litigation."

With few exceptions, the speakers at the public hearing were largely opposed to the project. The proposed two 1.65-megawatt wind turbines will have noise, shadow flicker and visual impacts, particularly in the area immediately surrounding the development, including residences. The to-be-built Avalon apartments, the Sunrise Assisted Living facility, the Rose Hill Development are in the area that will feel the most effect.

After more than a year's worth of meetings, research, wrangling and debates, the project hit a brick wall of sorts last month as a report by AWS Truewind showed lower-than-expected wind speeds at the Legion Way site. Without strong enough winds, the project does not make financial sense. On Monday night, the Committee for Renewable Energy for Barrington, rescinded its recommendation to the town council to accept a bid for the construction of the turbine.

Dozens of residents from the Back Bay neighborhood turned out at last night's [Newburyport] City Council meeting to urge councilors to re-examine a recently passed ordinance regulating the creation of wind turbines in the city. Almost 20 speakers visited the microphone, with the vast majority asking councilors to listen to a letter sent to councilors by Ward 2 Councilor Greg Earls. ...Citing pending litigation, councilors said last night they could not act on Earls' request, on the advice of the city's attorneys, Kopelman and Paige.

The developer behind the Fairhaven wind turbines is abandoning the special permit granted earlier this year but not the project, according to a letter sent to the town last week. CCI Energy will now work with the town on how to restructure the project using the recently enacted Green Communities Act in order to provide the greatest benefit to the town, according to James Sweeney, CCI's president.

For Councilor Greg Earls, the recently passed law that regulates the creation of wind turbines in the city needs another look. ...In his brief letter to fellow councilors, Earls stated there is a "public safety concern affecting the health and welfare of our citizens with respect to industrial wind turbines" over 100 feet high. Earls said he will supply further information, backing up his claims, to councilors Monday.

Business owner Mark Richey said yesterday he hopes to see his new 292-foot wind turbine up on his property in just a few weeks. ...Neighbors to the property have appealed the city's decision to grant permission for the turbine, raising concern about the impact the 292-foot-tall structure would have, such as the whirring noise it will generate, safety, low-level vibrations and the visual effect called "flicker" that wind turbines create when the afternoon light hits them.

If you see some balloons floating on the hill behind Graham Waste, don't think there is a sale on used cars. The balloons are part of the on-going Planning Board review process for two wind turbines with a proposed siting off Route 3A. Beginning today (Friday) and continuing throughout the weekend, balloons will be floated as the approximate height of the two proposed wind turbine locations to aid the Planning Board in visualizing the scale of the project.

In a packed Town Hall auditorium, the continued public hearing on the proposed twin wind turbine project off Route 3A began to give residents a better picture of the breadth and impact of the project. The nearly three-hour meeting was a mix of technical information, questions and answers and airing of resident concerns. The 100-plus audience was well informed and it was clear through many of the comments made residents had done their research on turbines. Dozens spoke on myriad concerns from noise to shadow flicker to the impact on property values.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, through its Renewable Energy Trust fund, has awarded a total of 48 residential and small-business projects a total of $703,000 statewide since 2005. Twenty-four of those projects have been completed ...But an independent audit last spring found that, of the 19 that were up and running, nearly all were performing below levels forecast by installers, with an average power output 40 percent less than expected.