Turbines at the Altamont Pass wind farm in California, one of the earliest wind farms in the United States and the largest concentration of wind turbines in the world, will soon be repowered and upgraded.

The San Jose Mercury News reported last week that a vast number of turbines at Altamont Pass east of San Francisco are to be replaced by newer, more efficient models.

Google has given its strongest backing yet to wind energy by investing in a proposed $5-billion offshore wind underwater network project that could keep the lights on in homes and businesses from New Jersey to Virginia.

The project has been described by The New York Times as having the potential to “ultimately transform the region’s electrical map.” The newspaper also said the 563-kilometre underwater spine could remove some critical obstacles to offshore wind power development, and has excited investors, government officials and environmentalists.

In a posting to its blog by Rick Needham, Green Business Operations Director, Google said the project will accelerate offshore wind development in the United States while being both good for business and the environment.

Wind power in New York could be increased in the next eight years by more than five times the amount currently operating in the state, a new study has found.

Continued wind development would bring a number of benefits to the 19.5 million people living in the state, including lowered energy production costs and decreased amounts of CO2 and other harmful pollutants, the study by the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) found.

“Wind power is a vital component of New York State’s renewable energy strategy,” Stephen Whitley, NYISO president, said in a press release issued Thursday. “This study provides a much clearer picture of the benefits consumers can see as a result of continued wind development.”

Mexico’s government and private investors are working together to set the stage for a rapid and radical increase in the amount of wind power in the country of 111 million people.

According to a recent report in RenewableEnergyWorld, spokesmen for the Mexican wind industry are predicting the still small power-generating sector is aiming to increase by six times its installed capacity by 2014.

Aided by new government incentives, the story notes the wind energy sector could expand within three years its installed capacity — at a cost of about $5 billion — to 3,000 MW from the current 500 MW.

The quickly developing offshore wind power sector may soon be opening an exciting new chapter with the news that Scotland wants Norway’s largest energy corporation to use its waters to develop the world’s first floating wind farm.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond met Statoil officials last Monday to discuss a proposal by the company to commercially test its Hywind floating turbines in deep water either off the coast of Lewis or Aberdeenshire.

A government of Scotland press release noted Statoil has already constructed a full scale 2.3 MW prototype Hywind unit, anchored 10 kilometres offshore at Karmøy in Norway, in waters up to 200 metres deep.