"It's massive. It's as large as Manhattan. And it's in the middle of my Senate district," O'Leary said of the Cape Wind project. "There's been no debate within the law-making body about the project and what the state's role should be in terms of the size and scale. I think we need that debate."

Gov. Martin O'Malley has scheduled a trip to western Maryland to announce whether his administration will allow wind turbines on state forest land. ...The planned announcement will cap four months of heated debate over a company's proposal to lease and clear hundreds of acres in the western mountains to erect about 100 turbines for electricity generation.

The town is poised to become Maine’s first municipality to enact guidelines aimed at eliminating adverse impacts allegedly caused by industrial wind sites, Town Manager Dale Morris said Wednesday. Intended for First Wind’s $120 million wind-to-energy facility proposed for Oakfield Hills, the guidelines set a post-construction protocol for noise complaints and require post-construction sound monitoring, Morris said. They also require First Wind to fix problems that occur, he said.

The town will begin its review today of a plan submitted by the state's largest wind power developer to build a 34-turbine, 51-megawatt wind-to-energy facility along Oakfield Hills. The Wind Energy Review Facility Committee will start reviewing First Wind of Massachusetts' application to build the $120 million facility at 6:30 p.m. at the Oakfield Community Center, Town Manager Dale Morris said. He strongly urged residents to attend.

Planners are recommending an objection be lodged to revised plans for 71 wind turbines in the Ae Forest.

After a public hearing on a proposed local wind energy facilities law Wednesday, the town board put off voting on its adoption. Trustees will discuss the issue at a special work session at a date to be announced, Supervisor Mark Chamberlain said. ...the board has written a new version establishing wind energy tower restrictions for the general health, welfare and safety of its residents, Chamberlain said. ..."It started out as four sentences. It is now 24 pages," Chamberlain said. "It talks about many aspects of wind energy conversion."

Plans for the controversial windfarm at the disused RAF Lissett airfield have been given the green light and the £25 million project is expected to start work this autumn. Twelve wind turbines are to be erected by Novera Energy Ltd on the 195 hectare site starting in around October and are expected to remain in place for the next 25 years. But residents are still up in arms about the potential threat to their quality of life which the 125 metre (410 feet) tall turbines could pose.

Plans for new wind turbines would have a "severe" effect on a North-east area, according to a conservation group. Historic Scotland has objected to the scheme for two turbines at Strath of Brydock, Alvah, near Banff, because it says the project is too close to Grade A-listed Inchdrewer Castle. Now Aberdeenshire councillors, who will decide on a planning application for the project, want to see the area first. Historic Scotland has argued that the turbines would spoil the currently clear vista. Aberdeenshire planners are also concerned by the effect on the wider landscape. Councillors are due to visit the site next week, and the application will be considered at a future meeting of the Banff and Buchan area committee. The 16th century castle is owned by Robin de la Lanne-Mirrlees, laird of Great Bernera in the Outer Hebrides.

Objectors to a major wind farm plan say developers have exaggerated its green benefits and failed to carry out proper studies on the impact it will have. British-Dutch developer Infinergy/LZN plans to build 22 turbines, up to 410ft high, on the Lochluichart Estate, near Garve in Wester Ross. Among the objectors to the £53 million plan are 16 neighbouring estates, which say it would harm tourism and affect bird populations.

Windfarm objectors in Skye are considering legal action in response to Highland Council’s approval of a 10-turbine project near the village of Edinbane. The Skye Windfarm Action Group (Swag) is consulting lawyers following yesterday’s go-ahead from the council’s local Skye and Lochalsh area planning committee for a quarry to support RDC’s development which received planning permission last week.

Wind farm objectors, including a number of large-scale barley tillage farmers, yesterday won a landmark planning battle, shooting down plans for 17 giant wind turbines, taller than the Spire of Dublin. After a high-profile fight, An Bord Pleanala finally refused permission for Dutch developers WEOM to erect the 400ft-high turbines at Kilbraney, Co Wexford. The decision puts down a national marker that planners will not automatically give the green light for wind farms where they can visually damage the landscape and impact on the lives of local people.

Protesters were celebrating today after plans for a wind farm were turned down. A majority of councillors voted against an application to put up nine 80-metre turbines at St John’s Hill at Stonehaven. And the council ruling was a boon for Scottish literature fans as the rural site is believed to have inspired Lewis Grassic Gibbon to write his classic novel Sunset Song. Protester Jilly Arbuthnott said: “I am very pleased. It was the wrong place for a wind farm.”

Crows Nest Shire Council s chief executive officer says the ongoing dispute over the wind farm for Upper Pinelands continues with the council and objectors failing to reach a mediated agreement. Mr David McEvoy said the council was hoping to reach an agreement with opponents of the wind farm, which would preclude the need for the case to go before a Planning and Environment Court judge.

The open sea would be a more appropriate site for wind farms rather than the Ochil Hills, according to one of the groups objecting to current proposals. "In view of the plethora of wind farm proposals, we urge the new parliament to seriously consider offshore wind farms in preference to onshore, especially in view of the increased operational efficiency of offshore wind turbines," said Alison Grave, secretary of the Windfarms Awareness Group. "Monster turbines over 300 feet high should be offshore not in hills such as the Ochils."

An assurance from Gov. Rick Perry about the future of wind energy is already boosting spirits in Odessa. Neil McDonald, economic development director of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce, said he is now talking with three wind power-generation companies interested in the Odessa area. McDonald acknowledged that Perry’s announcement will help those negotiations along as well as possibly bringing more wind-power representatives to West Texas. McDonald said it was still too early to identify the companies.

The Ontario Energy Board today issued an Order granting an application by Kruger Energy Port Alma Limited Partnership ("KEPA") for leave to construct transmission facilities which will connect a wind generating station to the transmission facilities of Hydro One Networks Inc.

Texas is now the number one wind energy state in the country -- producing more power from wind than any other state. Now Texas is also the first to allow wind energy production off-shore -- energy which could not only power our homes and businesses, but also pay for the education of our children. In a small room filled with large maps, the future of Texas energy might be taking shape.

Cape Wind's project has been rocky, with a vocal opposition expressing concerns about the effect off-shore wind turbines would have on fish and bird populations, tourism and property values and fighting the project in court. It is also the first proposed off-shore wind project in the country, raising many questions about the permitting process. But whether the situation in Massachusetts will affect Bluewater Wind's project remains to be seen. "I think it's too early to tell whether it helps or hurts, but any momentum will support additional off-shore wind projects," said Jim Lanard, a spokesman for Bluewater Wind. "We do not expect to run into the major hurdles that Cape Wind has experienced, and therefore predict that our approval process will be considerably shorter than theirs."

The views of community councils, a neighbouring local authority and 131 residents have been cast aside with plans for 16 wind turbines on Mynydd y Betws likely to be given the go-ahead. Councillors from Betws, Cwmaman, Llanedi, Ammanford and Llandybie have all objected to the proposal, as has Neath Port Talbot Council. However, the application, which also covers an anemometer mast, electrical sub-station and control building, electrical connections and access roads, has been recommended for approval.

ROANOKE -- A state hearing examiner has recommended construction of the first utility-grade wind farm in Virginia, provided it meets conditions to minimize harm to the environment. The recommendation announced Thursday goes to the State Corporation Commission, which will decide whether to approve construction of the 19-turbine development on Highland County ridges. SCC hearing examiner Alexander Skirpan found that the project by Highland New Wind Development poses a risk to bats and birds, but said a monitoring program by the company and a state agency following construction would help reduce the hazard.