A windmill farm may be on its way to the Town of Barton, but as to when it will happen is still years away. The windmill farm is being sought by Gamesa Energy USA, which is the United State's branch of Gamesa Corp. The company, which is based in Spain, specializes in sustainable energy technologies, mainly wind power. The company was represented at Monday's town council meeting by Timothy Vought, who is the director of development for Gamesa's Atlantic region.

In a first-of-its-kind study, the owners of a Somerset County wind farm and an independent conservation group are joining forces to study the effects of turbines on bats. Bat Conservation International is conducting a controlled experiment in which select turbines at Iberdrola Renewables' Casselman Wind Power Project were shut down during certain wind conditions from July through earlier this month. It is the first study in the country to look at the impact of temporarily stopping the turbines on reducing bat deaths.

Dr. Tom Cade, a professor who preserved the peregrine and is rescuing the California condor, said people making ordinary efforts can help extraordinary birds right here in Pennsylvania. "One problem you folks are facing are these wind turbines proposed to be built on the migration routes," Cade said on the telephone from his home in Idaho. "I don't think there's any doubt that birds, butterflies, bats and bees - they all get hit by those turbines."

The township has received an application for a conditional use permit from a company that wants to build a wind turbine facility. BP Alternative Energy plans to build a facility with as many as 89 turbines in the southern part of Wyoming County, within the boundaries of Noxen, Eaton, Forkston and Mehoopany townships. On Tuesday, Supervisor Randy Ehrenzeller said the application permit calls for 17 turbines.

An appeal filed recently in county court alleges that the developer of the Laurel Hill wind energy project may have unfairly benefitted by being represented by the same law firm that represents the county. The appeal, which challenges the county Planning Commission's approval of preliminary land development plans for the project, was filed by attorney Christian D. Frey, of the law firm Lepley, Engelman and Yaw, on behalf of a group of residents living near the proposed project site.

A Northumberland County firm has backed off a plan to build wind turbines on South Mountain in eastern Lebanon County. ...But birds and bats got in the way of the plans, said Justin R. Dunkelberger, chief executive for Penn Wind. He explained that the South Mountain site is part of a bird-migration path and is also frequented by bats. "As a wind developer, we have to be concerned with birds and bats," Dunkelberger said. "We want to be responsible developers."

Two Fayette County commissioners voted to sign an agreement Thursday that addresses neighbors concerns regarding the location of wind turbines in a $100 million project proposed for Wharton, Georges and Springhill townships. Commissioners Vincent Zapotosky and Vincent A. Vicites voted to sign the agreement between PPM Atlantic Renewable Energy Corp./Iberdrola Renewables, the county and property owners that petitioned the court to be included in the case. Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink voted against the action, saying she doesn't believe the commissioners have the authority to approve changes to the proposed project.

Logan Township Supervisors heard a request from Gamesa Energy USA Thursday evening for an overlay expansion to its proposed wind farm in the Chestnut Flats area. The board unanimously directed the request to the township Planning Commission for review and discussion. Chairman Frank Meloy said he would like to know who will be able to see the windmills from their homes.

During the agenda meeting, Commissioners Vincent Zapotosky and Vincent A. Vicites voted to place a motion on Thursday's agenda to approve an agreement between PPM Atlantic Renewable Energy Corp./Iberdrola Renewables, the county and property owners that petitioned the court to be included in the case. Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink voted against the action, saying she doesn't believe the commissioners have the authority to approve changes to the proposed project. Zapotosky said the agreement eliminates one of the proposed sites and also does not include any mention of a scholarship fund funded by PPM and administered by the county that was part of a prior agreement.

With at least two energy companies eying area ridge tops for construction of massive wind turbines, the Potter County Board of Commissioners has plenty to think about before putting its final approval on amendments to the county's Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. At least 125 people crowded into the courtroom last Thursday night, the majority attending to learn, rather than speak, during the two-hour public hearing.

While the open sky is big enough for 400-foot-high wind turbines and migratory birds, animal conservationists are airing their concerns about the threat windmills pose to wildlife. "Any place thinking about installation (of wind turbines) should take years studying the issue," Keith Bildstein, director of conservation science at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, said Friday. "That is a prescription the wind industry apparently finds distasteful." Bildstein and other local conservationists and bird-watchers say the wind industry fails to adequately study bird migration patterns before wind projects break ground.

Three Pennsylvania men have filed a federal lawsuit against a Spanish wind turbine manufacturer, saying that they were illegally replaced by younger workers. The three also claim the company gave Spanish workers preferential treatment. ...Their federal lawsuit filed in Johnstown says the men were all replaced by younger employees and that two of the three replacements were also Spaniards.

...the evaluation will trace the root of the water to its origin, beginning at the bottom of the drainage and then walk up the stream valley taking length and depth measurements of the water sources. All of the measurements will have GPS coordinates, and the key product will be map based. "We'll take that information and be able to craft plans to protect the water," said Casselberry. "We're trying to increase protection." Ultimately, the complete two-phase evaluation would map out the watershed and show where natural gas drilling and wind turbine construction could be done, or it will show that one or the other, or both, can't be done.

An Upper Moreland company is seeking a $1 million state grant to develop a combination solar and wind turbine that it is touting as "the world's first hybrid renewable energy technology." Precision Assembly Inc., on the 2300 block of Computer Avenue, is partnering with Bluenergy Solarwind Inc., to develop the turbines, which would harness both wind and solar energy and would be sold to owners of commercial or residential buildings to provide clean energy, according to Paul Stepanoff, the company's chief executive officer.

The wind turbine in Pine erected two months ago to help power the township's new community center has not had any major problems, director of land development Larry Kurpakus said, but it may be too early to definitively call the turbine project a success. The turbine cannot turn without winds of 10 mph or stronger, and it has only operated sporadically this summer.

Washington Township, Lehigh County, officials see wind power as a potentially clean and affordable source of energy. They also worry that it could be ugly and unneighborly. Earlier this week, township supervisors voted to limit where residents can set up wind turbines on their properties and restricted their height. The new ordinance also limits turbines to one per property, and requires the energy from them to be used only by the owner, although excess power can be sold back to PPL Electric Utilities.

The Cattaraugus County Legislature will vote on a local law next week that is expected to trigger wind farm construction proposals in some areas of the county. The law would provide no tax exemption for alternative energy systems including wind, solar and farm waste. By opting out of tax exemptions for alternative energy systems, most notably wind farms, the law would open up the option of payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT payments) ...Legislators in July tabled a resolution to hire Hiscock & Barclay, a law firm with offices in Buffalo, to advise county lawmakers on legal issues surrounding wind farms.

A wind-turbine company that has been credited with bringing green jobs to Pennsylvania and restoring an abandoned Bucks County steel plant has been fined $639,161 by the state Department of Environmental Protection for problems that included emissions violations and "substantial" record-keeping lapses. The agency announced yesterday, before a holiday weekend, that Gamesa USA had paid the fine. ... one of the biggest issues was with emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the paints, solvents and adhesives used to make the giant blades and other components of the turbines.

Jackson Township resident Frank M. Piccolella Sr. said he still believes he can win the war against a wind farm proposed in northern Lycoming County. ...Piccolella filed an appeal Friday in county court asking it to overturn a decision by the county Zoning Hearing Board that cleared the way for Vermont-based Laurel Hill Wind Energy LLC to build up to 35 electricity-generating wind turbines on the Laurel Hill ridge in Jackson and McIntyre townships.

"We've been really derelict," Specter said of Congress' response to the energy issue. "We're gonna have to go to alternate forms of energy, and I've been supporting that." Virginia Deeter from Somerset County told Specter her home of 30 years soon would sit between two wind turbine facilities: one 1,400 feet away from her back door and the other 1,800 feet away from her front door. "Our home is going to be worthless," she said she was told by real estate agents. "Where do we turn?"