Grid operators are not given sufficient financial incentives to connect wind farms to the grid. There is a lack of co-ordination among the authorities as to who is responsible for what. ..."I'm pessimistic for the time after 2015 if nothing changes. No one will go on investing if the grid link is as uncertain as it is now, neither E.on nor others."

It objects to giving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the authority to plan such a transmission line, saying such action would "likely result in FERC imposing all transmission costs on ratepayers." The letter was also signed by the governors of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Virginia.

Much of the nation isn't eager to help pay for a high-voltage transmission line to sell Iowa's extra wind power to big markets east of the Mississippi River. "If Iowa wants to build a transmission line for their energy, we have no objection. But Iowa or the Midwest should pay for it," said Ian Bowles, secretary of energy and environmental affairs in Massachusetts. New England states want to produce their own wind energy from offshore farms.

Jefferson Township voters may get a say on how they feel about the township’s current wind turbine zoning ordinance if a Friday decision of the Logan County Election Board withstands any other legal challenges. Following a three-hour public hearing, Election Board Chairwoman Ann Beck read a two-page written decision in which the board rejected a challenge by township landowners to the issue being placed on the March 4 ballot. “I think they found the only way they could,” township resident and wind turbine opponent Keith Nason said. “Now the voters will get to have their say as they should.”

Electricity experts have moved to allay fears that huge pylons may be about to cut a swathe through the picturesque Lincolnshire Wolds. The National Grid is in the very early stages of working out how to link wind farms, such as those off the county coast, and other major renewable sources up to Britain's energy network.

The system--high-voltage power lines that criss-cross states on steel towers--is a collection of regional networks with limited federal oversight. The growth in electricity generated by renewable sources such as the sun and the wind has prompted calls for a system expansion, but has also touched off a debate over who will pay for the addition of more lines.

Element Power is one step closer to bringing its massive wind energy project to rural Richland and Crawford counties. Tuesday night's public information meeting was required by the Ohio Power Siting Board, and drew 150 people to Shelby High School. The two-hour event produced lively discussion between the community and Black Fork Wind Energy Project representatives.

A Senate panel this morning killed a high-profile bill designed to override a court decision on land condemnation that has stalled construction of a major power line for wind energy in northern Montana. ...The panel then voted to table the measure, likely killing it for the session.

The bill is opposed by landowners in the path of the Montana Alberta Tie Line who argue that a private company from another country shouldn't have the authority to condemn land here. The bill states that public utilities and companies that receive permits under the Major Facility Siting Act, such as MATL, can take private land for public use.

Utility companies building the transmission line projects have the right of eminent domain, which means they can legally gain the property rights needed for the CREZ projects.

A bill that would roll back some of the eminent domain powers granted by the 2011 Montana Legislature was debated Tuesday in Helena before a packed house at the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee.

The presence of the federally-endangered Indiana bat may delay plans to install wind turbines in southern Logan County, but shouldn't have an impact on Champaign County, said a wind company representative Friday. "We are aware of the bat being found and we're working closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources," said Michael Speerschneider with Everpower Renewables.

Gov. Ted Strickland next week is expected to sign a compromise electric energy bill that backers say will protect consumers, create jobs and expand the use of renewable energy sources such as solar power. ...While nobody predicted the legislation would lower electric bills, a key goal is to prevent big price spikes that have occurred in other states that deregulated the electric energy market as Ohio did in 1999. ...The bill also requires that 25 percent of Ohio's electricity be generated from alternative energy sources by 2025 and creates an energy efficiency standard that requires utilities to meet a cumulative 22 percent standard by reducing usage.

Subtle changes buried in an energy bill plotting the future of Ohioans' electricity rates guarantee that today's prices will never fall and make it nearly impossible for producers of green power to gain a foothold in the state. The amendments were added by the Ohio Senate to Gov. Ted Strickland's proposed energy bill, which the Ohio House has scheduled to debate at the leisurely pace of one hearing a week into the new year. Strickland, a Democrat, had asked the Republican-led General Assembly to pass the bill by Dec. 31, which now appears unlikely.

SSE chief executive Ian Marchant said: "The wind farm developers have said they cannot pay that so they have not signed their connection agreement that would give the financial guarantees. No wind farm developer will commit so there is no guarantee to build the link."

UNION TWP., Champaign County — County officials have begun the first phase of a proposed $30 million project to supply residents an alternative energy source. Everpower Renewables, a New York-based developer of utility-grade wind projects, wants to construct at least 10 300-foot wind turbines beginning at Yankee Hill Road traveling north about 20 to 30 miles toward Mingo. The company applied for and was granted a building permit to install a test tower that will sit near North Mutual Road to measure wind velocity, said Jene Gaver, building regulations chief inspector. The Union Twp. zoning commission will gather public input before drafting an agreement with the company.

A representative for an energy consulting firm urged City Council to stand firm when dealing with companies keen on erecting wind turbines on city-owned property. Patti Shore, of Eurus Energy America Corp., said the city has every right to expect a fair return on the use of its land, regardless of how the property is used in a wind-farm project. Shore's company usually works with energy companies on such projects but also could help Conneaut secure the best deal possible, she said.

A bill to designate energy corridors in Maine has earned the unanimous support of the Utilities and Energy Committee. The legislation aims to strike a balance between promoting local electricity production and controlling the rising costs of energy. The bill, L.D. 1786, emerged from recommendations by a special commission on energy infrastructure set up last summer.

Energy-efficiency programs in the six New England states have proved so effective at reducing demand that we can put off building a quarter-billion dollars' worth of planned upgrades to electric transmission towers and lines, according to the agency that runs the region's power grid.

On Tuesday, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia announced they would explore building new transmission lines between the two provinces, which would more than double the amount of electricity that can be shared between them. A similar expansion of capacity between centrally located New Brunswick and the northeastern United States could give the Maritimes access to a lucrative energy market.