Jefferson County legislators will consider Tuesday asking that the proposed Galloo Island Wind Farm transmission line be run completely underwater to Oswego County, rather than running over 20 miles of land in southern Jefferson County. Legislator Barry M. Ormsby, R-Belleville, said he's going to offer a resolution to ask the Public Service Commission to "give serious consideration to the aquatic line versus the above-land option." ...On Friday, Upstate NY Power said it will investigate the underwater route further.

Lewis County is set to lose millions of dollars in Empire Zone money, but the head of the state's Empire Development Agency says that could change. Each year, the county has received $2 million in Empire Zone money to use toward its budget. Without the credits, that amount shrivels to $500,000.

A wind energy development company has sued a second town board in an attempt to force through a large wind farm without the approval of local elected leaders. Ecogen Wind LLC filed a lawsuit Monday against the town of Prattsburgh, Steuben County, claiming town leaders have improperly thrown roadblocks infront of the wind farm. The company brought a similar legal action this month against the neighboring town of Italy in Yates County.

Wind developer Ecogen has filed another lawsuit against a local municipality in an attempt to erect electricity-producing wind turbines. The lawsuit was recently filed in state Supreme Court in Rochester against the Prattsburgh Town Board and other town officials. It is similar to legal action the company is taking against the town of Italy in Yates County, which has refused to grant Ecogen permission to build wind turbines there.

The town Planning Board asked the Town Council not to hold a public hearing next week on a proposed wind development zoning ordinance, citing missing information. ..."On initial blush through the law, it looks satisfactory," Chairman Richard J. Edsall said. "But after a more thorough examination, I saw there was an error made in the law, a section left out."

The official count of absentee ballots Tuesday gave victory to Urban C. Hirschey in the race for town supervisor. Mr. Hirschey was down by 42 votes on Election Day but picked up 62 more votes than Democratic incumbent Thomas K. Rienbeck in absentees, 144-82. The final tally was 634-614. ...Mr. Rienbeck, who has been in office for 10 years, said most of the people who changed their registration to vote for Mr. Hirschey were rich seasonal residents who oppose wind farms.

Jefferson County's Board of Legislators slowed down its consideration of the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement for the proposed Galloo Island Wind Farm. ...Chairman Barry M. Ormsby, R-Belleville, said representatives of the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency and Galloo Island's developer, Upstate NY Power Corp., would come to the meeting. Mr. Ormsby said they also would allow the public to speak during privilege of the floor, though no public hearing is required.

Landowners in Henderson and Ellisburg are charged up over the proposed transmission line for Galloo Island Wind Farm. They voiced their displeasure with the plan during public hearings for the Public Service Commission on Monday morning and evening in Henderson and Belleville. In fact, none of the about 50 speakers at Monday's hearings supported the project. Upstate NY Power Corp., the developer for the entire project, is seeking to build a 50.6-mile, 230-kilovolt transmission line.

A fight over whether a proposed wind turbine project bordering Naples will go forward heated up last week when the developer filed a lawsuit against the town, where 17 turbines were to go up. The Article 78 action, filed in state Supreme Court in Monroe County by developer Ecogen Wind LLC, seeks to overturn the Town Board's decision to stop the project by denying approvals and placing a moratorium on its development.

It could be the 11th hour for the Town Council, so it has decided to move ahead with an amendment to the zoning law for wind energy development. The proposed law does not contain overt restrictions on sound, either by an absolute number or by a number relative to ambient noise levels. That upsets members of the Wind Power Ethics Group, which has opposed proposed wind developments in the town and actions by town boards that have conflicts of interest. ..."It's a general policy," said Clifford J. Schneider, who is a former DEC fisheries biologist and has published peer-reviewed articles on acoustics. "But the policy never got down to specifics on measuring background sounds."

A group from New York Power Authority was in the Port City Friday afternoon to provide information regarding the Great Lakes Offshore Wind Project. Representatives from city, county and state government attended the meeting in the Council Chambers. Also in attendance were local residents as well as a handful from other counties. The group is visiting communities around the shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie to provide information on the proposal as well as get a feel for the pulse of the communities regarding the project.

The payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement for the proposed Galloo Island Wind Farm would take some money that normally would go to the school district and give it to the town. The PILOT would send 50 percent to Sackets Harbor Central School District, 15 percent to the town of Hounsfield and 35 percent to Jefferson County. The three are splitting a $2.14 million pie, which will increase 2.5 percent each year for 20 years.

Iberdrola SA, the Spanish company that bought two upstate New York utilities last year in a $4.5 billion deal, now says it cannot afford to make all the investments in its gas and electric system it had promised state regulators. The two utilities, New York State Electric & Gas and Rochester Gas & Electric, are asking the state Public Service Commission if it can hold off on $77 million in required infrastructure spending this year.

Iberdrola Renewables Inc. and Environmentally Concerned Citizens Organization are trading jabs over the proposal to amend the town's zoning law for wind power facilities. Iberdrola's attorney, Douglas H. Ward, of Young, Sommer, Ward, Ritzenberg, Baker & Moore LLC, Albany, asked the town not to change the town's zoning law in a Sept. 21 letter.

The proposed Galloo Island Wind Farm is ready to agree to spend more than $2 million per year as part of a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, but it stands to save nearly $23 million in other tax abatements. Officials from the town of Hounsfield, Sackets Harbor Central School District and Jefferson County are firming up their division of a property tax PILOT, which will generate $2.14 million per year.

A handful of people from outside Hounsfield commented on the proposed Galloo Island Wind Farm payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement Monday night. The PILOT considered at the hearing, held by the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency, only covers the 84 turbines and ancillary structures on the island and the underwater transmission line in Hounsfield. There will be PILOT negotiations and a public hearing sometime in the future for the part of the 50.6-mile transmission line that runs from Henderson to the town of Mexico.

As expected, Guy Hinkson officially resigned as town supervisor at Monday night's board meeting. But in a surprise move, the Town Board did not appoint a replacement because Councilman Max Maerten refused to vote for candidate Dan Mangino. ...Just before the vote roll call was taken, the fourth member on the board, Max Maerten asked to speak. He said to Mangino, "For two years you have opposed wind turbines, but your views have drastically changed in one week because of your political party. For that reason, I can't give you my vote."

During Monday's meeting for the Town of Allegany Planning Board, a gathering of 15 to 20 residents at the Allegany Senior Center heard a short presentation by Kevin Sheen, senior director of development for EverPower Renewables. The New York City-based company has been interested in constructing a wind-turbine farm in the Chipmonk area for the past couple of years and had initially proposed the construction of 32 wind turbines in the community. The new plan calls for the construction of 29 wind turbines.

Bill Evans wants to make it clear he's not against wind turbines. "I'm not anti-wind. I'm a consultant who people call from both sides when there's a concern about the impact on migrating birds," he said. Evans, 50, is an Ithaca-based ornithologist who has studied bird migration in North America for more than 25 years. He helped start the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's research into avian night flight calls in the mid-1990s and in 1998 founded the non-profit group Old Bird Inc.

Geothermal wells, solar panels and maybe a wind turbine, too. Indian River Central School District's use of alternative energy sources to cut costs was a big topic of discussion at Thursday night's Board of Education meeting. The district is conducting a solar energy feasibility study, Business Manager James R. Koch announced. The board also committed $2,500 to pursue a wind energy feasibility study.