Observing that energy costs are a key factor encouraging or stifling economic growth, Taylor presented economic data showing renewable power is substantially more expensive than conventional power. Taylor also presented U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projections indicating renewable power will be substantially more expensive than conventional power for at least the next several decades.

A proposed wind farm in Ashe County should not be allowed because it violates the state’s Ridge Law, the public staff of the N.C. Utilities Commission said yesterday. The staff’s statement of position becomes part of the record as the six members of the Utilities Commission consider whether or not to approve an application to build 25 to 28 wind turbines in the Creston community. The Ridge Law contains a limited exception for windmills. Robert Gruber, executive director of the Utilities Commission, said that the staff’s position against the wind farm is based on a previous statement by Attorney General Roy Cooper. In a 2002 letter, Cooper wrote that the term windmills meant only “the traditional, solitary farm windmill which has long been in use in rural communities” and not wind turbines.

The developers behind the proposed Atlantic Array offshore wind farm have announced they are reducing the total number of turbines for a second time. ...RWE nPower Renewables announced the reduction yesterday in a bid to reduce the visual effects from the turbines and potential underwater disturbance from piling noise during the wind farm's construction.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) _ Australia's government says its plans to create the world's largest solar power station by turning a wasteland into a glistening field of mirrors is a step toward making the sun-drenched country a world leader in clean energy. But critics say the government, which is riding on the back of an economic boom driven by sales of Australia's main export, coal, and other resources, is moving too slowly on less-polluting alternatives to fossil fuels and is using clean-energy arguments to launch a nuclear power industry.

Australia's prime minister has backed an electricity and gas company study emphasizing nuclear and coal instead of renewable energy and energy efficiency. As Australia attempts to address greenhouse gas emissions and a need for more energy, Prime Minister John Howard said, The answer is a greater emphasis on clean coal and nuclear power.He was responding to a report by the Energy Supply Association of Australia that said hitting a goal for reducing global warming pollution by 2030 would cost $75 billion, and wind, solar and other non-polluting energy sources would not be enough. It recognizes that while renewables such as solar and wind have a role to play, and we have always argued that, they will not provide the fundamental answer, Howard said. The ESAA is a trade group of Australia's electricity and downstream gas industries, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The report said Australia should feed between 15 percent and 20 percent of its energy demand by nuclear reactors and rely on natural gas and coal for much of the rest. It is in the interests of the fossil fuel industry to claim that renewable energy and energy efficiency are no solution to climate change and that we must rely instead on an experimental and costly technology, said Christine Milne, a senator with the Green Party.

His neighbours, however, testified at the OMB hearings that they felt the turbine would be invasive and could be dangerous if the tall pole with a turbine on top fell over. Even though the turbine has been designed specifically for residential areas, the OMB said in its June ruling that it supported Findlay's neighbour's concerns.

"The rhetoric from the Scottish Government over recent years has given the clear impression that wind farms are worth the visual sacrifice because they are such a major source of employment. Yet now we learn that are only 2,000 employed thanks to wind farm developments."

Voters overwhelmingly opposed the wind tower proposal slated for neighboring Sheffield and Sutton on Tuesday evening. The unanimous opposition provided the town selectmen with precisely the overwhelming sense of direction they lacked last fall. “I think it was clear,” Selectman Robert Croteau said. “It’s not like we only had 25 or 30 people or even 60 or 70.” An estimated 120 voters turned out to make their position, and that of their town, unmistakably clear. That clarity, however, may have little effect on the Public Service Board (PSB), which must decide whether to issue a certificate of public good for the 16 towers UPC Vermont Wind wants to build.

"I love this estate and my objections are purely on aesthetic grounds. I know people will criticise me, but this is not about nimbyism," she said.

Once upon a time, getting approval for a wind farm in Lee County was relatively simple. Those days are gone. For the latest proposal to build wind turbines, the county had 26 meetings that took up 65 hours.

The protest erupted over plans for a wind-power plant that used village lands and required significant landfill in a bay where the people have for generations made a living fishing. Before that, nearby village land had been used for the construction of a coal-fired power plant.

Washington, DC [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Tax credits to promote renewable energy got a reassuring boost from lawmakers this week in Congress as a Senate bill was introduced to extend new federal tax credits authorized in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 through 2010.

Steve Gallo, executive director of the Bayonne Municipal Utilities Authority, said he is looking for innovative ways to save money for the city, and reduce the cost of his authority's energy needs. One of these ways, he said, is the possibility of installing modern windmills on BMUA controlled land to harness wind gusts off New York Bay to generate power for the Oak Street pump station. "We are trying to use new technology to find ways of saving our energy costs," Gallo said. "This is evident with the recent installation of solar panels in our schools that makes Bayonne the largest non-power company to supply energy on the east coast." Two years ago, the municipal authority in South Plainfield installed a wind-generated turbine to run a station, and with Bayonne surrounded on three sides, Gallo figures he might be able to do the same things. Windmills have also been successfully installed at Atlantic County Utility Authority, and combined with solar panels it generates enough energy to run the plant.

Board of Health Chairman Joe Casna said this week that the board has taken no vote, nor acted on any motion by any member of the board, to direct the health agent to acquire a loaner meter.

Closing arguments are expected to begin tonight in the controversial application by Invenergy to allow a 100-turbine wind farm in part of the agricultural areas of McLean and Woodford counties. Attorneys representing Invenergy and opponents will be allowed to speak 20 minutes and people who previously testified and are not represented by attorneys will have five minutes. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in Room 400 of the Government Center, 115 E. Washington St.

(East Haven, VT - AP) - The state Public Service Board travels this week to the tiny northeastern Vermont town of East Haven to look at the site of a proposed wind power project. At the center of the debate over the proposed East Haven Wind Farm is how pristine the surrounding forest is and whether it would be spoiled by the project.

The man who represents a group of people who own property near a proposed New Ross-area wind farm says the project "is ripping this community apart." Emery Peters gave an impassioned closing argument Wednesday as a provincial Utility and Review Board hearing into the appeal of the South Canoe wind farm wrapped up.

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) this week released a new proposal to share the "oversupply costs" that pile up when there is not enough demand for all the electricity produced by hydroelectric dams and wind-power producers. During these oversupply periods, when wind-power producers may be asked to shut down, the plan would compensate them for lost revenue, according to Doug Johnson, a BPA spokesman.

British and French campaigners have defeated plans for a wind farm at the famous battle site.

Opportunities might arise in the future to challenge the scheme as planning permission was sought for various stages of development. "At the moment we have to regroup and we will have to decide what we intend doing," he said.