People listening to policymakers debate the nation's energy future might think: Just erect a lot of wind turbines, and problem solved. Or install a bunch of solar panels, and let the sun do the work. But renewable energy alternatives present costs and challenges just like traditional energy sources - coal, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower.

Portland-based Keppel Prince Engineering, which makes about 40% of Australia's wind turbine towers, has indicated it may need to lay off 150 staff because of lack of work. Keppel Prince's chief executive, Steve Garner, told Green Left Weekly a big problem is that the companies it has contracts with can't access Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to support their projects.

Anti-windfarm campaigners say that installing turbines at Todd Hill could have a devastating impact on wildlife and tourism. Members of the Put People First (PPF) group have highlighted concerns for birds, bats and other animals if a Novera Energy application for four turbines near Pigdon is approved. They say the area is host to a wide range of species.

Owners of a wind-power company set to erect 22 turbines on local hills have decided to delay the project by a year because the energy market has fallen in the recession. Record Hill Wind LLC is building a $120 million wind farm along the 4-mile ridgeline that connects Partridge Peak, Record Hill and Flathead Mountain. The company had planned to put up the turbines next year, but now says it will be up and running in 2011.

Ian Elliot wanted to raise the issue of turbine density in the state's review of the Desert Claim Wind Power Project, but couldn't. The issue wasn't officially entered into evidence by an intervener in the Desert Claim review process, nor was there any expert testimony, studies or other data submitted on the issue by an intervener or the project applicant. ..."I believe the process is flawed because the rights of the local citizens and the obligations of EFSEC do not align," Elliot stated

Saying that they are paying close attention to Vinalhaven's community wind project, town officials this week agreed to a preliminary feasibility study for a wind project atop Ragged Mountain. While no project is now in the pipeline, anemometers placed on the mountain three years ago found that the town has "a serious wind resource," said Jeff Lewis, chairman of the Camden Energy Committee. ...Any project ultimately would be put to a town vote, Lewis said. That won't be a slam-dunk for wind power proponents, according to Baker. "If you thought Vinalhaven was iconic, try messing around with the Camden Hills," he said.

Earlier this week, a City Council subcommittee held a meeting to finalize recommendations on much-debated rules surrounding the location of wind turbines. In a lightly attended meeting, they did just that. On Monday, however, they have to do it all over again. The culprit? A locked door. ...Though the meeting continued, the subcommittee had unintentionally violated the state's Open Meeting Law, meaning the meeting will have to be held again.

Children at an island primary were sent home after a newly-installed wind turbine next to their school collapsed, it emerged yesterday. Parents of youngsters at the 18-pupil Raasay Primary School were asked to collect their children following the incident on November 13. The 50ft turbine will "remain out of commission" until an investigation has been carried out.

Jefferson County legislators will consider Tuesday asking that the proposed Galloo Island Wind Farm transmission line be run completely underwater to Oswego County, rather than running over 20 miles of land in southern Jefferson County. Legislator Barry M. Ormsby, R-Belleville, said he's going to offer a resolution to ask the Public Service Commission to "give serious consideration to the aquatic line versus the above-land option." ...On Friday, Upstate NY Power said it will investigate the underwater route further.

The city thought it was ahead of the curve back in 2007 when it bought a windmill that was supposed to provide power for a transportation center built around a station for the Downeaster train. The $200,000 windmill never came close to meeting expectations, but even that was OK. The city had an agreement in which the manufacturer would pay the difference between the value of the anticipated electricity and the value of the actual output.

After two weeks of testimony, the proposed Buckeye Wind Project crept closer to a decision by the Ohio Power Siting Board this week. But the project is still likely a long way from approval. If approved, the project would allow Everpower Renewables to build about 70 wind turbines in a section of Champaign County that spans about 9,000 acres and six townships. ...Although testimony spanned about two weeks, a spokesman for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio said it could still be months before a final conclusion is reached in the case.

The county looks close to approving an ordinance that would allow noncommercial turbines up to 40 feet tall on most lots in the county except the mountain overlay district (which includes many hillsides) and the county's scenic corridor. That corridor is defined as anything that can be seen from five feet above the centerline of Idaho Highway 75 from Glendale Road north. For lots larger than five acres, the county's planning staff would approve the application for a turbine.

Lewis County is set to lose millions of dollars in Empire Zone money, but the head of the state's Empire Development Agency says that could change. Each year, the county has received $2 million in Empire Zone money to use toward its budget. Without the credits, that amount shrivels to $500,000.

A year after the collapse of the equity financing market for large wind farms, state leaders and private developers are eyeing community-scale projects as an opportunity to grow the number of turbines in the state. But while communities may be good candidates for wind projects - with a strong, steady demand for electricity and the ability to raise taxes as collateral - just who will ultimately back these developments is still an unknown.

Bruce County is calling on the province to study the health effects of wind turbines. "The province has stated that they are not going to do a health study. We're going to encourage them with a letter hoping that they will do an independent study for the health concerns that are out there now and possibly down the road," said Huron-Kinloss Mayor Mitch Twolan.

A wind energy development company has sued a second town board in an attempt to force through a large wind farm without the approval of local elected leaders. Ecogen Wind LLC filed a lawsuit Monday against the town of Prattsburgh, Steuben County, claiming town leaders have improperly thrown roadblocks infront of the wind farm. The company brought a similar legal action this month against the neighboring town of Italy in Yates County.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced Thursday that it has approved a $161 million loan to the company building the Montana Alberta Tie Line between Great Falls and Lethbridge. The Western Area Power Administration will loan Toronto-based Tonbridge Power Inc. - the project's developer - money with funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009, also known as the federal stimulus bill.

Debate about the development of wind power within the town of Sackville has been widespread in the last two months, as the introduction of bylaws by the planning commission were tabled before the town council. The by-laws cover both turbines for individual use, and wind farms, with a generation capacity exceeding three megawatts. At the council meeting on November 9, the by-laws passed by a vote of 4-3.

Robert Gardiner, a public broadcasting executive-turned-wind power developer, fielded questions from the audience about the so-called Highland Wind project. It's a $250 million development that would place 48 wind turbines in a single-file, southeasterly row along four peaks. It would likely be visible from the Appalachian Trail. ...I'm very concerned about the mountaintop removal," says Greg Perkins, the owner of the home in Highland Plantation that would be closest to the wind farm, about a half-mile away. He's also a soil scientist. "I really think we need to rethink this whole wind power thing in Maine. It doesn't create that much energy and for what we're losing, there's no balance to it. So I really think we need to rethink it."