Town meeting voters will consider a citizens' petition asking Scituate officials to rescind the special permit - awarded by the planning board in 2010 - that allowed Scituate Wind LLC to build a 390-foot-tall turbine off the Driftway. The petition was filed by turbine neighbors who say noise and flicker from the turbine have hurt their health.

"The noise monitoring plan is entirely under the control of First Wind, who chose the firm to design the plan and conduct the monitoring. This is a perfect example of 'the fox guarding the henhouse,' " Smith said Thursday. "The PSB's order further illustrates the near-impossibility of neighbors being able to participate in protecting their interests before the PSB."

Nuclear power, the totemic issue inspiring fear and loathing in equal measure among many Labour MPs and environmental campaigners, was, the Prime Minister declared this week, back on the agenda "with a vengeance".

Plans to build a massive 600MW wind farm in Shetland made a big step forward yesterday (Friday) when the local council decided to enter formally into a partnership with Scottish and Southern Energy to realise the project.

But John Boyd Jr., a New Jersey consultant who helps companies site data centers, told Midwest Energy News the demand for wind power was driven by marketing. He acknowledged he doesn't think wind power is the leading criteria for siting decisions. More important factors, he said, are tax incentives, real estate costs and the price of the electricity.

New England Energy Alliance Survey Finds Consumer Concern about Future Electricity Supplies, Desire to Choose Electricity Supplier and Support for Addressing Global Warming

Western Wind Energy Corporation has reviewed the wind energy marketplace across the United States and has determined to seek new wind energy development opportunities in California. The strategy is focused at 30 sites totaling over 1,200 Megawatts.

Scottish Natural Heritage yesterday confirmed its objection to a huge wind farm planned for Lewis. SNH board members reiterated their previous view that land covered by special protection area status might be harmed by the development. They also said there was insufficient information to determine the potential impact on birds. Last week, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) voted 18-8 in favour of the plan by Lewis Wind Power, subject to 50 conditions, including the removal of five of the proposed 181 turbines. Because of the scale of the 651-megawatt project, a final decision rests with the Scottish Executive. Meanwhile, SNH has withdrawn its objection to a proposed wind farm at Edinbane on Skye. It follows a public consultation by Highland Council on the latest submission from the developer AMEC, which included an appraisal of the likely effect on golden eagles.

Councillors in the south of Scotland have delivered a double blow to wind farm proposals totalling 71 turbines. Dumfries and Galloway Council has voted to lodge its opposition to plans for a wind farm in the Glenkens. While Scottish Borders Council went against officer recommendations and decided to object to 48 turbines in the Lammermuir Hills at Fallago Rig. Both proposals are likely to go to public inquiry given the level of opposition and the council decisions.

PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain: Spain will cut subsidies to wind-power plants following an overhaul of the way it calculates aid for renewable power sources, hurting earnings at utilities including Iberdrola, the world's largest producer of wind power.

St. Lawrence Mayor Wayde Rowsell has announced his town council has reached a 20-year tax agreement with NeWind Group Inc. The deal, expected to generate tax revenues in excess of $2 million for the community over the life of the contract, was reached Jan. 19 after a week of negotiations between the two parties. NeWind was awarded a contract by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro in November to operate a commercial wind farm near the town, which will produce 27 megawatts (MW) of power to the island. Mayor Rowsell indicated the town approached the negotiations with the philosophy a good deal would be one mutually beneficial to both the company and the community, an objective he felt was accomplished. “We’re quite pleased with what we negotiated with the company.”

The Virginia Supreme Court will enter the national debate over wind energy for the first time this summer when it hears a challenge to the state’s first proposed wind farm. A lower court ruled in favor of the controversial Highland County project last year, but in an unusual step, the high court decided this week to hear the case directly rather than having it first reviewed by a three-judge panel. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in June. A ruling is expected in September.

Mr. Sanford said he wrote the bill because he is opposed to government mandates, not because he favors any particular energy source-a sentiment echoed by legislators in other states. "Texas is blessed with a lot of incredible resources for energy, wind and solar amongst them. But they need to be developed with free-market principles, not with the heavy hand of government directing us to an inefficient process," he said in an interview.

The submission of a revised application for a windfarm near Stonehaven has failed to change the opinion of Netherley locals, who opposed the first set of plans in 2001. Renewable Energy Systems (RES) saw their original bid to build 10 turbines at Meikle Carewe thrown out by the Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee in December 2001. Reasons for rejection included the effect on local residents, problems with television reception and the possible impact on flights to Aberdeen airport. The company has now resubmitted plans for a windfarm there with 12 smaller turbines covering a smaller area. They say they have resolved the issues that surrounded their previous application, particularly with regard to problems of TV reception.

Lynn and Arra said there's at least enough evidence to suggest larger setbacks than the current 550 metres in Ontario are needed. Health board member and Bruce County Warden David Inglis said he thinks the setbacks should be at least two kilometres. Lynn said Australia is considering setbacks of between five and 10 km.

The North Sea fillip comes as the pace of energy developments continues to gather momentum in the run-up to the Government's announcement on its new energy policy. The Prime Minister has signed a pact with President Jacques Chirac to pave the way for French co-operation on a new nuclear power programme. The Government has also given the clearance for a series of renewable energy projects including clean coal. New surveys point to an acceleration in job creation in the sector.

On Thursday conservative representative State Rep. Scott Sanford, R-McKinney, filed legislation to remove a signature weapon from the wind energy arsenal. ...Wind power already generates almost 10,000 megawatts, but taking away the mandate to create energy would hurt the renewable energy credit trading system in place, Clark said.

Summertime, with its heat waves, monster electric bills and crippling blackouts, may not seem like the best time for Con Ed to try to sell you on pricier power. But marketers at ConEdison Solutions, a subsidiary of the giant utility, are betting that, if they ask the right people, they'll find some willing to pay an average of $10 more a month to switch to wind power. "Despite the fact that everybody would like to pay less for their electricity, there are growing numbers of New Yorkers who are deeply passionate about the environment and want to do something about climate change," said Peter Blom, a ConEd Solutions manager.

If New England's nuclear energy plants had to be replaced by other non-emitting sources of electricity to meet the RGGI goals, the region would be looking at large-scale wind projects, with weather-dependent output, spread over some 650,000 acres of land or water at a cost of more than $10 billion.

Two dozen energy experts and observers have been meeting quietly since September to forge a long-term plan for the state, but critics say the little-known process excludes citizen and environmental concerns, and once again marginalizes those who live where most of the state’s power is produced.