April 15, 2008

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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TRANSMISSION NETWORK KEY TO FURTHER WIND FARM DEVELOPMENT: TUCUMCARI
AREA HAS A HIGH WIND ENERGY POTENTIAL

  One of the biggest constraints on wind energy's growth in The
  United States is the capacity of the transmission grid to deliver
  wind energy to customers, said Commissioner Pat Lyons of the State
  Land Office.
**********

WIND FARM GATHERS STEAM

  Wind farm developers, show us your plans. That's the message
  Governor Carcieri sent yesterday to private developers  who may be
  interested in building a massive offshore wind farm that would
  generate at least 15 percent of the electricity consumed
  throughout Rhode  Island -- about 1.3 million megawatts of power a
  year.
**********

DOMENICI BACKS CLEAN ENERGY TAX CREDIT EXTENSIONS

  U.S. Senator Pete Domenici, ranking member of the Senate Energy
  and Natural Resources Committee, today announced his support for a
  bipartisan plan to extend tax credits for clean energy that are
  set to expire at the end of this year.
**********

REGULATORS WILL STUDY PUTTING WINDMILLS IN 2 GREAT LAKES

  State regulators want to study what it would take to implant giant
  wind turbines, which could generate thousands of megawatts of
  power but cost millions of dollars and transform serene views, in
  Lake Michigan and Lake Superior
***********

WIND INDUSTRY FRUSTRATION AT GOVERNMENT INACTION ON DOMESTIC
RENEWABLES GRANTS

  BWEA, the country's leading renewable energy business organisation
  has been left frustrated by latest government announcements on
  grants for domestic wind turbines.
***********

FORTIS, BP AND NRG SUCCESSFULLY CLOSE $280 MILLION SYNDICATION FOR
SHERBINO I WIND FARM

  Fortis Merchant Banking today  announced it successfully closed
  syndication of a $280 million senior secured  financing for
  Sherbino I Wind Farm LLC, a joint venture owned by BP  Alternative
  Energy North America Inc. and NRG Energy, Inc.
**********

WIND FARM PLANS BREWING IN AROOSTOOK COUNTY

  A Texas company is courting Aroostook County landowners as it
  moves forward with plans for several large wind farms that could
  transform the landscape in some areas of northern Maine.
**********

TRANSMISSION INVESTMENT WILL SAVE TEXAS CONSUMERS BILLIONS

  A recent study conducted by the Texas Wind Coalition shows
  proposed transmission improvements being considered by the Texas
  Public Utilities Commission will save consumers more than $3
  billion annually in electric costs starting in two years.
**********

CALIFORNIA SECOND IN NATION IN WIND-POWER GENERATION: BUT STATE
FALLS BEHIND IN DEVELOPMENT

  California remained the nation's second-leading creator of wind
  energy in 2007, but it has fallen behind the pace of development
  elsewhere in the United States.
**********

STATE HOPEFUL FOR 'GREEN COLLAR' JOBS IN FUTURE

  Renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and biomass, offer
  the state an opportunity to diversify its economy and provide
  "green collar jobs, said Lt. Gov. Diane Denish at a Renew
  conference in Tucumcari Wednesday.
***********

WIND ENERGY LEADERS REMAIN DOMINANT IN LATEST U.S. MARKET RANKINGS

  Wind energy leaders in most categories held onto their #1
  positions in the latest version of the American Wind Energy
  Association's (AWEA) annual rankings of wind power leadership in
  the  United States, released today by the trade group.
***********

OUTAGAMIE COUNTY PEGGED FOR WIND ENERGY PROJECT

  A wind farm developer plans to put five 400-foot turbines in
  either the Town of Kaukauna or the Town of Freedom.
***********

SURVEY FINDS MORE THAN 80 PERCENT OF ST. LUCIE COUNTY RESIDENTS
SUPPORT WIND TURBINES ON HUTCHINSON ISLAND

  Eight out of 10 St. Lucie County residents responding to the
  first-ever  scientific poll on the topic said they support Florida
  Power & Light  Company's (NYSE:FPL) proposal to build six  wind
  turbines on company-owned property on Hutchinson Island.
***********

MESA POWER TAKES WIND CAMPAIGN, LANDOWNERS ON THE ROAD TO SHOW HOW
REGION CAN BENEFIT FROM PROPOSED WIND FARM

  Mesa Power officials are  taking their show on the road to give
  landowners in Carson, Gray, Hemphill,  Roberts and Wheeler
  counties a first-hand look how its proposed 4,000-megawatt  wind
  farm will help improve both the pocketbooks of local land owners
  and the  region's economy.
***********

NEW WIND FARM ANNOUNCED

  Nacel Energy has announced a new facility to capture wind energy
  in Moore County.   The Channing Flats project will have a top
  capacity of 20 megawatts, the company said. It will be a companion
  for the Blue Creek wind farm to be built north of Amarillo that
  Nacel announced March 19.
***********

TEXAS RATEPAYERS' PRICE TAG FOR NEW WIND-POWER LINES IN BILLIONS

  Texas ratepayers could be on the hook for $3 billion to $6.4
  billion to build new transmission lines so wind-power turbines can
  connect to the state power grid, according to preliminary
  estimates released Wednesday.
*********

SIEMENS ANNOUNCES SECOND MAJOR WIND TURBINE ORDER IN THE U.S. WITHIN
ONE WEEK

  Siemens Energy has been awarded another major order for a wind
  farm in the U.S. with a capacity of nearly 325 megawatts (MW).
  Siemens will supply 141 units of its 2.3-megawatt turbines for the
  Biglow Canyon Wind Farm Phases 2 and 3 in Sherman County in
  Oregon.
*********

SHEAR WIND SIGNS POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH NOVA SCOTIA POWER

  Shear Wind has signed a 60MW power purchase agreement with Nova
  Scotia Power in connection with a 20-year power supply commitment
  to Nova Scotians.
 *********

PGE TO BUY TURBINES FOR BIGLOW CANYON WIND PROJECT EXPANSION

  Portland General Electric Company (PGE) (NYSE:POR) and Siemens
  Power Generation, Inc., part of the global Siemens Energy Sector,
  today announced they have executed agreements for PGE to buy 141
  turbines to complete construction of its 25,000-acre Biglow Canyon
   Wind Farm in Sherman County, Ore.
*********

WIND INDUSTRY WELCOMES MARINE BILL BUT CALLS FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT OF SEA NEW OFFSHORE PLANNING FRAMEWORK MUST HAVE
'SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT ITS HEART'

  BWEA, UK's leading wind, wave and tidal energy trade association,
  welcomed today's launch of the Draft Marine Bill. BWEA supports
  the Bill's aim to create a new planning framework for the offshore
  environment.
*********

HORIZON WIND SIGNS REPEAT ORDER WITH SUZLON

  Horizon Wind Energy has signed a repeat order with Suzlon Wind
  Energy, a step-down subsidiary of Suzlon Energy, India, for 200MW
  of wind turbine capacity.
***********