Wind Watch: Industrial Wind Energy News
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Obama admin sweats legal response as turbines kill birds
MOUNT STORM, W.Va. — Turn the final bend on Route 42 as it snakes up Mount Storm and a towering turbine appears, its blades swooshing in the winter gusts. Dozens more of these giants crown this remote mountain ridge 150 miles west of Washington, D.C. Dominion and Shell WindEnergy’s NedPower Mount Storm facility — 132 turbines in all — generates up to 264 megawatts, enough to power around 66,000 homes. But there’s a problem: The whirring blades kill birds. A . . .
Eagle deaths could bring hefty fines to wind developer
In order for AWA Goodhue Wind to avoid facing some substantial charges in the event of an eagle death from its project’s wind turbines, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is highly recommending the wind developer acquire what’s called an incidental take permit. “We’ve been encouraging them for a while. Since last summer,” USFWS wildlife biologist Mags Rheude said. AWA Goodhue is planning a 78-megawatt wind farm in Goodhue County, and local residents have shown a great deal of concern for . . .
Wind power: Clean energy, dirty business?
Like the oil drilling rig that became an icon of the Industrial Age, the giant, spinning wind turbine has become a global image of clean power. No longer a futuristic dream of environmentalists, wind power has become a big business: Since the signing of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change in 1998, wind-generated electricity has grown 20-fold: from only enough to power the equivalent of two New York Cities, to 200,000 megawatts today – enough to power six Britains. (In . . .
Wind power similar to asbestos, tobacco industries: NSW GP
A NSW GP has dismissed claims wind turbines cause no ill health effects and called on his colleagues to join the fight against the wind power industry, which he compared to the tobacco and asbestos industries. Carcoar, NSW, GP Dr Alan Watts, who was recognised with an Australia Day Award in 2004 for service to medicine, has called for “rigorous and independent” research into the health effects of wind turbines to “settle the matter once and for all”. Dr Watts . . .
Wind protest arrests: blasting warnings questioned
NEWPORT CITY — The defense fired holes in the state’s case Thursday morning against two Sterling College students accused of violating a court order barring anyone from being near blasting at the Lowell wind site last fall. And the presiding judge raised sharp questions of his own in the hour-long hearing, asking about how the students Nov. 16 would have known whether blasting was to occur near the wind construction site. Defense attorney Kristina Michelson requested the motion to dismiss . . .
Wairarapa wind farm offer falls flat
Genesis Energy has failed to sway local communities from opposing a massive wind farm plan despite dangling a financial carrot. The power giant this week offered a $750,000 deal as a way of compensating the people of townships such as Alfredton, Castle Hill and Tinui for problems associated with construction of the $1.6 billion Castle Hill Wind Farm that could not be otherwise mitigated. But residents said the sticking point was that a proposed community trust would only be established . . .
The ‘wind rush’: Green energy blows trouble into Mexico
The Isthmus of Tehuantapec, Mexico’s narrowest point, is a powerful wind tunnel of air currents whipping through the mountains that separate the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Here, on the Pacific side, the wind shapes everything from the miles-long sandspits of Laguna Superior to the landscapes of the indigenous people’s hearts. Howling constantly through thatched roofs, the wind is powerful enough at times to support a grown man leaning back as if in a chair. Gales average 19 miles per hour, . . .
Neighbor, power company at odds over wind turbine
VERGENNES, Vt. — A recently installed wind turbine in Vergennes is the first in a Green Mountain Power project targeting smaller community projects, but one neighbor is so upset about it that he wants to move away. The turbine, installed at the Northlands Job Corps in Vergennes, is 120 feet and 10 percent of its energy goes to Northlands in return for the land use. GMP officials said they had more than 60 proposals for similar turbines and planned to . . .
Edison looking at muffler system for Pinnacle Wind Farm
KEYSER — Edison Mission Group (EMG), a subsidiary of Edison International, has announced commissioning of the Pinnacle Wind Farm at NewPage located on Green Mountain, near the Maryland-West Virginia border. The 23-turbine wind farm has a maximum generating capacity of 55 megawatts (MW), enough electricity to meet the average needs of about 14,000 homes. In announcing that the wind farm has been formally commissioned, Edison officials noted that the next meeting of the Community Advisory Panel will be 6 p.m. . . .
Agricultural group supports OFA wind turbine opposition
LINDSAY – The Victoria Haliburton Federation of Agriculture says the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s (OFA) call for a halt to industrial wind turbine projects in the province makes sense. The OFA issued a statement late last week that the wind turbines are creating an “untenable” situation by polarizing rural communities. “If you get a rent cheque (for a wind turbine), it’s pretty good. If you live next door, it’s not as good,” said Terry Parker, VFHA media relations person, in . . .
