"It is unreliable, it is unpredictable and it doesn't work in Vermont. Economically, it would be a disaster," Kilmartin said at a public hearing last week on the latest regional development plan being drafted by Northeastern Vermont Development, the regional economic agency.

Growing interest in wind power has led to six new wind farm proposals in Vermont and at least five wind farms now being constructed or under discussion in New Hampshire. In Maine, at least two projects are facing reviews

BETHLEHEM, NH - Alternative energy facilities, such as the Pinetree Power plant that operates on Route 116, and has for the past 20 years, are watching House Bill 873 closely this legislative session. The bill will require power companies that sell directly to consumers to purchase power from renewable energy producers such as Pinetree, which turns wood chips into power, thereby stabilizing their future in the energy marketplace in New Hampshire, said Mark Driscoll, the Pinetree plant manager. The bill will also encourage other renewable energy producers such as those planning an energy park in the town of Northumberland, to move forward with their plans, said state legislators who are sponsoring the bill in Concord. And the bill promises to improve the environment and public health at the same time by encouraging more "green" power sources and making sure producers install the latest emissions controls.

Plans to build a 140-mile line of high-voltage power towers in New Hampshire's North Country is generating opposition.

New Hampshire's Senate has voted unanimously to pass a bill to promote greater development of renewable energy, a move that's expected to reduce pollution and grow the alternative energy industry in the state. The legislation requires electric utilities to buy a growing percentage of their energy from sources such as wood-fired plants, wind farms and hydro power. The goal is to have 25 percent of the state's electricity coming from renewable sources by 2025. The bill passed the House and has Gov. John Lynch's support. The legislation is expected to encourage investment in alternative energy in New Hampshire, which supporters say could shore up the logging industry, create new jobs and improve the state's environmental quality.

Bradley's amendment would require the first dollar from RGGI auctions to go toward energy efficiency projects and the rest to ratepayers; allows the state to pull out if one other New England state does; and revamps the manner in which projects are awarded.

LEMPSTER, N.H. --When Kevin and Debra Onnela moved to their 1,500-acre mountaintop spread 27 years ago, a homemade windmill provided all the electricity they needed -- and more.

New York's far-reaching investigation into allegations that wind developers paid local officials to approve their energy projects moved into the state of Vermont this week. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that his office issued a subpoena to Reunion Power, a wind energy developer with offices in Manchester Center and Hackensack, N.J., as part of its ongoing investigation.

National Grid says it might pull its natural gas and electricity business out of New Hampshire because regulators have rejected its plan for new rates, although it has not made any formal notification for such a move. The British-based company provides electricity and natural gas in scattered locations around the state.

NEWPORT – Energy developers preparing to petition the Public Service Board for permission to build a 106-watt natural gas-fueled power plant in the Northeast Kingdom already have some agreements with Vermont utilities.

According to an email from Deputy Secretary Christopher Recchia "(the agency) did not see a way of overcoming these resource obstacles, as there is no opportunity for nearby off site compensation that could maintain the connectivity goal, not to mention the steep hurdle of the natural communities on the site."

Being close to a windmill lowers the value of a property, says Derby's Board of Civil Authority (BCA). After inspecting property belonging to George and Doris Buzzell, the board decided to lower its appraised value by 10 percent from $242,300 to $227,600. ...According to the minutes of recent BCA meetings, the Buzzells objected to the recent revaluation of their property on Ridgehill Drive off Shattuck Hill Road. The couple was represented at meetings on October 29 and November 7 by Trevor Evans and Raymond Toolan. Mr. Toolan argued that noise and light from a windmill within 300 feet of the Buzzells' house lessens the home's value. The Buzzells say noises, vibrations and lights from the windmill, owned by Senator Vince Illuzzi and located on his property, interfere with the enjoyment of their home. Mr. Buzzell's "quality of living is far different today than when he purchased the property," Mr. Toolan said.

Dozens of others also claimed to have heard the loud whooshing sounds from the blades throughout the weekend. Thirty-three neighbors submitted a petition to the Department of Public Service, claiming the noise was "horrendous" even with only half the turbines running.

The amendment to the appropriations bill stated that no agency of the state, including the public service board and the agency of natural resources, shall issue a land use, siting or environmental permit, certificate, or other approval authorizing the construction or operation of any wind generation plant with a plant capacity greater than 2.2 megawatts.

The board's approval came after the company's landowner-partner did some unauthorized work on the mountain and by building a logging road and filling in part of a nearby wetland.

It was a letter from GMP's attorney threatening to sue the Nelsons if they persist in letting "guests" occupy a campsite too close to the top of the project site to permit blasting. The damages GMP would attempt to recover could easily exceed $1-million, the letter said ..."I can take one and a quarter million and run, or be fined a million bucks," Mr. Nelson said Tuesday. “That’s a good way to handle a Vermont farmer on his retirement.”

Working behind the scenes, Green Mountain Power (GMP) attempted to engineer - and help finance - the purchase of the 586-acre farm of two of the harshest and most persistent critics of its proposed commercial wind project on Lowell Mountain.

South Farm, a six-home development on the edge of Hinesburg village, is one of the first -- if not the first -- Vermont subdivision to aim for "net-zero" status, meaning over the course of a year it will generate more electricity from clean, renewable sources than it draws from utility power lines. Succeeding also means close to zero emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.