The wind turbine struck by lightning this past summer sustained considerable damage but poses no safety threat to people, according to a message from the company that built the generator.

Toledo Edison shut down a 900 kilowatt wind turbine installed at Clay High School in May because it is missing a trip switch that would prevent backfeeding of electrical energy to and from Edison's substation. The Direct Transfer Trip switch costs $200,000 ...Edison denied a request from the district for a temporary operating permit to run the turbine until the matter could be resolved. "We can't run that risk."

Western states seem to have a wide portfolio of energy resources and the consumer markets to better meet the ambitions of both energy-producing states and energy-importing states. What's missing is a strategy for beefing up and modernizing the Western electrical grid to make those connections, according to industry officials. "We can't even connect the dots on a piece of paper. It's like the weather -- everybody talks about it, but nobody ever does anything about it," said Richard Walje, president of Rocky Mountain Power.

Ontario's $7-billion energy deal with South Korea's Samsung Group could jeopardize construction of Essex County's biggest wind turbine project, which has had eight years of local planning and environmental study. Brookfield Renewable Power wants to build close to 100 turbines in Lakeshore with a cost in excess of $400 million for the 200-megawatt project.

The landscape of Sandusky County's complex along Countryside Drive could change drastically if a proposal to erect windmills on the property is approved. ...Before commissioners consider the construction of any wind turbines, they must first agree to an initial cost of $24,000 to help SUREnergy do a feasibility study.

As their day in court approaches, Chino Hills residents are stepping up their fight against Southern California Edison's Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project.

Benton-Carroll-Salem Local School District officials briefed village leaders on tentative plans to install a 100 kilowatt wind turbine on a school property. Village Administrator Robert Pauley said the windmill will be for educational purposes and to save on energy costs.

The turbine, designed to provide 60 percent of the electricity needed at the middle school, raised concerns as far back as March, just a few weeks after it began operating. At that time, officials were told a few parts were needed to make it fully operational.

Atop a former mountaintop blasted away for the project's construction, Governor Jerry Brown and former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined with energy industry executives to celebrate what they view as a milestone in meeting the state's ambitious renewable energy goals. Hailing Powerlink as a "great project", Governor Brown acknowledged that "every step forward is met with resistance," then quipped, "There's more here than were protesting down the street."

Inspectors will be out Tuesday afternoon to determine an official cause. Little believes a crack in the metal 120 feet in the air, mixed with the high winds caused the crash and $30,000 dollars in damage.

Traffic downtown was disrupted Tuesday evening after a truck in a convoy carrying blades for a wind turbine got hung up on the hill in the center of town. "We basically had Main Street closed for almost six hours," Police Chief Charles Roub said.

Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is seeing red because a green energy grant program that funds new wind turbines doesn't require their construction with American parts. He wants to suspend the program until Congress imposes "Buy American" restrictions. Brown's stance puts him at odds not only with the Obama administration, but with his friend and political ally, Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, who backs domestic wind turbine manufacturing but doesn't want to ignore the hundreds of Ohio jobs that could be created by building and operating wind farms.

Putnam County Commissioners are currently looking at possibly approving tax abatements for a renewable energy corporation in Van Buren Township after Governor Ted Strickland signed Senate Bill 232 Thursday evening. Putnam County Commissioners have 30 days since the signing to confirm the new tax structure.

"This is just a sweetheart deal for a Canadian company, and allows them to condemn Montana farmland for their own use - and that's just absolutely wrong," said Larry Martin, a farmer from Conrad who owns land in path of MATL.

The senators - led by state Sen. George Maziarz, a Western New York Republican, and joined by state Sen. Patricia A. Ritchie, R-Heuvelton - say upstate jobs are at stake if a $2 billion transmission line proposal is approved because it would squeeze out energy producers in the state, like nuclear power plants, facilities that burn wood to create electricity and wind turbine farms.

City-owned land sought for a proposed wind turbine farm is needed primarily to link two more important parcels and may not contain any turbines at all, City Council learned at Monday's work session. Ron Gainar of SGR Site Associates said wetlands concerns and other issues may prevent any of the gigantic turbines from sprouting on the 159 acres at stake within the East Conneaut Industrial Park. The placement of turbines on the proposed farm is important because some council members hoped the city could receive a percentage of the profit earned by turbines built on park property.

Vincent questions whether the California decision will leave investors and developers reluctant to invest in new transmission. "That puts a big question mark over whether it's worthy of the investment," he said. "Every article that I've read about it has essentially said in one way or the other that this is bad news for Washington, Oregon and Montana wind. It has got to almost change the paradigm."

Shumlin suggested that Vermont, or another state, could “negotiate a preferential price in exchange for hosting that corridor.” “Canada has cheap renewable hydro power that can work as a reliable load (power) when the wind isn’t blowing, and the sun isn’t shining...,” Shumlin said.

Central Maine Power Co.'s proposal to upgrade the reliability of its transmission system faces a new threat: wetlands. The Maine Chapter of the Sierra Club says the $1.6 billion project would destroy 385 acres of wetlands and 1,200 linear feet of streams. In a letter dated March 15, it told the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the agency can't approve construction if there are alternatives that reduce the impact on the environment.

While the effort to attract manufacturers of giant wind turbines to Ohio continues, smaller, more affordable commercial wind generators are already selling. ...None of these small-scale turbines are intended for use on homes, but demand is growing among businesses, industry experts say.