"We don't matter." Two Allegany County residents told members of the Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday that certainly seemed to be the case. They spoke of the planned 25-unit wind turbine project atop Dan's Mountain by Dan's Mountain Wind Force LLC, a subsidiary of Pennsylvania-based U.S. Wind Force LLC.

Garrett County finally has a new comprehensive plan that will serve as a policy for decisions made by the county's government. ...While the county commissioners did approve a final plan, it was without the protection of ridge tops as sensitive areas. This had been an issue of contention for the commissioners when they discussed their opinions on the draft plan at the September planning commission meeting. Their concerns were the lack of specification as to the definition of a ridge top or what kind of development would be prevented.

Nearly a decade after the Navy retired and dismantled 19 communications towers along the Severn River, a fledgling energy company is planning to build wind turbines that would turn the near-constant breeze there into electricity. ...The county must decide whether wind turbines would affect the communications towers. Of the turbine proposal, Schram said, "We'll see how it goes along from this early stage."

It qualified as a wind-wind situation, the gathering on the Frostburg State University campus on a breezy Saturday during which folks with differing opinions discussed the future of Western Maryland's zephyrs and the energy turbines they may or may not spin. Competing with a nearby bagpipe band, whose members were, coincidentally, playing wind instruments, the panel of four was part of the annual Appalachian Festival.

An Allegany County resident's allegations that one or more of the Planning and Zoning Commission members could have a conflict of interest by discussing and voting on wind turbine-related issues gained the attention of the all-volunteer board. It didn't, however, help facilitate further discussion. The commission Wednesday voted 4-0 to table further discussion until at least the next meeting, scheduled for 3 p.m. on Oct. 6. Members Rodger Uphold, Charles Norris and George Stimmel were not present at the meeting.

[A] state delegate and energy company are teaming up in an attempt to bring the future of energy generation to the former Naval Radio Transmitter Facility. Del. Ron George, R-Arnold, and Alpha Energy, which is based in Annapolis, are preparing a $30- to $40-million proposal for six to 10 wind turbines near the existing radio towers. Mr. George and David Murrin and Marcellous Butler of Alpha Energy held a meeting on Monday with government, energy and business officials to start a dialogue with the community.

Harwood subdivision resident Darlene Park asked the Allegany County commissioners on Thursday to "take an active and progressive role" in leading the county's effort to update its zoning code to include protection for the environment and the communities from industrial wind turbines. ..."It's become an issue," Ishler said. "It wasn't an issue five years ago" when the less stringent codes now in place were approved. "It's never been brought to the commissioners. (Park) was the first one that came" to a meeting.

John Bambacus thinks now is the time to have wind turbine regulations in place in Allegany County "rather than react after the fact." County Planning Commission member Bill Davis, however, sees no point in modifying the admittedly loose industrial wind turbine regulations currently on the books. Discussion around the two opposite positions could make some headway on Monday at the commission's work session at 3 p.m. at the County Office Complex. The county is in the process of modifying its definitions and considering other modifications to the zoning code regarding industrial wind energy conversion systems and wind turbines for residential and agricultural uses.

Despite the national and global focus on energy sources and costs, Worcester County might not pursue an ordinance allowing small wind turbines in rural areas until at least next year. ...Commissioner Bobby Cowger felt there was no rush to draft an ordinance, saying it could wait until the comprehensive rezoning is complete. Wind power guidelines could be started in the winter and then be finished sometime next summer.

Gov. Martin O'Malley has garnered national attention for his goal of reducing Maryland's energy consumption 15 percent by 2015, but his Public Service Commission, which regulates the industry, has rejected nearly every power-saving program proposed by BGE, the state's largest utility. The commission, in an order last week, sent Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. back to the drawing board on all but one of the conservation and energy-efficiency programs submitted for approval. The commission said it would not saddle ratepayers with the total cost - $274 million - after determining that administrative expenses are too high and the payoff in terms of the number of people who would benefit is too uncertain.

One week after moving in, Loudenslager found out that a swath of the farm where cows graze and alfalfa grows soon could be cleared to make way for a high-voltage power line. "It's like a punch to the gut," Loudenslager said. "This is where I've wanted to be my whole life." Loudenslager's farm north of Boonsboro sits on one of several routes that have been suggested for the Potomac Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH), which would run from St. Albans, W.Va., through Bedington, W.Va., to Kemptown, Md., in Frederick County.

It was a good beginning. But there is still a very long way to go. That was the consensus among Allegany County Planning and Zoning Commission members and members of the public who testified Wednesday on the proposed modifications to the zoning code regarding industrial wind energy conversion systems and wind turbines for residential and agricultural uses. The discussion had been initiated in March by Frostburg resident John Bambacus, who has consistently expressed frustration with Garrett County officials for their lack of countywide zoning and virtually no protection from what wind turbine critics argue are the many pitfalls of living near the tall towers.

Cresaptown resident David Athey, a retired college library worker and a Vietnam veteran, said on Tuesday that he and his brother, Charles Athey, of Potomac, Md., feel the project wasn't "explained very well when it came up as an issue." They have five points they'd like county officials and wind energy proponents alike to consider. None of the issues, however, are any that have not been discussed in public forums in wind energy discussions in Allegany and Garrett counties in recent years.

Gov. Martin O'Malley admits he's not really sure how to best solve complex problems relating to looming energy shortfalls. But he said Saturday that state regulators are exploring how to direct utilities to find or produce new power generation sources. O'Malley said regulators are looking at ways to make companies address any "supply shortfalls that the market is not reasonably expected to deliver in time for us to keep the lights on in 2011 or 2012 and the years that follow."

H. Russell Frisby Jr., who was chairman of the Maryland Public Service Commission from 1995 to 1998 and now represents the advocacy group Marylanders for Reliable Power, said Friday at the Maryland Association of Counties summer conference that the clock is ticking for Maryland to free up enough capacity to meet the state's growing demand, and residents need to realize that.

U.S. Wind Force has received a county grading permit for a geotechnical investigation for a commercial wind energy conversion system and access roads near Vale Summit along the ridge of Dan's Mountain. The Allegany County Division of Land Development Services issued the permit July 31, one day after the application was submitted by CME Engineering in Frostburg on behalf of the newly formed Dans Mountain Wind Force LLC. Dans Mountain LLC is a subsidiary of U.S. Wind Force.

A Maryland company and another in New Jersey hope to build wind farms at opposite ends of Maryland.

County Planning Coordinator Phil Hager said Tuesday the item was removed from the agenda "at my recommendation" to give county staff time to review the proposal. "The end goal we're trying to achieve could be better achieved by having it placed in the development standards section of the zoning code (rather) than in the text portion," Hager said. "All other standards for all other zoning classifications and all other uses are included in that section. It doesn't make sense to treat one use differently."

During a work session last week, the Ocean City Mayor and Council reviewed a presentation from Bluewater Wind proposing a 200-turbine wind farm off the coast of the resort with construction beginning by 2013. Delaware recently approved a similar, albeit smaller, project off its Atlantic coastline with an anticipated 60-70 turbines producing enough energy to supply about 50,000 homes in that state. While all agreed the idea has merit from an alternative, renewable energy standpoint, the biggest concern raised during Bluewind's presentation last week was the visibility of the massive windmills from the shore and their impact on the landscape.

Several Phoenix residents are appealing a decision by the Baltimore County zoning board that would allow a couple to build a 120-foot windmill on their property. Neighbors say the windmill that Barry and Urszuela Antonelli hope to construct on their 97-acre property on Cooper Road would be an eyesore and would decrease their property values. "It's the equivalent of having a 12-story structure in your backyard," said John Reistrup, a marketing executive and one of the neighbors who is filing the appeal. "We bought our house specifically for the view."