For $50,000, Oklahoma can get the same kind of comprehensive study Kansas got from Southwest Power Pool on the state's wind power resource. The plan could be finished by spring 2008 and would provide the guidance state leaders need to form a plan for new electricity generation and transmission upgrades. ...Bary K. Warren, director of transmission policy and compliance for the Empire District Electric Co. in Joplin, Mo., cautioned the group to keep projections for future wind generation development modest. Companies may put out press releases indicating their intent to build future capacity, but unforeseen developments may significantly limit the amount of wind generation that actually gets built, he said.

Officials from two townships splitting the Cambria-Blair county line may not be in total agreement about boundaries. But the question - at least as far as two wind turbines and their royalties are concerned - is being put to rest, officials said. Gamesa Energy USA, developers of the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm, has agreed to pay an undisclosed amount of money to Juniata Township, Blair County, for the two windmills in question. In return, the township will not contest a land survey putting the structures in Portage Township.

TOPEKA - House Utilities Chairman Carl Holmes, R-Liberal, expects five coal-burning power plants planned for Kansas in the next few years will be the last built in the state, given federal concerns over global warming and air pollution. But Holmes doesn't see a need for a moratorium on the new plants as requested by the Sierra Club this week. "What do we gain by doing that?" he asked during a break at a state-led renewable energy conference in Topeka. "I don't see this state putting in tougher standards than what's already on at the federal level."

Two separate Northumberland County boards of commissioners were cautioned since 2006 by three legal advisers about "shortcomings" in a Sunbury firm's wind farm proposal. At issue is the land-lease agreement between the county and Penn Wind, a 29-year deal that is in the midst of being renewed and has been in jeopardy for months.

A cross section of elected officials, business leaders and environmentalists came together in Ocean City this week in support of an expedited effort to develop offshore wind farms off the coast of the resort.

Dallas Center residents who want a firsthand account of how a proposed $200 million power plant would affect their community will have that opportunity Thursday. That's when Kent Holst, who oversees an Iowa municipal utilities energy plant project, and his associates will give a presentation on the project to store wind energy in the form of compressed air in an underground rock formation. The officials will take questions from the public following their presentation at 7 p.m. Thursday at Dallas Center Memorial Hall, 1502 Walnut St.

Lorain County officials will learn more about the future of alternative energy in northern Ohio. The Lorain County Growth Partnership today will host leaders of the Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force to explain a study that examined the feasibility of using offshore wind turbines. The task force also plans to install a 20-megawatt wind turbine in Lake Erie.

Both projects have faced numerous legal challenges, including Tuesday's call for a federal injunction by the Coastal Habitat Alliance -- a nine-member conservation group that includes several environmental groups and the King Ranch, a neighbor to the wind projects. Commissioners, who don't have a stake or say in the future of the projects, agreed to hear a presentation today from Babcock and Brown representatives including chief development officer John Calaway, at the request of Marc Cisneros, who represents the Kenedy Foundation. Nueces County Judge Loyd Neal instructed court staff to invite both advocates and opponents of the wind farms to get a balanced account, said Tyner Little, a special assistant to the commissioners court.

Currently, the county's wind ordinance calls for a setback of 1,200 feet from the primary structure on a property. Nesbitt, at the February committee meeting, asked for a moratorium on the ordinance and suggested the setback be increased to 1,320 feet from any property line and 2,600 feet from any structure.

State energy officials Tuesday urged lawmakers to adopt measures to increase wind energy and promote conservation. “We believe there are tremendous opportunities for the state,” said Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson, who serves as co-chair of the Kansas Energy Council. Ken Frahm, the other co-chair, told the House Energy and Utilities Committee, that conservation alone in Kansas could erase the need for a new electric generation plant.

MILFORD — A forum Monday night was held to educate the masses — not get their opinions — on two proposed projects and the review processes surrounding them.

Water district officials hope a test will show that the eastern bank of Lake Auburn is a prime spot for an energy-generating wind turbine. The district has applied for a grant to place a wind gauge along the lake behind the pump station buildings, on a plot north of Central Maine Community College. "The way it looks on paper, we'd be an ideal spot for a wind turbine," said John Storer, assistant water district superintendent. "But people have run into that problem before, and places that look like they should get plenty of wind are not generating enough power. So we need to test it, to see if it's even feasible for our site." The grant would be managed by the University of Maine.

Local officials are expressing displeasure over a lack of public notice regarding a plan for a new 600-mile transmission line that would span Northern California, possibly passing through Colusa, Glenn and Tehama counties. The Western Area Power Administration and the Transmission Agency of Northern California, a consortium of 15 North State public utilities, in February announced plans for the new electrical route expected to cost $1.5 billion to potentially generate up to 4,000 megawatts of renewable energy.

Defense Department officials are reaching out to academia and the energy industry to strike a balance between its support for alternative energy sources and its need to protect national security.

Officials at the Clemson University Restoration Institute hosted a discussion today about the future of the cavernous warehouse that will be home to a state-of-the-art wind turbine drivetrain testing facility. The institute held the first meeting of its industrial and technical advisory boards, a pair of groups made up of current and potential partners from around the globe, yards away from Building 69 at the former Navy Base in North Charleston.

The dairy farm became a supplier of "offsets," marketable credits purchased by companies or others trying to compensate for the amount of carbon dioxide, methane or other greenhouse gases they emit. His manure-digesting system has generated a stash of greenhouse gas offsets -- some of which Morris has sold, some of which he's keeping -- worth nearly $250,000 at current market prices. ...The Cincinnati Reds went to bat for a wind farm in India, buying enough credits to offset the carbon emitted at a single home game. Why are they buying? Largely to placate customers, shareholders and employees who are nudging them to get serious about global warming.

Envision a half-dozen towers for collecting data miles off the Jersey Shore in areas that could someday have dozens of wind turbines churning out emission-free power. By year's end, the U.S. Minerals Management Service hopes to give sea bottom leases to three companies that want to put six meteorological towers off New Jersey, officials said Wednesday. And the towers could be erected next spring, said Maureen A. Bornholdt, program manager in the mineral services' Office of Alternative Energy Programs in Herndon, Va. ...The sites are 16 miles off Long Beach Island and 17 miles off Ocean City, according to the minerals service.

The sponsors, large European utilities, want to transfer construction risk on the deals to the banks to keep the financings off their balance sheets. A further test for the financiers is the fact UK wind speeds have been at 180 year record lows this year - raising concerns about the reliability of wind as an energy source.

Unforeseen problems at the Alpha Ventus wind farm have lukewarm investors reevaluating the billions of euros they have invested in offshore wind energy. Germany's first offshore wind park was dealt a blow with the failure of two turbines due to inferior materials.

The wind farm is unlikely to be completed before summer 2009 Works on one of the biggest offshore wind farms in the UK has slipped behind its construction schedule. The 60-turbine Robin Rigg project six miles off the Dumfries and Galloway coast had been targeting a completion date in spring next year. Developers E.ON have now said it is unlikely to become operational until later in 2009.