We have an update on the proposed wind farm in Prattsburgh -- the town board denied a building permit to wind farm developer Eco-Gen.

The developers of a controversial high-voltage power line project are tying their efforts to President Barack Obama's goal to plant more than 3,000 miles of new transmission lines nationwide to promote renewable energy and create jobs. New York Regional Interconnect published an advertorial in the Albany-area publication The Capitol this week, which called on elected officials to support its $2.1 billion project "at a time when our deeply stressed state budget would be hard-pressed to pay for a large infrastructure upgrade."

Green companies are in retreat, with a wave of staff layoffs and production cuts that could have dire consequences for governments' efforts to fight climate change by quickly bringing low-carbon power projects on stream. Siemens, Clipper Windpower and even BP are among the big names that say they are reacting to a slowdown in the clean energy sector, which had hitherto seen massive growth.

The Naples School Board voted last week to accept an agreement with First Wind that would give the district higher payments on any windmills the company may build within the district boundaries. ...At this point, Macaluso said First Wind has put the project on hold because of finance troubles.

Private wind energy projects in the US that aim to take advantage of financing available through the proposed economic stimulus bill under consideration by Congress will not be affected by the bill's so-called Buy American provision, a spokeswoman from the American Wind Energy Association told Platts on Thursday.

The wind is picking up again. Town Supervisor Tom Garretson, worried that tax revenues will begin dropping due to the recession, has directed his Alternative Energy Committee to begin exploring what size wind farm can be accommodated on East Hill under the town's wind regulations.

New York state officials are using a small wind turbine atop Albany's tallest building to test a big renewable-energy idea. The turbine stands 17 feet above the roof of the 41-story Corning Tower. ...But the idea isn't to use the turbine - which resembles a large pinwheel - to offset the tower's energy use. Instead, workers will use it to test the feasibility of larger urban wind-energy programs, Egan said.

Another showdown appears to be brewing between the state Department of Public Service and Energy East Corp. An attorney for the department believes Energy East Corp., the parent company of Rochester Gas and Electric Corp., is doing OK despite the recession and credit crunch. But officials from RG&E and New York State Electric and Gas Corp., also an Energy East company, apparently feel otherwise.

The town of Orleans Citizen Wind Committee was encouraged to focus on public health and safety at its first meeting Thursday night. "The primary concern of any project is public safety," Councilman Dean T. Morrow told the committee. "We want to make sure that you all focus on our objective - that where we place windmills is not going to harm people and the environment."

With little news from developers and fears of low returns on revenue, the Town of Hartsville might hold off on allowing anyone to build a wind farm until the details get ironed out. The Hartsville town board voted 3-2 at Wednesday night's meeting to consider a law placing a moratorium on wind turbine development. Town Supervisor Steve Dombert proposed the idea following a discussion on revenue benefits for the town and how they would compare to other municipalities.

Work on two wind parks in development in Chateaugay have been suspended for the immediate future. Both the 13-turbine Noble Chateaugay II Wind Park and Horizon Wind Energy's 53-turbine Jericho Rise project will not make any progress this year, both as a result of the unstable economy.

Noble Environmental Power has suspended plans for the second phase of wind-farm construction in Chateaugay because of the poor global economy. But the easements for landowners, payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements for communities and wind projects already operational in Chateaugay and Clinton County will all continue as is, said Andrea Dumas, the project developer for Chateaugay II.

The Invenergy corporation has completed its financing for the High Sheldon Wind Farm. The company on Wednesday announced a series of financing deals covering three projects. They include Sheldon, along with additional wind farms in Texas and Oregon.

Buying a small wind turbine to power a home can be costly - in the range of $12,000 to $70,000 (including installation fees), according to Ron Stimmel, the small wind expert at the American Wind Energy Association. A number of states offer help. ...But is small wind even a good idea?

The final scope of the Westfield-Ripley wind project will include 83 wind turbines: 47 in Westfield and 36 in Ripley.

Neighbors just across the southern border of Madison County may be getting a new wind farm in the near future. According to town of Smyrna Planning Board Chairman Peter Maynard, some residents received correspondence about the proposed project in November. ...Maynard said the town of Smyrna has a moratorium in place regarding windmills.

Though he isn't in a local courtroom, Franklin County District Attorney Derek Champagne has been busy working with other prosecutors and interested parties to suggest changes to law and procedure and to determine what will be required of the Attorney General's task force on wind power. ...Champagne said the task force is still working to determined how Cuomo intended the committee to run; who it will answer to; and what recommendations it is supposed to make. "For now, we spent time reviewing the complaints about the wind energy companies and the way they've been doing business in the state."

Horizon Wind Energy, the Houston, Tx.-based firm behind the proposal of a wind farm in the towns of Ellenburg and Clinton, has delayed construction for the multi-million dollar project. ..."I think, in general, the issue is more economic than anything else," [project manager Gary S.] Davidson continued. "It's expensive to build, expensive to develop in New York. Within just the past six months, the price of power in New York has just dropped and I think that's a temporary thing."