The launch of wind farms in northern Missouri in the past two years has left many Missourians wanting to know about the possibilities for wind power in their communities.

Beginning Wednesday ( June 25) with a live, statewide videoconference, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Energy Center is conducting public forums to discuss the state’s wind energy potential.

As the possibilities for harnessing wind energy as a viable renewable energy source and job provider sweep across West Michigan, local governments face the challenges of establishing zoning ordinances that regulate the use of residential and commercial wind turbines.

The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission will host an interconnection workshop March 18-19, 2008, in Pierre. The workshop will be held at the Kings Inn Hotel and Conference Center, 110 E. Sioux Ave. This will be the first of several workshops designed to develop a statewide best practices model for connecting small generating facilities to the electric grid.

This January 2008 policy brief from the New Rules Project of ILSR highlights how several European countries, and more recently the Canadian province of Ontario, have adopted a simple yet powerful strategy to expand renewable energy and benefit local economies. It is called a feed-in tariff: a mandated, long-term premium price for renewable energy paid by the local electric utility to energy producers. Evidence shows that a feed-in tariff achieves greater results at a lower cost than do other strategies like tax incentives or renewable electricity standards.

Click here to go to the New Rules Project website and download a copy of the report.

The theme of this year's convention will focus on renewable energy economic opportunities for farmers, ranchers and rural communities.

Ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel, carbon sequestration, and farmer- and community-owned wind (technology) each represent a new renewable energy based market with new sources of revenue.

The Harvesting Clean Energy Conference is the Northwest’s premiere gathering for agriculture and energy interests working to advance new opportunities for agriculture producers and rural communities in clean energy production. Clean energy offers real solutions – financial and practical – for our farmers, ranchers, rural utilities and towns, tribes, and regional economy.

"Property Taxation of Wind Generation Assets," North American Windpower, May 2006, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 31-34.