Shell WindEnergy is scouting rural Albany County for places to develop commercial wind farms. Representatives from Shell and the Cinco Energy Land Services consulting firm have approached landowners in the Rensselaerville and New Scotland areas about property lease agreements. The Houston firms want to use that land to site up to 50 wind turbines in two separate groups, the Altamont Enterprise weekly newspaper reported last week. "We are active in the area and elsewhere in the state," said Shell spokesman Tim O'Leary.

The Farmersville Town Board will meet in a special session at 7 p. m. Monday to discuss the possibility of placing a moratorium on permits for wind-energy generating facilities. Officials also canceled a public hearing Wednesday on a proposal to increase wind project application fees and amended the town's law regulating wind farms. The board met in a closed-door session Sept. 24 with the town's wind-energy consultant, Donald Swanz, and a representative of Noble Environmental Power, which has met with the board several times to discuss a possible wind farm to connect with a proposed project, Noble Freedom Windpark in the neighboring Town of Freedom.

Shell Oil and Cinco Energy Land Services are looking to build commercial wind farms on both state and private land in Rensselaerville and New Scotland. Representatives have been approaching residents about leasing their properties. Shell has been tight-lipped about the project's details, and neither town has zoning regulating the building of windmills. Part of this project involves building on the Partridge Run State Wildlife Management Area in the Helderbergs.

Environmental Conservation added several sections that will be required in the environmental impact statement for Galloo Island Wind Farm, under the final scoping document it has released. ... He specifically cited security and archaeological concerns that were added to the scope. There are remains of historic activities or features that may be destroyed during construction, such as features from the cedar shingle industry. A mitigation measure was added under which photographic and written documentation of the feature would be completed before it is destroyed.

Last week the agency announced that it had implemented a centralized wind forecasting system that will enable the ISO to better predict how much wind will be generated at each wind farm in the state. ..."Because of wind's intermittent nature, something like this is critical," Klapp said. "Take a wind farm that's putting out 10 megawatts of energy. We can't assume that's going to be consistent. [The forecasting system] tells us what we can expect." Unexpected ebbs in supply could cause reliability problems, he said.

Cattaraugus County has retained its ability to tax alternative energy systems - including wind farms, solar energy systems and on-farm methane digesters - with a 16-2 vote for passage of a local law Tuesday. The law applies to facilities within the county, including as many as four potential wind farm projects under consideration, and effectively disarms a state tax code provision exempting these energy sources from taxes. ...The vote came after residents and elected officials from the towns of Freedom, Machias and Farmersville stated their opposition in a 45-minute public hearing. Most said they were told the IDA's payment-in-lieu-of- taxes (PILOT) agreements will unfairly take a share of the wind farms' monetary payments.

A year after nixing an offshore wind farm near Jones Beach, the Long Island Power Authority will explore a new, larger proposal with Con Edison for a field of up to 100 turbines off the coast of Queens. LIPA chief executive Kevin Law today is expected to announce the formation of a working group with Con Ed to study the feasibility of a "significant" wind farm, possibly 10 miles off the Rockaways. If the two utilities can agree on a plan, they will draw up a request for proposals, perhaps early next year. Law emphasized that any plan would have to be economically feasible. LIPA's financial picture already includes tentative plans to overhaul old fossil-fuel plants and take on the state's largest solar energy project, on top of a $6.6 billion debtload.

Gary Davidson, a project manager for Horizon Wind Energy, was present to answer questions from citizens and board members during the September 10 Town Board meeting. When asked to explain the process for developing property, Davidson explained, "We typically approach landowners. We have wind maps, we try to match up wind with nearby transmission [facilities]. At some point, we usually try to introduce ourselves. Our history here in Ashford goes back about five years working with land owners on Dutch Hill."

A legal roadblock attempting to sideline wind development in Cohocton was dismissed Tuesday morning. Steuben County Supreme Court Judge Marianne Furfure sided with Cohocton town officials, wind development company First Wind and leaseholders Tuesday morning, dismissing three lawsuits filed by Cohocton Wind Watch to overturn the special use permits that allowed the 50-turbine project to be built.

The Lyme Town Council faced several options at its meeting yesterday, after a state supreme court judge decided its law on wind turbine setbacks was not valid. The law, according to wind farm developers, makes Lyme an impossible location for development, frustrating some land owners who are interested in the project. The board could appeal the ruling, impose another moratorium or go back to the drawing board.

At its meeting Wednesday night, the Town Council decided to appeal a judge's ruling that knocked down its wind energy facility law. After an executive session that lasted nearly an hour, the council voted 5-0 to appeal state Supreme Court Judge Hugh A. Gilbert's Aug. 21 decision to side with 10 property owners who said that the council acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" when it rejected a petition protesting the adoption of a local law regulating the siting of wind turbines. Members of Voters for Wind vowed to fight the town in the judicial appeals. "We will carry on," Dawn M. Munk said. "We're very disappointed. Not surprised, but disappointed."

A proposed local law to require new electric transmission lines to be buried will have a public hearing at 8 p.m. Oct. 2, the next Town Council meeting. The council did not vote on the measure at its meeting Thursday night because the proposed zoning law amendment has not yet had a public hearing. ...While placing transmission lines underground is up to 10 times as expensive as running them overhead, there are reduced maintenance and repair costs. In the United States, it is becoming more common for 230- and 345-kv lines to be placed underground, especially in large cities.

It's up to a judge to settle a dispute over a plan to build wind farms in the town of Prattsburgh. When completed, the wind turbines would be similar to the ones now being built in Cohocton. Friday lawyers for people opposed to the eminent domain proceedings went before a judge to try to stop it. Their lawsuit says the town supervisor, whose vote allowed the project to go forward has a conflict of interest, because he helped First Wind buy some land.

First Wind, a wind energy company that has pledged $50 million to help buy Molokai Ranch lands, is under investigation on the mainland for allegations of improper dealings with public officials and anti-competitive practices. New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo began investigations in July to find out if the company obtained land-use agreements with residents and public officials through bribes and submitted false statements for permits and during environmental studies.

A fledgling investment group is eyeing the town as a location for a wind power project. Ronald J. Scrudato has talked to town Supervisor Clyde E. Moore and one landowner. He represents an investment firm so young, it's name isn't set yet. But so far, it's called Delfea and it is based in New Jersey. ...The company would offer leases of 50 to 100 years, with up to $5,000 per year per turbine for the property owner, but the compensation would depend on the productivity of the turbine.

Representatives for the town of Prattsburgh, the project developer for "First Wind," and many upset landlords will present their cases Friday in front of a State Supreme Court Judge in Bath. The dispute is over controversial votes by the Town Supervisor allowing the town to pursue eminent domain.

While the town of Enfield and Newfield do their homework on what it means to have electricity powered by wind, developer John Rancich continues to encourage local organizations to fund his proposed project in the town of Endfield. ...Homework may not be the only thing holding up the process. With the project costing approximately $120 million, it's understandable that interested parties in Enfield and Newfield are doing more than the required research. Rancich, however, could not comment on what entities are interested.

Auburn school Superintendent Joseph Pabis said he's been thinking about the possibility of harnessing some of the wind near the high school and Owasco Outlet by putting up a windmill and solar panels at the school. "We're just in the concept stage," he said Wednesday. "We're trying to get some vendors interested so we can move forward." ..."I started a dialogue with one company, Larsen Engineers, and they are reviewing this," he said. Larsen is headquartered in Rochester, with an office in Syracuse.

Keith Pitman, president and chief executive officer of Empire State Wind Energy from Oneida, said his company is interested in developing a wind project in Alfred. "We only want to build projects in communities that want us there," he said. ..."Bullying tactics are commonly used in the wind farm industry," said Pitman. He promised his company is not secretive or aggressive with its plans.