Snelling, of Energize Vermont, disputes Hallquist's savings assumptions. There is no guarantee, he said, that Green Mountain Power will sell electricity to the co-op at the 9.6 cent per kilowatt rate. ..."They're making guesses about performance of a project that hasn't been built," Snelling said. "It's a gamble whether those numbers are right.

[Luke Snelling] said the size of the no vote showed that opposition is growing. Opponents will continue to fight the project, he said. Albany and Craftsbury are challenging the project's certificate of public good in court and they are involved in all the permits still outstanding.

Vestas Americas, the sales and service arm of Danish wind-turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems, cut 114 positions on Wednesday, or 6 percent of its North American work force, because of softening demand for renewable energy projects, a spokeswoman confirmed. Among the cuts were 15 positions at its North American headquarters in Portland.

ELMORE - Although the village owns a small part of Ohio's first utility-scale wind farm, Elmore officials are exploring the feasibility of buying their own wind turbines.

Twice previously, the current chairman of the Nebraska Power Review Board recused himself from voting because of a potential conflict of interest: His employer was working for a utility seeking board approval of a project. But this month, Chairman Michael Siedschlag, a vice president with HDR Engineering, voted in favor of a controversial high-voltage transmission line proposed by the Nebraska Public Power District. The project was approved on a 3-2 vote.

The battle over wind energy is heating up again in western Ohio. A decision by the Logan County Board of Elections on Friday cleared the way for a referendum on a township zoning amendment that sets guidelines for wind turbines. Landowners say the regulations, approved in the fall by the Jefferson Township zoning board and township trustees, are too lenient. They gathered enough signatures to put the issue before voters on the March 4 ballot. But late last month, attorneys representing the landowners who plan to erect the wind turbines --- towering structures that harness the power of the wind to produce energy --- filed a protest based on procedural errors with the petition.