A feasibility study says that a 450-foot wind turbine installed on city-owned land could cost about $4.7 million to build, but could produce a revenue stream of about $180,000 per year for the city. City officials paid a Sandwich-based engineering firm to see if a wind turbine could be installed near the Water Department's Falulah Water Treatment facility in northwest Fitchburg. It's estimated the 1,500 killowatt wind turbine could produce enough power for the entire Water Department ...The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative -- a quasi-public agency that advocates for renewable energy resources -- did a study of the site in 2007, Streb said, and found that the site may not have enough wind to support the cost of a turbine.

A proposal to erect a 65-metre wind turbine near the peak of Grouse Mountain will be going before District of North Vancouver council Monday night. If approved, the tower will be visible from much of North Vancouver and other parts of the Lower Mainland. The 21-storey structure (34 storeys to the tip of the blade) is slated to begin operating at the top of Peak Mountain next to the Heaven's Sake ski run in 2009.

Washington County Planning Director Juliet Richey says she has recently received inquiries concerning wind farms. "We've had a couple people approach us about wind farms," Richey told the Planning Board Thursday. While nothing firm has been proposed to go before the Washington County Planning Board & Zoning Board of Adjustments, Richey talked about the need to research wind farms and come up with some guidelines for them.

Clarke County Planning Commissioner Kathy Smart, who wants a "greener" home, has an appointment to discuss her heating system. She is considering the installation of a solar- or wind-power generation system to replace the oil furnace that warms her baseboard heating units. But first, Smart must determine if enough wind blows across her property to make a wind-power generation system viable. She is also waiting for the approval of a new county ordinance that would permit small wind turbines for home use.

The city committee that handles requests for minor bylaw exceptions has ruled against an Island Park resident's application to put up a small wind turbine in his backyard. Graham Findlay, who lives at 70 Iona St., was asking the committee to exempt his turbine from bylaws governing the height of accessory structures and their proximity to property lines.

Wind power in Tompkins County took another step toward becoming a reality with the completion of a wind law for Enfield. The Enfield Town Board is still months away from adopting the law, but a draft of it was reviewed by the board and its attorney, and is now in the hands of the Tompkins County Planning Department for additional scrutiny.

The Shasta County Planning Commission unanimously approved plans for a string of wind turbines atop Hatchet Ridge near here at its meeting tonight. Commissioners approved the electricity-generating project on a 5-0 vote after listening to three hours of testimony ...Opponents of the 100-megawatt project said they plan to appeal the decision to the Shasta County Board of Supervisors.

A proposed wind turbine on the grounds of the Woodridge Lake sewage treatment plant on Brush Hill Road in Goshen drew mostly opposition from residents who spoke during a public hearing on Tuesday before the Planning and Zoning Commission. ...More than 60 residents attended the hearing in the Goshen Center School cafeteria and only two spoke in favor of the proposal.

A city committee decided Wednesday to postpone its decision until at least Thursday about whether Graham Findlay should be allowed to install a power-generating turbine on top of a 10-metre pole in the yard of his home near Fisher Park. ...About 20 of Findlay's neighbours showed up at the committee meeting Wednesday to express their opposition to the turbine.

State Senator Josh Miller is rasing concerns about the wind farm project announced by Governor Carcieri last week. "While the General Assembly has fully supported developing renewable energy projects in Rhode Island, I am concerned that Governor Carcieri has unilaterally moved Deepwater Wind to the front of the line when major questions remain about their experience and background. I am troubled by the lack of disclosure from Deepwater Wind's CEO about his financial relationship with First Wind," stated Senator Miller.

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.

"Wind is coming whether you want it or not," Ohio Power Siting Board Executive Director Kim Wissman said at one point in the more-than-two-hour-long meeting with concerned citizens and wind turbine leaseholders. She said that while some companies have abandoned a project in the early stages, she does not recall a time in her 30 years with the Siting Board that the arm of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has turned down a project. "I'm not sure the board has outright rejected an application, but we have required certain modifications," Ms. Wissman said.

The plug is set to be pulled on a multimillion-dollar Wellington wind farm proposal because of visual pollution concerns, despite a winter of power cut fears. A report by Greater Wellington regional council recommends a five-year moratorium on wind farm development at Belmont Regional Park, five years after the council called the site a "world-class wind farm opportunity".

The Palmerston North City Council received the resource consent application in August, and had expected to publicly notify it in early October. But the council was now waiting to hear the outcome of a ministerial call-in application, Mayor Jono Naylor said. "The council's role will be different if the minister does call it in. We don't want to be spending a whole lot of time and money going down one path."

Even though an alternative energy project near Lompoc will most likely kill an unknown number of birds or bats, the Santa Barbara County planning staff has recommended that it be approved Tuesday. ...The project, which comprises 65 wind turbines, onsite collector power lines, electrical substation operations and maintenance building and other facilities, would pose several environmental impacts that cannot be mitigated. ...Although the final environmental report concluded that a downsized project would be environmentally superior, county planning staff disagreed. "The benefits of the full, proposed project far outweigh the adverse environmental impacts associated with it," the staff report stated.

The minty ring of "live green" can look easy. But it's about more than recycling and taking one's tote bag to the grocer's. Trying to live green in New Jersey collides, environmentalists said Friday, with a warren of real-world twists and turns that make it harder than it looks.

The boundary for the wind turbine overlay district is set tentatively as Route 6 to the west and the riverfront district to the north. The town's wind zoning amendment committee agreed to those boundaries at its meeting Thursday afternoon. ...The lakefront district is excluded under the Route 6 boundary, as is a section of agricultural district land west of Route 6. "There are people out there that would be affected," said Beth A. White, president of Voters for Wind.

State Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, holds a hearing next month in Austin on the pros and cons of regulating where wind turbines can be erected. ...The hearing begins at 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 6 in the Betty King Room of the Texas Capitol.

The Yates County Planning Board approved proposed incentive zoning amendments to the Town of Italy's comprehensive plan that would make way for wind energy development. Incentive zoning refers to designated areas in the town where wind turbines would be allowed and developers eligible for financial incentives. At Thursday's meeting, board member Dave Christiansen asked Italy Town Supervisor Margaret Dunn why the town didn't address the zoning issue during its moratorium on wind farm development.

As a civil lawsuit seeking to overturn the Ellis County Commission's decision to permit a wind farm southwest of Hays makes its way through the court system, Hays Wind LLC will act as a co-defendant. The company, represented by Hays attorney Mel Sauer and Wichita attorney Jay Fowler, will join Ellis County in defending allegations brought forth by the 41 plaintiffs, represented by Wichita attorney Patrick Hughes. "The motion to intervene was granted," said attorney Dennis Davidson, who represents the Ellis County Commission.