At midnight, February 17, national and local broadcasters will change how they transmit over-the-air TV from an analog signal, which has been used for decades now, to a digital signal, providing a clearer picture. But back in 2003 when this ambitious, renewable energy project fired up ..."We had a whole lot of trouble back then," said Ray Vogt, a Clinton Township resident. "When they (the turbines) were turning, you couldn't watch television at all."

"The development of renewable energy resources will require a significant expansion of the grid, as well as a significant increase in needed operating reserves given the intermittent nature of wind and other resources." PJM has 90,000 megawatts of new generation waiting for approval to feed into the grid, with nearly half that power coming from wind.

Copeland sought and received approval from the Portage Township supervisors to subdivide what he said is a small section of land from a much larger privately owned tract near the Cambria-Blair county line. "This will enable us to do a much simpler survey," Copeland said. "Otherwise, it would take years."

Blair County Judge Daniel Milliron on Friday dismissed the counts against Gamesa, which made and installed the turbines, but left intact the lawsuit against Allegheny Ridge because he believes the complaints deal with operational problems. Allegheny Ridge operates the wind farm.

A local doctor and his wife have filed a lawsuit against the operator of a nearby wind farm saying they are losing sleep from the the constant ''whooshing'' and ''screeching'' caused by the wind turbines. Blair County Judge Daniel J. Milliron on Friday concluded his initial review of the lawsuit brought by Todd and Jill Stull of Portage RD, Blair County. Milliron kept the lawsuit largely intact although he dismissed several counts of the legal complaint including one that charged Gamesa Energy and its subsidiary, Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm LLC, with creating a public nuisance.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, under Democrat Governor Edward G. Rendell's administration, put together an Alternative Energy Package that was passed last year, where the state borrowed $500 million to stimulate conservation efforts and alternative energy sources, such as windmills and solar. Rep. Stern explained that all of those efforts combined are good, but at the same time, he questioned the state's investment of $500 million in taxpayer dollars. The state's reasoning to invest such a large amount of money was to gain investment return dollars.

The Logan Township Planning Commission is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a request to expand the wind zone so turbines can be built above Avalon Road north of Altoona. The vote, in the form of a recommendation, will be a key factor for supervisors to consider when they address the request in January.

Jill Stull from Portage says her life and farm have turned upside down ever since some unwelcome neighbors moved in 2006. "We want the noise to stop. I want my husband to be able to sleep in our home," Stull said. The noise she's referring to is from the six turbines surrounding her 100-acre farm. At least once a week, Stull says she can hear and feel the turbines humming, and it's a sensation she says comes at irregular intervals.

Doylestown Township officials held a public hearing last week on a proposed ordinance that would regulate the placement and size of windmills in the township. The supervisors seemed ready to approve the ordinance until Philo pointed out that it said nothing about advertising being painted on the windmill. They voted unanimously to table the ordinance for further consideration by the township planning commission.

Construction of a 36-turbine wind farm that covers three townships in Somerset County is likely to begin this winter. Officials from Allegheny Township, Musser Engineering and the E.On energy company ...have received mixed community feedback. But officials said the farm is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2009 and will dot the mountains of Allegheny, Stonycreek and Shade townships with turbines.

Construction of the 35 windmills in the second phase of what will be one of Pennsylvania's largest wind farms is completed and should be in operation before the end of the year, an official with Gamesa Energy USA said. News of the anticipated startup comes as sound experts working on behalf of Portage Township completed the study setting the level of the existing - ambient - noise at and near North Allegheny Wind Farm, which is adding nine turbines to the skyline in the Blue Knob area of the township.

Supervisors on Tuesday approved plans for BP Alternative Energy to build a portion of a wind-turbine facility in the township. The company wants to build up to 87 turbines within the boundaries of Noxen, Eaton, Forkston and Mehoopany townships. Up to 35 of the turbines will be located in Noxen, BP business developer Kevin Davis said.

Part of a wind turbine project proposed in Logan Township, north of Route 36 near Avalon Road, will be visible not only to nearby residents, but to those who live and drive as much as five miles from the site. "I totally oppose this," Avalon Road resident Mark Twardon said. "You're going to be coming down 17th Street, and instead of the mountains, you're going to see these huge towers." Twardon was one of 18 people who asked questions and offered comments, mostly in opposition.

The state will play a major role in deciding whether a windmill is installed at Green Tree Park to generate electricity and help pay for the town's energy costs. The borough has applied for two Department of Environmental Protection grants, each for $168,000, to fund a proposed $173,000 windmill and solar electric system. The borough would pay $5,000 toward the overall cost. ...Council President Mark Sampogna said, however, he is unsure if council will approve the project, even if funding is secured. The height of proposed installation, 100 feet to 120 feet, could detract from the appearance of the park, he said.

Four large balloons are to be visible Wednesday morning in the sky above Avalon Road, representing the proposed locations for wind turbines. Gamesa Energy, seeking Logan's approval to build a wind farm inside and outside the township's wind zone, arranged with the Federal Aviation Administration to put up red and yellow balloons ...The commission, which is reviewing Gamesa's request for a proposed wind farm, has received more than 30 postcards, some with multiple signatures, opposing turbines.

The plan to erect wind turbines on the Burnside Mountain south of Shamokin has been stalled because of the sour economy. Penn Wind LLC is still actively pursuing the project, but the failure of some of the nation's largest financial institutions makes the market for the important tax-credit piece of financing for such a large project a tough one ...While Penn Wind is a small Sunbury-based company, it is affiliated with an international alternative energy giant in German renewable energy company Juwi GmbH.

Three environmental groups said Wednesday afternoon that they have obtained federal government records that show that the proposed site of the Shaffer Mountain Wind Project outside Ogletown is indisputably occupied habitat of the endangered Indiana bat, and that habitat used by the species already has been illegally destroyed.

Supervisors on Tuesday accepted plans from BP Alternative Energy to build part of a proposed wind farm in the township. BP plans to build 35 wind turbines in the township as part of a larger wind turbine facility of up to 87 turbines that will also be located in Eaton, Forkston and Mehoopany townships. Noxen supervisors on Tuesday did not take action on the plans.

Borough officials have restricted hunting in a 50- to 60-acre radius around a Gamesa Energy USA wind-monitoring tower on borough-owned land at Adams Run Reservoir on Second Mountain in Pine Grove Township. The Philadelphia-based company is working to build wind turbines on Second and Sharp mountains in the township and is completing an environmental study at the Adams Run Reservoir tower.

A way to reduce the high number of deaths of migratory bats at wind turbine sites may lie in a groundbreaking study at Iberdrola Renewables' Casselman Wind Power Project in Somerset County. During the study, conducted at the 23-turbine project from late July to early October, selected wind turbines were stopped during low wind conditions to determine whether shutting down the big blades during low power production periods would reduce bat deaths while having a minimal impact on power generation. ..."The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is concerned that several species of bats, including potentially endangered bats, are killed each year by wind turbines," said Alex Hoar, the service's northeast coordinator for review of wind power projects.