The Bureau of Land Management is using some stimulus money to study the effect of wind farms on a dwindling sage grouse population in Central Oregon. BLM spokesman Michael Campbell said the agency hopes to lessen or eliminate any impact. The agency would hire people to tag sage grouse in areas where wind farms are proposed and track the birds' movements to figure out where turbines could be located. Contracts have not yet been awarded.

Rows of tall turbines have already remade the landscape on wheat farms and ridgelines on private land around the region. But so far there have been no wind farms built on public land in the Northwest. That's about to change. In 2006 the BLM received six right-of-way applications for wind testing in Oregon and Washington. The number last year was four times that -- 24. Wind farms in relatively untrammeled public lands present a number of potential problems while pitting two environmental concerns ...against each other.

We continue our energy series, the Switch, with a look at the one renewable source of energy that started booming a decade ago: wind power. Companies like GE and Seimens make turbines; the federal government offers utilities big financial incentives to build wind farms; and as Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, hundreds of windmills have gone up in Oregon alone.

Rep. Greg Walden said Saturday that an energy bill hailed by the Obama administration as a "jobs bill" is "an Oregon job killer." Speaking to TV cameras in front of White City's Biomass One site for recycling wood waste, The 2nd District Republican denounced the bill's definition of renewable energy.

A move is afoot to restrict windmills in the foothills of the Blue Mountains in Umatilla County. "I think there's areas we shouldn't have them, where there shouldn't be development," said Richard Jolly, who lives near Milton-Freewater. "We want to keep some of our open spaces and scenic views and wild areas."

Big investments in renewable energy could mean higher electric bills, hitting households and businesses during high unemployment and a weak economy. Oregon's biggest electric companies, PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric, filed for rate increases last week with state utility regulators. Both cited renewable energy projects as the reason.

By the time he gaveled Friday's Oregon Public Utility Commission hearing to a close, administrative law judge Allan J. Arlow had heard from 23 residents stretching from Malheur to Morrow counties - virtually all of them opposed Idaho Power's plan to run a 500-kilovolt transmission line through Baker County. ...Maurizio Valerio of Medical Springs likened Idaho Power's proposal to the way railroad companies disregarded local needs when constructing the transcontinental railroad during the latter half of the 19th century. "That's not a model we want any part of," he said.

A $220 million commercial wind farm that would be the first in the region and could bring 100 jobs to Crook County has received the initial go-ahead from Crook County planning commissioners. ...ODFW officials suggested the developers keep wind turbines three miles away from a nearby sage grouse lek, an area the birds use for their mating rituals. But the developers said that would wipe out their project. Planning commissioners agreed, mandating only a quarter-mile setback from the lek.

Dozens of wind turbines west of Boardman are so noisy, nearby homeowners say they're keeping them awake at night and even making them ill. "It's not healthy for us," Dan Williams said of the 240-foot-tall turbines he can see from his hilltop home. "It's like a freight train that's not coming or going." Dozens of wind turbines west of Boardman are so noisy, nearby homeowners say they're keeping them awake at night and even making them ill. "It's not healthy for us," Dan Williams said of the 240-foot-tall turbines he can see from his hilltop home. "It's like a freight train that's not coming or going." Williams is among neighbors along Oregon 74 demanding that Morrow County enforce state noise regulations on the Willow Creek Wind Energy Project or revoke its land-use permit.

Now Williams is ready to pack up and move. When he looks out his window, he sees a forest of wind towers. Behind his home, about a half mile away, another six turbines sit idle. Williams fears the day they start rotating, because, often, the sound of turbines already roars through his house like a freight train at top speed. "It's like a jet airplane that never takes off," said Sherry Eaton, another neighbor of the Willow Creek project. Eaton and her husband, Michael, are in despair over the wind project, which they say has ruined their chances for a peaceful life in the valley.

When the government's $787 billion economic stimulus package became law last month, the Bonneville Power Administration was one of the many beneficiaries. The federal utility wasted no time making use of its share, rolling out plans for a major transmission project ...The project now aims to provide service for 873 megawatts of energy - about 700 megawatts of that from wind power. That wouldn't have been the case seven years ago, he said.

If you can avoid it, you don't go to the floundering equity markets right now to raise capital. But Portland General Electric Co. needs the cash to fund the expansion of a wind farm. And after watching its share price dip to an all-time low on Wednesday, the state's largest electric utility announced plans to issue 10.85 million new shares of its common stock.

Local entrepreneurs have pushed back until March the unveiling of a wind turbine prototype that they hope can operate in adverse weather conditions. Rogue River Wind and Yaiyu Turbine Technologies have collaborated on a new kind of turbine that can be mounted on roof tops and work in gusty winds. Their hope is to see the wind turbine installed on buildings up and down the coast, generating power locally instead of relying on distant utility companies for energy.

Vestas Wind Systems AS, the world's leading wind-turbine maker, may reduce jobs if the rate of new orders doesn't improve in the next 11 weeks, Chief Executive Ditlev Engel said. Orders from the U.S., the largest wind-turbine market, "came to a standstill" after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September tightened credit for wind-farm developers, Engel said Wednesday in New York after announcing that fourth-quarter profit doubled.

A controversial proposal to site wind turbines on Sevenmile Hill near The Dalles has been cancelled. A letter from Massachusetts-based applicant First Wind dated Jan. 20 formally withdrew the company's application. ..."We're dancing in the street," said attorney Mark Womble, a Sevenmile resident who was part of fierce opposition to the plan. "We're excited. We're very happy."

Big plans east of Bend may come down to a small bird, the sage grouse. Central Oregon's first commercial wind farm could be up and running as soon as next year, unless it runs into environmental or other obstacles its backers cannot overcome. The $220 million project would be built on private land 30 miles east of Bend. However, the project is facing some scrutiny over it's impact on the wildlife habitat.

A 10,000-acre ranch that stretches into both Crook and Deschutes counties could be the site for Central Oregon's first commercial wind farm. ...But some environmental and wildlife groups point out it could also further threaten sage grouse and harm other animals. "Our point of view is we want to support renewable energy products. But just because it's renewable energy doesn't mean there aren't impacts," said Brent Fenty, executive director of the Bend-based Oregon Natural Desert Association.

Oregon taxpayers are shelling out tens of millions of dollars to subsidize green energy projects, making the state a magnet for solar and wind companies. But an investigation by The Oregonian shows that the money also is going to risky ventures with questionable environmental benefits and to prosperous companies that need no incentives but are cashing in anyway. ..."It's gotten out of hand," says Chuck Sheketoff, director of the Oregon Center for Public Policy, which studies the impact of state tax policies on low-income residents. "It's being scammed. It's not serving its purpose."