Wind Power News: Florida
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.
Wildlife ‘holocaust’
The planned 119 wind turbines in Palm Beach County will not clean the air, nor will they reduce consumption. They will, however, create environmental damage. According to the Golden Gate Audubon Society more than 100 golden eagles, 350 burrowing owls, 300 red-tailed hawks and 333 American kestrels are killed by wind turbines annually. If wind power made sense, why would it need government subsidies? The wind farm experience has left 14,000 turbines no longer in use and decaying. Green energy . . .
Wind turbines not answer
Wind turbines do not clean the air. They will not reduce consumption they only help to meet demands. And at what price? Some species that use this flyway can’t spare one bird. Wind turbines go deep into the ground and create more environmental damage. They also produce CO2. Birds are at risk of cars, planes, trains, guns, towers, power lines and many other things. None of those things are natural, they are all man-made and wind turbines are just like . . .
Birds at risk from South Florida ‘wind farm’
Splattered birds make going green a tough sell. The risk of birds flying into fast-spinning blades atop wind-catching turbines the size of the Statue of Liberty threatens to torpedo a proposed “wind farm” that could produce non-polluting energy on the edge of the Everglades. The same environmental groups that advocate wind and solar as alternatives to using polluting fossil fuels to produce electricity also oppose the wind farm planned on Palm Beach County sugar cane fields. The location, between Lake . . .
Renewable energy goals in cross hairs
TALLAHASSEE — Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, in his new role as Florida’s top energy official, urged lawmakers Thursday to scale back renewable energy goals to a more realistic level as they develop an energy policy for the state. Putnam rolled out his recommendations during an appearance before the House Energy and Utilities Subcommittee. “It’s important that we lead with some modesty,” Putnam said. “I’m interested in the art of the possible. I learned a long time ago that in this . . .
Power-generating wind turbines might rise near Belle Glade
Towering turbines that spin to provide electricity from wind aren’t what turbines used to be. They’re a whole lot better, which is why Robin Saiz is still banking on building what could be the first wind farm in Florida. Saiz is the project director for Wind Capital Group, the company behind the Sugarland Wind project, planned for 13,000 acres 7 miles east of Belle Glade. “Because of changes in wind turbines, we’ve got technology that allows us to take advantage . . .
Rock mines, wind turbines don’t belong in Everglades
The Palm Beach County Commission approved zoning for up to 90 wind turbines (over 500-feet tall) in the Everglades Agricultural Area, even though this location would put migratory birds and bats at risk. Environmental groups suggested we carefully study the impacts. Why rush these zoning changes? The same is true of rock mining. We have asked for a comprehensive study of rock mining damage, but the county says they can’t afford a study. Yet, county officials ignore existing science showing . . .
Palm Beach County makes it easier to build wind farms, despite environmental objections
Angling to become the “wind farm capital” of Florida, Palm Beach County on Monday OK’d rules to allow the spread of towering wind turbines despite the threat to migrating birds. The County Commission changed development rules to better accommodate 500-foot-tall wind turbines with spinning blades that harness wind power to produce electricity. New rules could first benefit Missouri-based Wind Capital Group, which proposes 80 wind turbines spread across 16,000 acres of sugar-cane land near Belle Glade. Environmental groups say they . . .
Palm Beach County sets zoning in motion for wind turbine farms
Palm Beach County commissioners on Monday gave final approval to a series of development rules that could allow a wind farm to rise on thousands of acres of sugar land near Belle Glade. The commission voted 6-0 in favor of changes to the county’s land development regulations that would allow wind turbines to rise throughout the county. Commissioner Burt Aaronson was absent during the vote. The changes aren’t related to a specific location but are meant to help clear the . . .
Audubon calls for three-year wind farm delay
Audubon of Florida on Monday raised new concerns about a proposed wind farm that environmentalists contend poses a risk to migrating birds. Missouri-based Wind Capital Group proposes building 80 towering wind turbines across 16,000 acres of sugar cane land near Belle Glade that was once part of the Everglades. While offering an environmentally-friendly alternative energy source the tall towers and fast spinning blades also pose hazards for birds flying between Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades. Audubon on Monday called for . . .
Audubon’s take on wind farming in the Everglades
Audubon of Florida weighed in on a proposed wind farm in the Everglades Agricultural Area on Monday. In a 10-page letter to the Wind Capital Group LLC, Audubon Dir. of Wildlife Conservation, Julie Wraithmell, and Science Coordinator Paul Gray, recommended changes in the monitoring protocols the company intends to use to identify danger to birds and other wildlife. Among the changes: 1. Conduct radar studies to monitor movements of birds, especially movement of birds, bats and insects at night. 2. . . .
