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September 26, 2007

Wind Harvest's "Wind News"
A compilation of story leads from around the world.
By: Kevin Wolf <kwolf@windharvest.com>

Note: These story titles and lead paragraphs predominantly come from Energy Central's daily posting of the world's energy stories. Others are sent to me by subscribers of Wind News. Energy Central requires paid membership to read full stories. You can often paste the headline into Google and find the original source of the story. You are welcome to share this with others. This is a free service from Wind Harvest.   Thank you. Kevin
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PENNFUTURE: WIND ENERGY VITAL TO PENNSYLVANIA'S ECONOMY, ENVIRONMENT
AND PUBLIC HEALTH

As the Pennsylvania legislature is set to begin its Special
Session on Energy, Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture)
   today released a letter to all legislators showing that wind
energy development is vital to Pennsylvania's economy,
environment and public health, and urging elected officials to
base their votes on good information.
**********

BP BREAKS GROUND ON FIRST WIND PROJECT IN TEXAS

BP broke ground today on its first wind project in Texas. The
project, named Silver Star I, is located 80 miles southwest of
the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. The 60 megawatt (MW),
$100 million project is owned 85% by BP Alternative Energy and 15%
by Clipper Windpower.
*********

OTTER TAIL POWER INCREASES STAKE IN LANGDON WIND FARM

Otter Tail Power Co. has exercised its option to own 40.5
megawatts of electricity produced at the Langdon Wind Energy
Center, which is under construction near Nekoma, N.D.
**********

WIND TURBINES MOVE FORWARD DESPITE RESISTANCE

The Steel Winds turbine project in Lackawanna may be at the edge
of the water, but it could be just the initial wave of windmills
in the area.
**********

HIGH COURT OKS HIGHLAND CO. WIND FARM PLANS: THE PROJECT STILL NEEDS
SCC APPROVAL BEFORE CONSTRUCTION CAN BEGIN IN HIGHLAND COUNTY

The Virginia Supreme Court upheld a decision Friday by Highland
County to allow a controversial wind farm on a mountain ridge.
**********

BIDDER HAS NEW INTEREST IN LONG ISLAND WIND FARM

Weeks after Long Island Power Authority chairman Kevin Law said he
would terminate a planned 40-turbine wind farm off the South
Shore, a second bidder for the project is expressing renewed
interest in taking it on.
**********

PRICE RISE BLOWING IN THE WIND: DEMAND FOR GREEN ENERGY CAUSES
SHORTAGE; STATE'S RENEWABLE ENERGY PROGRAM CONSUMES SUPPLY

Demand for wind energy in the state has become so strong that
residential consumers who want to pay extra for the power may have
trouble buying it.
**********

APPROVAL GIVEN TO BUILD 100-TURBINE WIND FARM

Windy days in Story County will soon do more than just cause a
headache for people with long hair. The Story County Planning and
Zoning Commission approved a conditional application submitted by
Story Wind LLC to lay a field of approximately 100 turbines in
Story County.
**********

ENERGY PLAN TURNS NATURE INTO MONEY

Major energy players in government and business are trying to
chart a billion-dollar wind frontier with Oklahoma in the middle.
**********

TEXAS TAKING BIDS ON OFFSHORE WIND LEASES: LAND OFFICE PUTS TRACTS
IN GULF WATERS UP FOR LEASE IN DRIVE FOR PROFIT AND MORE ENERGY

The Texas General Land Office is accepting bids for the right to
produce energy in the Gulf of Mexico. There is one company that
holds a wind energy lease in Texas waters -- off the coast of
Galveston -- but it hasn't started generating power.
**********

COMMUNITIES WARY OF WIND BILLS: WANT TO RETAIN CONTROL OF SITING

With a wave of wind energy seemingly about to hit Western New
York, many of the area's towns have a message for Albany: They
think they're handling it pretty well on their own.
**********

WIND FARM BID FILED IN CENTERVILLE

An application to develop a wind farm has been submitted to the
Town of Centerville in Allegany County. Noble Environmental Power
is seeking approval of 55 turbines in a 100-megawatt wind energy
generation facility that is expected to include another 12
turbines in the adjacent Town of Rushford.
**********

AN IDEA BLOWIN' IN THE N.D. WIND

The largest community-owned wind energy farm in North Dakota is
being proposed near Finley, N.D. The proposed wind farm initially
would produce 150 megawatts of electricity, with plans to
eventually expand to between 380 and 500 megawatts, according to
Warren Enyart, chief executive officer of the Griggs-Steele
Empowerment Zone.
**********

WIND POWER BLOWS STRONGER

An international private company has joined the growing list of
companies that want to set up power generating plants at the
country's coast.
**********

WISCONSIN PUBLIC SERVICE AND ENXCO SEEK IOWA WIND FARM DEAL

Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPSC), a subsidiary of
Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE: TEG) and enXco Development
Corporation, an EDF-EN company based in California, are
negotiating a transaction calling for WPSC to purchase a
99-megawatt wind facility to be constructed in Howard County,
Iowa, by enXco.
**********

PAIR TRIES TO CATCH THE WIND

They haven't built a single windmill, but Maine's newest wind
entrepreneurs are joining the clean energy quest as near royalty.
Former Gov. Angus King and environmental activist Rob Gardiner
have been quietly scouring the hills and mountains of Maine for
the past several months, looking for suitable sites with steady winds.
**********

CONFLICT IN THE WIND; SOME SAY PROPOSED WIND FARMS WOULD YIELD TOO
LITTLE POWER TO JUSTIFY THE HARM THEY WOULD CAUSE.

There's no doubt that Mainers want more windmills. A poll of 400
Maine voters last May found 85 percent favored the development of
wind power in Maine, according to the Portland-based Pan Atlantic
SMS Group.
**********

PAIR TRIES TO CATCH THE WIND

They haven't built a single windmill, but Maine's newest wind
entrepreneurs are joining the clean energy quest as near royalty.
Former Gov. Angus King and environmental activist Rob Gardiner
have been quietly scouring the hills and mountains of Maine for
the past several months, looking for suitable sites with steady winds.
**********

GE INVESTS IN THIRD AIRTRICITY WIND FARM IN TEXAS, AGAIN HELPING
CUSTOMER GROW IN BOOMING US WIND MARKET

GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of General Electric (NYSE:
GE), is helping renewable energy company Airtricity, Inc. grow in
the booming US wind energy market and boosting its own portfolio
by investing in a 126.5-megawatt wind farm under construction in
West Texas.
**********

AES TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION OF 170 MW WIND PROJECT IN TEXAS

The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) today announced plans to begin
construction of Buffalo Gap 3, a 170 MW expansion of its Buffalo
Gap wind farm near Abilene, Texas.
**********

RENEWABLE POWER AGREEMENT COULD BE REACHED BY DECEMBER

Delmarva Power, Bluewater Wind and a third company could have a
contract by the end of the year to build clean energy plants in Delaware.
**********

SIEMENS WIND POWER CELEBRATES GRAND OPENING OF NEW WIND TURBINE
BLADE FACILITY

Siemens Power Generation (PG) continues to expand its
manufacturing capacities for its growing wind business. PG
officially celebrated the grand opening of its new wind turbine
blade factory in Fort Madison, Iowa, on September 21, 2007.
**********

LEGISLATIVE PROVISION COULD STALL ENERGY PROJECTS

Environmentalists and alternative energy companies said Friday
that a provision buried in a highly technical bill passed by the
state legislature this week could stall the construction of wind,
solar and other renewable energy projects in New England.
**********

AGENCY TO ISSUE RULES FOR TURBINES: THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE WANTS TO
REGULATE WIND-POWER MACHINES ON FEDERAL LAND

Visitors to the nation's public forests and grasslands could find
wind turbines cranking out power for an energy-hungry nation under
a proposal to be released any day in Washington, D.C.
**********

DECISION LAUNCHES KITTITAS VALLEY WIND POWER PROJECT

Horizon Wind Energy (Horizon), one of the nation's leading wind
power developers, celebrated Washington Governor Christine
Gregoire's authorization of the company's proposed Kittitas
Valley Wind Power Project (KVWPP) northwest of Ellensburg in
Central Washington today.
**********

SCHNEIDER POWER CELEBRATES PHASE II GROUNDBREAKING OF MANITOULIN
ISLAND WIND FARM

On Saturday September 15th, Schneider Power Inc. celebrated the
dedication and phase two groundbreaking of their new wind farm
project on Manitoulin Island.
**********

LEGISLATION ON BUILDING WIND FARMS ENCOURAGED

During a rally in Harrisburg Monday, representatives of nine
citizens' groups urged the state Legislature to adopt rules on
where wind farms can be built.
**********

NPOWER WIND FARM PROPOSAL RECEIVES APPROVAL

The renewables arm of UK-based utility npower has had its plans to
establish a wind farm at Bradwell-on-Sea approved by a planning
inspector appointed by the UK government's Department for
Communities and Local Government.
**********

E.ON UK RESEARCHING AND DEVELOPING THE 'GIANT BATTERY'

E.on UK, parent of Powergen and Central Networks in the Midlands,
is researching and developing a groundbreaking 'giant battery'.
The firm claims it will be able to store energy in a way which
could unlock the full potential of renewables and micro generation.
**********

OUTRAGE AT PLAN FOR 113 MORE WIND TURBINES

New Zealand poet Brian Turner described Meridian Energy as a bunch
of condescending monsters'' for not disclosing plans for a further
113 wind turbines on the Lammermoor Range.
**********

PLANNERS DELAY ACTION ON EXPANDING WIND FARM

The Lackawanna Planning and Development Board postponed action
Wednesday evening on BQ Energy's plans for the second phase of the
Steel Winds power project on the former Bethlehem Steel property.
The board plans to vote on it. c inquiry into the development.
**********

WINDFARM OFF REGION'S COAST GETS GO-AHEAD

Plans for a windfarm off the NorthEast coast were last night given
the goahead.EDF Energy received consent from the Department of
Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR) for its offshore
windfarm project at Redcar.
**********

ANGER AT PLAN FOR TURBINES

Opposition is growing to plans for seven giant turbines on the
Northumberland coast. The wind energy battleground is switching
from the rural moorlands to the county's coastline because of the
bid to re-power the Blyth Harbour wind farm with new turbines that
are three times the height of the existing structures.
**********

TOWN'S WIND ENERGY PLANS MOVE FORWARD

Plans to power Hanover's water supply with wind energy are moving
ahead on schedule. Town Administrator Stephen Rollins said the
town is on pace to have a proposal ready for town meeting in the spring.
**********

B&B WIND PARTNERS ACQUIRES WIND FIRMS; REVISES GUIDANCE

(RWE Australian Business News) Babcock & Brown Wind Partners
(ASX:BBW) has reached agreement with Babcock & Brown Ltd (ASX:BNB)
to acquire a 50pc interest in the Enersis portfolio of wind farms
for 133m euros ($A219m) and 100pc of BNB's Class B membership
interests in the US07 Portfolio for $US309m (about $A374m).
**********

GREEN LIGHT FOR HIGHLAND ENERGY PROJECTS

UK Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks yesterday pledged that high grid
connection costs will not be a barrier to renewable energy
projects in the Highlands and Islands, such as windfarms.
**********

IBERDROLA TO FLOAT WIND POWER DIVISION

Spanish energy company Iberdrola plans to raise up to E4 billion
by floating its Iberenova wind power division, the largest wind
power business in the world, The Scotsman has reported.
**********

IBERDROLA UNVEILS RENEWABLES PLANS TO GALICIAN GOVERNMENT

Spanish utility Iberdrola has unveiled its plans to make the
Galicia province in northwestern Spain a leader in clean energy
generation through installing 3,000MW of renewable capacity in the
region during the next few years.
**********

POLAND PLANS WIND POWER PLANTS AT SEA

Poland plans to build 300 wind-driven power plants on the Baltic
Sea in a project described as the most spectacular of its kind,
Polish Radio said Monday.
**********

AIRPORT OBJECTS TO WIND FARM

More objections have been made against plans for a wind farm in
the North East. Newcastle Airport has added its objection to a
planned wind farm at Blyth Harbour with Britain's tallest wind turbine.
**********

COMPOSITE TECHNOLOGY'S DEWIND SHIPS FIRST COMMERCIAL D8.2 TURBINE

Composite Technology Corporation (CTC) (OTC Bulletin Board: CPTC)
announced today that its subsidiary DeWind Inc., has shipped the
first 2 megawatt D8.2 wind turbine for commercial applications
from its operations in Germany.
**********

SCOTTISHPOWER'S WIND PROJECT APPROVED BY SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT

ScottishPower has received final planning consent from the
Scottish government for its Harestanes windfarm, a 213MW capacity
project in Dumfries and Galloway.
**********

IBERDROLA REPORTEDLY LOOKING TO INCREASE UK INTERCONNECTION CAPACITY

Spanish utility Iberdrola, which recently acquired its UK
counterpart ScottishPower, plans to invest approximately E1.3
billion to increase the interconnection capacity between Scotland
and northern England, reported AFX News, quoting El Economista,
which obtained its information from sources close to UK energy
watchdog Ofgem.
**********

WIND FARM BID FILED IN CENTERVILLE

An application to develop a wind farm has been submitted to the
Town of Centerville in Allegany County. Noble Environmental Power
is seeking approval of 55 turbines in a 100-megawatt wind energy
generation facility that is expected to include another 12
turbines in the adjacent Town of Rushford.
**********

SSE SIGNS WIND FARM AGREEMENTS WITH GD POWER DEVELOPMENT

Scottish and Southern Energy has signed four agreements with GD
Power Development to support the development of four new wind
farms in northeast China. SSE Energy Supply Limited will purchase
around two million carbon emissions reduction certificates over a
period of five years from 2008.
**********

WIND POWER'S A BREEZE IN EUROPE

After years of playing second fiddle to mainstream power sources,
Europe's renewable energy sector is now going from strength to strength.
**********

CHINA TO ENTER "WIND POWER ERA" BEFORE 2010, EXPERT SAYS

China will enter an era in which   wind power will be fully
developed by 2010, an expert said on   Wednesday.
**********

PETROCHINA TO INVEST 10 BLN YUAN IN ALTERNATIVE ENERGY BY 2020

PetroChina Co Ltd (HK 0857), the country's largest oil and gas
producer, plans to invest 10 bln yuan by 2020 to develop
alternative energy including oil shale, bio-fuel, wind power,
coal-bed methane and geothermal energy, the official China
Securities Journal reported, citing a senior company official.
**********

GREATER GABBARD OFFSHORE WINDS SIGNS WIND TURBINE DEAL WITH SIEMENS

Greater Gabbard Offshore Winds, a partnership between
Ireland-based international wind farm developer Airtricity and
US-based construction company Fluor, has signed a deal for the
delivery of 140 Siemens 3.6MW wind turbines in 2009 and 2010 for
the construction of a wind farm in the UK.
**********

SHEAR WIND ACQUIRES WIND PROJECT

Mike Magnus, President & CEO of Shear Wind Inc. ("Shear Wind")
(TSX VENTURE:SWX) is pleased to announce the acquisition of a wind
project site in Nova Scotia.
**********

THEOLIA ACQUIRES A 50.4MW WIND FARM IN MOROCCO

Theolia has entered an agreement with EDF Group to acquire part of
the share capital (84.5%) of Compagnie Eolienne du DÃ©troit (CED)
owned by the French electricity producer, EDF.
**********

CEMTREX PLANS TO SET UP A 20 MW WIND POWER PROJECT IN INDIA

Cemtrex Inc. (Pink Sheets: CTEI) announced today that it plans to
set up a 20 MW wind farm project to generate green energy in
south India.
**********

SKYPOWER SUBMITS OVER 900MW OF WIND ENERGY PROJECTS INTO THE HYDRO
QUEBEC 2000MW CALL FOR TENDER

SkyPower Corp, a company affiliated with Lehman Brothers, has
announced today that it has submitted in concert with its bidding
partners a total of 7 bids into the Hydro Quebec Call For Tender
totaling over 900MW of potential projects for planned construction
for 2010 thru 201
**********

BORALEX AND GAZ MÃ‰TRO SUBMIT THREE BIDS FOR WIND PROJECTS

Boralex Inc. and Gaz MÃ©tro Limited Partnership (the "Consortium")
have submitted three bids for wind projects for a total capacity
of 375.5 MW within the framework of Hydro-Quebec's call for
tenders for 2,000 MW of wind energy.
**********

EDF ENHANCES ITS WIND ENERGY CAPACITY IN GREECE

EDF Energies Nouvelles has announced the entry into service of two
new wind farms in Greece, developed by its Greek subsidiary EEN Hellas.
**********

GREATER GABBARD OFFSHORE WIND SECURES LARGE TURBINE DEAL WITH SIEMENS

Greater Gabbard Offshore Winds Ltd. (GGOWL), a partnership between
Airtricity and Fluor, has signed a reservation agreement to secure
wind turbines from Siemens for the construction of its Greater
Gabbard Offshore wind farm off the British coast.
**********

ABB WINS E.ON ORDER WORTH MORE THAN $400 MILLION

Power and automation technologies provider ABB has won an order
worth more than $400 million from E.ON Netz to supply equipment
that will connect the world's largest offshore wind farm to the
German grid.
**********

REPOWER'S AMBITIOUS EXPANSION

REPOWER Systems AG, one of the world's top 10 wind turbine
manufacturers, is continuing its expansion in Scotland with the
announcement that more than 50 turbines are set to be installed
north of the border during 2008.
**********

NORWEGIAN WIND POWER INVESTOR VARDAR EURUS AS INVESTS IN ESTONIA

Norwegian holding company Vardar AS said on Thursday (20
September) that its 70%-owned subsidiary Vardar Eurus AS has,
together with the Estonian investor AS Freenergy, agreed to
jointly acquire the Estonian wind energy company Tooma Tuulepark
OU from the development company Lotus Capital OU.
**********

CONTACT ENERGY SAYS GOVERNMENT RENEWABLES TARGET IS ACHIEVABLE

Contact Energy, which is engaged in power generation, has said
that the New Zealand government's target of 90% of electricity
coming from renewable sources by 2025 is ambitious but possible.
**********