When I visted Maui last month, the Kaheawa Wind Power Farm on a ridge above Ma'alaea was operational and quite visible. The farm can power about 10,000 homes thanks to an average windspeed of 25 mph on that location. I hadn't realized it would go up so quickly. Even more surprising to me was how visible the farm was from the tony resorts down in Wailea. You could clearly make out these massive towers from the beach immediately in front of the Four Seasons Resort. The image here shows the sightline from the farm down to the entire southeast coastline. No one on the beach seemed to notice. I guess that's a pretty good thing for Maui, which needs to figure out how to power up without polluting. Some on the Valley Isle, however, seem to be unhappy with this environmentally friendly neighbor. The farm sits 2,000 feet up a ridgeline on state conservation land. There's another big wind farm on Maui planned, albeit in a less visible location in Ulupalakua.

—Alex, 08/18/06