"We're going to basically get going on the permitting process," Colbeck said. "We wouldn't be spending the money if we didn't think we could get it approved." ...E.On, a German-owned company, purchased the North American division of the Irish-run Airtricity in October 2007. ...The turbines are expected to cover a large swath of ground in the town, Colbeck said, with some turbines in the north and some in the south. While E.On is moving forward, Hartsville town Supervisor Steve Dombert is looking forward to what the townspeople will see in terms of compensation for the project's impact on the town of around 500 residents.

There's a new wind farm sprouting in the Champlain Valley. Horizon Wind Energy is ready to harness upstate New York's wind. With a site already set for construction, Horizon is just waiting for a permit. And in the meantime, the company is reaching out to the community.

BP will show the layout for the 95 turbines, explain where the studies stand and answer questions on the project. Dereth B. Glance, program director for Citizens Campaign for the Environment, will give a 6 p.m. presentation on wind power. ...Mr. Madden said there are 68 landowners hosting the 95 turbines in the Cape Vincent agricultural area. Each turbine will be a GE 1.5-megawatt turbine, giving the farm a capacity of 142.5 megawatts. "We're still in discussion with a few landowners and working on a few good-neighbor agreements to possibly add a few more turbines," Mr. Madden said.

The complaints last year were at first sporadic to Franklin County District Attorney Derek Champagne's office in this small North Country town. Then the outcry grew. Residents were alleging undue influence was being put on local leaders to approve multi-million-dollar wind farms, with turbines 200 feet or taller, in their rural communities near the Canadian border. To Champagne's dismay, he believed some of the public officials approving the contracts were also leasing their own land to the wind developers. Champagne found as many as seven town-board members in Franklin County who allegedly had conflicts of interest. ...Champagne calls it New York's version of the "gold rush" and said it's the next Enron scandal in the making.

From a perpetually broken "hybrid" solar light ($37,382) and a malfunctioning electric laundry system ($73,907) to a $21 million fuel-cell program plagued by breakdowns and reporting irregularities, LIPA's research and development program has been the subject of criticism from legislators, business leaders and even the authority's new management. "LIPA is not a business incubator or a venture capital firm, therefore any and all boondoggle R&D projects now coming to light must be accounted for fully and dealt with expeditiously to avoid the waste of ratepayer money," said Suffolk Legis. Wayne Horsley, chairman of the legislature's energy committee. ...LIPA sometimes seemed eager to move ahead with projects, even if test sites weren't formalized. In 2001, it launched a program to put five wind turbines on Long Island farmland. After buying the equipment, it found only a single farm, in Calverton, that would accept a windmill.

Massachusetts-based First Wind, formerly known as UPC Wind, is the subject of allegations of wrongdoing in New York, along with a Connecticut-based Noble Environmental Power LLC, according to the New York Attorney General's Office. First Wind is the firm behind the wind farm proposal in Sheffield. N.Y. Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo alleges there have been improper dealings with public officials as well as anti-competitive practices. ...The state's approval is being challenged in a suit now being considered by the Vermont Supreme Court, which heard arguments in the case in Montpelier in May.

At its meeting last Wednesday, the Westfield Town Board took the next step in the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process for the Ripley-Westfield Wind Farm Project proposed by Babcock & Brown. ...the Town Board issued a Positive Declaration and scheduled a scoping hearing.

Cohocton Wind Watch is gratified with the decision of New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to launch a formal investigation into the business practices of First Wind/UPC Wind and Noble Environmental Power. This groundbreaking inquiry includes conduct of Public Officials and evidence of Wind Industry Anti-Competitive Practices. CWW has compiled comprehensive evidence, volumes of empirical data and a paper trail of proof that public officials, developers and their agents and leaseholders have acted collectively to defraud NYS.

Noble Environmental Power LLC and a second wind-energy firm are under investigation by the state Attorney General's Office for "improper dealings with public officials and anti-competitive practices." "We've had a number of complaints from counties all over the state, from Franklin all the way over to Erie," said John Milgrim, spokesman for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Franklin County District Attorney Derek Champagne was among "DAs from eight counties, public officials and citizens" who bombarded Albany with complaints about Noble and Massachusetts-based First Wind, formerly known as UPC Wind, he said. ...DA Champagne said he is relieved Cuomo is taking the lead in investigating the claims because such a far-reaching probe would have overwhelmed his office and staff. "The Attorney General is clearly a man of his word when he said his office would be involved," he said, adding that he does not know if any local individuals could be charged with a crime.

State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo reported today he has started investigating two companies developing and operating wind farms amid allegations of improper dealings with public officials and anti-competitive practices. One of the companies served a subpoena is Massachusetts-based First Wind (formerly known as UPC Wind). First Wind began construction last fall of roughly 50 turbines in Cohocton, located in Steuben County just over the Ontario County line. First Wind also has plans for a 36-turbine project in Prattsburgh and Naples.

Subpoenas were served on Newton, Massachusetts-based First Wind (formerly known as UPC Wind) and Essex, Connecticut-based Noble Environmental Power, LLC. They are part of an investigation into whether companies developing wind farms improperly sought or obtained land-use agreements with citizens and public officials; whether improper benefits were given to public officials to influence their actions, and whether they entered into anti-competitive agreements or practices.

Wind power might be coming to the shores of southern Orange County's largest lake. A company that recently won approval to install a 111-foot turbine at Sullivan County Community College is now looking to build a small wind farm near Lions Field and the Department of Public Works building in Greenwood Lake. ...Just how many turbines would actually be built, who would pay for them and what kind of financial partnership the company and village would strike are all unsettled.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating two western New York wind-farm developers amid allegations of improper dealings with public officials and anti-competitive practices. Cuomo said Tuesday his office has received numerous complaints regarding the business dealings of First Wind, based in Newton, Mass., and Noble Environmental Power, LLC., based in Essex, Conn. Cuomo said the investigation will look into allegations that the companies improperly obtained land-use agreements, influenced public officials with "improper benefits" and entered into anti-competitive agreements.

The Upstate New York Power Corp (UNYPC) presented a PowerPoint to Oswego County legislators Thursday outlining their proposed wind farm project. Robert Burgdorf, of the Law Office of Nixon and Peabody, presented the powerPoint on behalf of the UNYPC, an electrical corporation formed to develop clean, renewable energy projects in the New York energy market. The presentation outlined the specifics on a proposal for the Hounsfield Wind Farm on Galloo Island in Jefferson County, and the installation of a land-based transmission line necessary to transmit the wind power to an already established power grid.

The town board made that split decision Tuesday, to the chagrin of board member Dan Engert, who made a motion to submit a counterproposal to ESWE. The vote was 3-2, with board members Randall Wayner, April Gow and Dudley Chaffee voting it down. "At the apparent final turn, certain members of this board have stumbled and flip-flopped their position on this wind energy project in Somerset," Engert said. "It's been very difficult to stay the course and to attempt to see this project through for the benefit of the residents. I sincerely hope that at some point, this board can come together to support a wind project in our town."

The future of wind power in the Jefferson County town of Lyme could ultimately be decided by a judge. A group that supports wind farm development has filed a lawsuit against the town board over a recently adopted zoning law. Ten members of Voters for Wind filed the legal challenge in State Supreme Court. The group claims the town board adopted a zoning law concerning wind turbines that's "too restrictive and does not adequately allow for the orderly development of wind energy facilities".

Ten town of Lyme property owners have brought an Article 78 proceeding against the Town Council, claiming it improperly rejected a petition protesting the adoption of a local law regulating the siting of wind turbines. The owners group is asking a state Supreme Court judge to declare that its protest petition valid and that a local law adopted subsequent to the board's rejection of the petition be declared invalid, according to documents filed Monday at the Jefferson County clerk's office.

General Electric said it will invest a total of $100 million in three wind farms under construction in northern and western New York. The investment by GE Energy Financial Services brings the total commitment in renewable energy to more than $4 billion, the company said today in a statement. GE, the largest supplier of wind turbines in the U.S., is expanding investments to take advantage of federal tax credits and minimum state requirements for renewable energy. ...They include a 126-megawatt wind farm in Wethersfield, a 106.5-megawatt farm in Chateaugay and a 97.5-megawatt site in Altona.

The City Council Monday was asked by Assessor Frank E. Krakowski to approve a correction of the adjusted base proportions of the 2008-2009 assessment rolls because of a computer error that did not assign an assessed value to one of the eight new wind turbines off Route 5. ...Krakowski said the computer miscalculation had the effect of inflating the city's taxable value by more than $1 million. ...[First Ward Councilwoman Andrea] Haxton also complained the Steel Winds wind farm project was supposed to lowertaxes for ratepayers in the city. "With the windmills here, it's ridiculous that taxes have to change," Haxton said.

Empire State Wind Energy and the City of Niagara Falls are having preliminary discussions on the subject of wind mills in the city, at a time when alternative energy sources are becoming a fixture in the national consciousness. ...Under the agreement, the company would work out deals with individual property owners to build wind mills on their land. A payment-in-lieu of taxes has been worked out between the town, the Somerset School District and Niagara County. The company will sell the electricity generated into the state's grid and the town will receive a cut of the profits, starting at 60 percent the first four years and rising to 75 percent in 11 years, if the agreement is passed.