A year and a half after a West Hartford-based startup made its pitch to build the first commercial wind farms in Connecticut, the state is inching closer to establishing regulations for such projects. The Connecticut Siting Council, which has sole jurisdiction over renewable energy projects that propose to generate more than 1 megawatt of power, has drafted a set of regulations for wind turbines. The regulations are an outgrowth of reviewing two applications from BNE Energy, Inc., which proposed installing . . .

Paul Michaud, president of Connecticut’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Business Association, told AOL Energy that “there will be a role for wind energy” in the ZREC program, but added that “Connecticut doesn’t have a strong, statewide wind resource.” Consequently, most of the initial ZREC projects are likely to be solar, Michaud says.

Researcher Todd Katzner and the U.S. Department of Energyare tailing the same slightly ruffled, strawberry blond: an Eastern Golden Eagle equipped with a tiny cell phone that winters in Connecticut and summers in Quebec. Wingspan, 7 feet; weight,14 pounds; appearance, magnificent. The eagle’s flight path could alter the course of wind farm development on the East Coast. Birds and wind turbines share an affinity for windy mountain ridgelines putting them on a potential collision course, said Katzner, one of a . . .

The $4.7 billion merger of Hartford-based Northeast Utilities and Boston-based NStar neared the finish line Monday after state utility regulators gave their final approval. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority in New Britain issued its final decision just a week after issuing a draft decision and hearing objections. PURA’s review of the merger was expedited because the utilities had set April 16 as the deadline for a merger. PURA’s decision means NU and NStar need only approval from regulators in Massachusetts . . .

A North Carolina engineering firm has filed a lawsuit against BNE Energy, the West Hartford wind developer that plans to build a $24 million industrial wind farm in Colebrook, seeking $179,465 in unpaid bills, plus interest and fees. Zapata Inc., a Charlotte, NC, engineering firm, said in its January 31 lawsuit in Litchfield Superior Court that it is owed the money for engineering, design services and other consulting work. The Colebrook project, meanwhile, faces permitting delays and a legal challenge . . .

If Connecticut does not develop more renewable resources, ratepayers could be passed on noncompliance fees of more than $250 million annually by 2022, according to a draft version of the state’s future energy plan. Of all the New England states, Connecticut has the highest target for renewable generation: 20 percent by 2020, but it has few in-state resources to get that power, save for some projects that depend on state-sponsored contracts. The current projected amount of available renewable energy is . . .

CANAAN – The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is close to reaching a settlement with a wind turbine company over the illegal cutting of trees in the Housatonic State Forest. Department spokesman Dennis Schain said this week that surveys and research have concluded that West Hartford-based BNE Energy did encroach state property and take down roughly 330 trees on approximately 2.5 acres in the fall of 2010. Schain has said BNE was clearing a test site for a possible . . .

The Patrick administration last month reached a major agreement with Northeast Utilities and NStar that would allow a merger of the two utility companies in exchange for a four-year rate freeze and a 15-year contract to buy power from Cape Wind. If regulatory approvals come through, it would create the largest utility in New England. Why does Cape Wind enter into the picture? The deal would commit the merged utility to buying 27.5 percent of the power generated by Cape . . .

State utility regulators heard from just two speakers Wednesday night at a public hearing on the proposed merger of Northeast Utilities and NSTAR, a Boston-based utility. Elizabeth Gilson, representing the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, and Jim McAlister, of New Fairfield, were the only members of the public to attend the hearing held at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. The 6:30 p.m. hearing, scheduled to end at 10 p.m., adjourned at 7:10. In opening remarks, Kevin DelGobbo, director of . . .

State utility regulators heard from just two speakers Wednesday night at a public hearing on the proposed merger of Northeast Utilities and NSTAR, a Boston-based utility. Elizabeth Gilson, representing the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, and Jim McAlister, of New Fairfield, were the only members of the public to attend the hearing held at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. The 6:30 p.m. hearing, scheduled to end at 10 p.m., adjourned at 7:10. In opening remarks, Kevin DelGobbo, director of . . .