Indiana Michigan Power has invited 250 residents of Jay, Randolph and Wayne counties to meetings next week to discuss the possibility of developing a wind farm. The electric utility is seeking people willing to lease their land to I&M for the installation of two or three 200-foot meteorological towers to collect wind data. If the data show that a wind farm is feasible, either I&M or a developer would plan to lease land for the installation of wind turbines, typically 50 to 70 of them, each taller than the Statue of Liberty with rotors the size of jumbo-jet wings, said I&M spokesman Mike Brian.

Indiana Michigan Power has a range of energy sources — coal, nuclear power, hydroelectric power. Eventually, wind could be added to the list. I&M announced Wednesday that it would place meteorological test sites in east-central Indiana to explore the economic and technical feasibility of building a wind farm in the area. This is the first time for I&M to do any wind testing in Indiana, said David Mayne, spokesman for I&M.

Spanish firm Iberdrola threatened to walk away from Energy East Corp. Iberdrola SA's Albany officials said the company will halt its $4.5 billion acquisition of Energy East Corp. if state regulators continue to require the sale of wind-farm assets in New York. The New York Public Service Commission is at odds with Iberdrola over the final regulatory deal, the Times Union reported. "We do deals that make sense," he said. "We do deals that are good for the shareholders. If we can't achieve those goals, we don't do the deals," said Pedro Azagra, Iberdrola's corporate development director.

Iberdrola Renewable Energies USA has filed three new conditional-use permit applications with the Ellis County Environmental Office, requesting permission to install three meteorological towers. The towers would be located in the southern portion of the previously proposed wind farm area. The towers would stand 60 meters tall, the same height as the tower installed to collect wind data in 2006, said Project Manager Krista Gordon. ...Wing said the submitted applications are incomplete, and that further information is needed. For example, the application is missing a list of the affected landowners, he said. "There's no way it's going to happen," Wing said of the Nov. 28 meeting. "They're incomplete."

At a time when Idaho trails others in harnessing wind resources, the Office of Energy Resources has disbanded the state's wind-power think tank and reassigned a staff member who had focused on wind projects to work on energy efficiency instead. The staffer, Gerald Fleischman, told the Idaho Wind Power Working Group he "will no longer be able to respond to requests about wind issues and wind projects," according to a letter obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press.

Idaho Power, the state's largest utility, wants Idaho regulators' permission to limit electricity output from wind farms like Terna's at times of low demand, arguing it will protect customers from higher costs. With the matter unresolved, lenders are wary their money is at risk.

They've considered more hydroelectric plants, but depending on the water year they can be unreliable. They’ve also thought of wind turbines, but again those are only as reliable as the wind, and according to them nuclear power isn’t an option for at least 20 years.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that will play a big role in future development of wind power in the Gem State. A complaint filed by Cassia Gulch Wind Park and Cassia Wind Farm alleges an Idaho Power requirement that small-power producers pay for nearly $60 million in transmission upgrades will stifle the economic development of a number of wind projects and delay development of renewable energy in Idaho. “If we’re saddled with a $50 to $60 million burden, there’s no way I could entertain any investors to take on that risk,” said Jared Grover, the developer of the Cassia wind projects near Hagerman, in an interview with CBS 2 News.

At just the time of year when work output slows to a crawl in many organizations, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission is being asked to render a tough decision quickly in a case that has far-reaching implications for wind project development in the state. In September, Jared Grover, developer of the proposed Cassia Gulch Wind Park and Cassia Wind Farm near Hagerman, Idaho, filed a complaint with the commission challenging Idaho Power's intent to charge wind developers the estimated $60 million costs of transmission system upgrades needed to accommodate nearly 200 MW of capacity expected from such projects. Grover's portion of this upgrade would be about $7 million, an amount he says would force him to scrap his projects and would sound the death knell for many other wind projects pending in Idaho.

Idaho Power Co., the state’s largest utility, has told the Idaho Public Utilities Commission that wind farmers should pay the millions of dollars for upgrades needed to connect them to the power grid. Wind farmers say Idaho Power should pay for the upgrades, as required by a 1978 law. The commission is hearing arguments over the dispute.

BUSINESSES in north Northumberland rely heavily on tourism - but if plans to site huge wind farms in the area come to fruition, many fear this income may dry up. Alastair Gilmour reports.

PROPOSALS to erect wind turbines may receive a mixed reaction from village residents. R.H. Bott & Sons is currently looking at developing a wind farm, which would house three turbines, on land north of the A602, south east of Aston and south west of Benington. Its studies show that the site is viable, but before putting in an application it wants to gauge public opinion. An exhibition is being held at Benington Village Hall on July 7 between 11am and 4pm.

....residents in some of Ireland’s premier beauty spots are hoping to make more impact as they battle against the construction of 400ft wind turbines they claim are destroying the countryside. A group of 450 people from 11 counties met in Cashel last week to establish a national committee to campaign against wind farms, driven to action by claims that they create low- frequency noise, destroy natural habitats and interfere with television reception. A second meeting at Ahenny drew 550.

Worried by rising fuel costs and keen to demonstrate concern about climate change, politicians across Canada are devoted to renewable energy. But even some environmentalists are questioning whether the push to introduce such energy sources -- and particularly wind power -- has overtaken the responsibility to prudently plan. "People want to get in on wind power," said Mark Mattson, president of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper. "It's good public relations.... But when you look at it from a provincial point of view and the ratepayers who are paying for it, it's not clear that it's in the best interest to build them."

Plans for five 125-metre high wind turbines on Cragg Lot in Arkholme have caused fury among villagers. Developers Cornwall Light and Power (CLP) is now in discussion with Lancaster City Council over the new scheme.

Plans for five 125-metre high wind turbines on Cragg Lot in Arkholme have caused fury among villagers. Developers Cornwall Light and Power (CLP) is now in discussion with Lancaster City Council over the new scheme. Initially the company had wanted to erect three turbines at a height of 102 metres on the site in the heart of the Lune Valley. Brian Acott, chairman of Stop Turbines in Lunesdale Environment (STILE), said: "These turbines will be 40 per cent taller than the new ones put on Caton Moor so that gives an idea of how big they'll be. "They're going to be monstrously large and nobody around here wants that."

He was hooted and heckled and confronted with counter-arguments by an angry crowd of 300 Eastern Townshippers. But the promoter of a controversial project to turn a dozen farmers' fields near the Vermont border into a gigantic industrial wind park got his point across last night...... At issue is a plan by Cliche's company, SM International Inc., to erect 31 towering, three-rotor wind turbines in local fields, hoping to generate two megawatts of electricity for Hydro-Qubec from each, for a total of 62 megawatts, starting in 2011 for export to the United States.

Campaigners against the Kyle Wind Farm have vowed to continue the fight despite the shock withdrawal of a key objector. The National Air Traffic Service, (NATS), agreed a last-minute deal on Friday with developers AMEC, four days before the Public Inquiry into the scheme which began yesterday, February 20. If the plans are approved, AMEC has agreed to suspend building wind turbines to the north of the development, in the Dalmellington area, until new radar technology has been introduced. However, the Chronicle has seen a document from the Civil Aviation Authority, (CAA), which is being submitted to the Inquiry. It states that the potential solutions to deal with the problem of ‘clutter’ i.e., interference with air traffic signals by the giant turbines, are ‘not at a mature enough stage.’

Revived plans for a Donside windfarm have triggered renewed protest action in the rural area, despite being on a significantly reduced scale. Perth-based npower Renewables last year dropped proposals for an 11-turbine development between Lumsden and Mossat, after 200 letters of objection to the 32ft structures were sent to planners. Having originally identified the area as suitable for up to 20 turbines given layout and wind strength, the energy firm is now seeking planning permission from Aberdeenshire Council for a development of eight wind turbines, access tracks and service structures at Clashnarae Hill, near Kildrummy. The 286-hectare site, owned by Kildrummy Estate, is currently forest and moorland.

It is a quiet landscape of dramatic beauty which was immortalised by one of Scotland’s most famous authors. But Dunbeath Strath, through which runs the Highland river of the title of one of Neil Gunn’s best-loved works, has become the focus of the debate on whether wind farms are a boon or a blight on the land. The area, described as one of Europe’s last true wildernesses, is an environmentally important stretch of sparsely populated bog and moorland.