The 38-turbine wind farm along Stetson mountain's long, low ridgeline of 600 to 1,200 feet is the second in the state completed by First Wind ...Even as power begins flowing from the Stetson project, a 17-turbine extension known as Stetson II is in the permitting stages.

Three months after a local company began a yearlong study to determine if a commercial wind farm would be viable in a ridge off Route 236, officials said initial results are "marginal." "They're not spectacular," said Richard Benoit, president of the Cape Neddick-based Ra Power Solutions. ...Benoit declined to say how fast initial results showed the wind speed to be, but added the study will continue its course.

In a four-and-a-half-hour public workshop with Central Maine Power Co. officials, city councilors Tuesday demanded to know why the electric company needs a $1.5 billion upgrade to its system. Why does CMP find it necessary to install high-capacity power lines through the area? Why can't the company come up with a different way to keep Maine's lights on, since so many people are opposed to the proposal?

A public meeting will be held 4:30 p.m. Monday at the Outdoor Center to hear about a developer's plan for this town to annex a parcel of Redington Township so a 90-megawatt wind power project on Redington and Black Nubble Mountains can be built. This comes after years of permit denials for the project by the state's Land Use Regulation Commission, which, if the town's annexation were to be successful, would no longer have the authority over the project.

Largely because of an appeal of First Wind of Massachusetts' town permit to build a proposed $130 million wind farm, Town Manager Lisa Goodwin expects the town will spend more than its $10,000 budget on attorneys' fees by budget year's end on June 30, she said Monday. Goodwin wasn't complaining, calling appeals of planning board decisions "part of doing business," but said the appeal was unexpected.

Back in November, the selectmen announced that Harley Lee, president of Endless Energy Corporation of Yarmouth had approached the town about the possibility of annexing part of Redington Township. This is Lee's latest initiative to see a 90 megawatt wind farm come to light on the Redington Pond Range and Black Nubble mountains. After nearly two decades of trying ...the LURC commissioners themselves reject the project nearly unanimously. However, if the town did annex part of Redington Township, the LURC decision would have no bearing and the wind farm project would gain new life.

Wind turbines may not be in the city's immediate -- or long-term -- future. An interest by some Rockland councilors to have wind turbines erected on Dodge Mountain to generate electricity for the community does not appear to be feasible. David St. Laurent, the city's transfer station director, said he contacted wind-power operators about the feasibility of generating electricity from wind turbines in Rockland.

Politicians, scientists and policymakers seek to put Maine at the forefront of an energy revolution powered by world-class wind power blowing against the state's entire coast. The Ocean Energy Task Force, convened by Gov. John Baldacci, held its first meeting last week to begin the work of determining how the Atlantic Ocean might power homes, businesses and transportation in Maine and beyond.

The Dixmont Board of Selectmen is holding a public hearing Wednesday night on a proposed 180 day moratorium on wind farm development. There is no formal proposal yet in Dixmont but the company that developed Beaver Ridge Wind LLC in Freedom is now pursuing plans to develop a similar project in Dixmont. Mount Harris Wind LLC put an anemometer atop Mount harris a year ago to study the feasibility of a wind farm.

A Yarmouth wind-energy company wants the town of Carrabassett Valley to annex the upper portion of Redington Township to pave the way for a wind farm. Harley Lee, president of Endless Energy Corp., broached the idea to selectmen and will bring a concept plan touting benefits of the wind farm to the board in the future. "We are looking at it to do a community-based wind project," Lee said Tuesday.

Selectmen say that they have been approached by a private company about the possibility of annexing a part of Redington Township for the purposes of developing a wind power project. ...Endless Energy intends to submit a plan to selectmen and eventually begin meeting with people in the community prior to holding informational meetings.

But it hopes to build a 5-gigawatt, deep-water wind farm - the largest in the world ...The target generating capacity of 5 gigawatts equals the power required to replace the use of home heating oil in winter, said Simmons. But more could be generated if necessary. The Gulf of Maine has an estimated total wind power potential of 100 gigawatts. The farm would likely be split into five sections, each about eight nautical miles, or 9.2 miles, or 14.8 kilometers, square, containing 200 turbines generating 5 megawatts each.

Todd Presson and Trevor Childs from Patriot Renewables of Quincy, Mass., said the wind farm would have five turbines. Each would produce 1.5 megahertz of electricity from towers 260 feet high. The towers would have 121-foot-long blades and three of the five towers would have flashing lights for safety. "The generators are not as noisy as some fear," Presson said. "The sound does carry a half mile but people standing at the bottom of a tower can comfortably talk to each other without shouting."

A lengthy presentation by the principals of the proposed Record Hill Wind Project and from several others affiliated with the plan drew questions from residents at a Department of Environmental Protection public hearing Thursday. "My concern has always been how the sound is going to travel," resident Linda Kuras said. She noted that sound studies conducted on the project were performed in August, a time when the wind is generally at a low ebb, and wondered if any study showed how sound can rebound off mountains around the proposed project area.

Despite having yet gained town acceptance of its proposed wind power project in Roxbury, a Brunswick-based wind developer will convene an informational meeting next week with state environmental officials present. Robert Gardiner of Record Hill Wind LLC and Independence Wind LLC said the meeting will be held from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20 ...In a letter dated Tuesday to Roxbury residents, Gardiner explained that Record Hill Wind isn't trying to bypass an upcoming Roxbury town vote regarding allowing wind power projects on town hills.

First Wind is seeking approval for a 40-turbine wind project on ridgelines in the communities of Lincoln, Lee, Winn, Burlington and Mattawamkeag. The company filed paperwork for the Rollins Mountain project with the Lincoln planning board last week and submitted applications to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection late last month. The company also submitted applications last week to the Land Use Regulation Commission for a 17-turbine wind project outside of the town of Danforth in northern Washington County.

Residents gave town officials the green light Thursday, Nov. 6, at a special meeting, to get more information from companies interested in erecting wind turbines in Jackson. The vote came after extensive discussion and a number of changes to the way the authorization was worded. The special town meeting was prompted by announcements a month earlier that two different companies were interested in putting wind turbines on town-owned land as part of a larger project that would stretch across three communities.

A group of residents again pressed the new Town Council on Monday night for a 180-day moratorium on wind farms as their reaction to a Massachusetts developer's proposal for a $130 million wind farm. ..."There must be a reason why so many towns in the United States and Europe are holding moratoriums on wind farms," resident Joan Goodwin said. "A huge chunk of land within our towns will be forever blighted by this." About 80 people attended the meeting, held at Mattanawcook Academy to accommodate the crowd.

Turbines have been controversial in recent years, with recreation organizations and nature groups opposing large-scale private wind farms in western and northern Maine. Publicly owned, single turbines have been less controversial. Although they [backyard turbines] can save homeowners 30 to 80 percent on their electric bills, it can take up to a decade - sometimes longer - to recoup the cost. Experts say turbine owners won't be happy with wind power unless they're pursuing it to help the environment as well as save money.

A citizens group that opposes a proposed $120 million wind farm on Rollins Mountain has acquired a headquarters, a Web site and is in talks with an attorney, leading members said Wednesday. The Friends of Lincoln Lakes hopes to use the Web site, friendsoflincolnlakes.org, as a magnet for others statewide and nationwide who oppose or want to learn about wind farms such as those proposed by First Wind of Massachusetts.