Wind Power News: Oregon
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.
BPA braces for strong spring runoff, excess power and wind power cuts
From a hushed control center tucked into a building in Portland’s Pearl District, Kit Blair and dispatchers at Iberdrola Renewables captain a fleet of 3,000 wind turbines spread over 17 states. Laid out before them on a wall of flat panel displays is the performance of every Iberdrola turbine component in the United States. A few keystrokes can bring up a real time schematic of an individual turbine’s gear box in Texas, feather every blade at a wind farm in . . .
Bend group sues to halt Steens Mtn. wind project
It’s considered one of the most pristine wilderness areas in the West. Stretching across southeastern Oregon, over 425,550 undeveloped acres dotted with desert, mountains and wildlife. “It’s hard to find a place like Steens Mountain any more. You know, it’s amazingly wild. What you feel is the kind of solitude that you really can’t find in most places,” Brent Fenty, executive director of the Bend-based Oregon Natural Desert Association, said Thursday. In December, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed a . . .
Steens Mountain threatened by massive wind development
Plans to build an industrial-scale wind facility on Steens Mountain in southeastern Oregon’s high desert were challenged by the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) and Audubon Society of Portland today. The lawsuit seeks to block what the conservation groups claim is an illegal project by the Department of the Interior that would forever change an otherwise wild and beautiful landscape. In December, the Secretary of the Interior approved a plan allowing the developer to build up to 70 wind turbines . . .
Environmental groups sue to block wind turbines on Steens Mountain
The Oregon Natural Desert Association and Audubon Society of Portland filed a lawsuit Thursday, April 5, challenging the siting of a wind turbine complex at Steens Mountain in southeast Oregon. The lawsuit argues that 70 wind turbines and a high-capacity electrical transmission line will mar the “otherwise wild and beautiful landscape.” The Echanis Wind Energy Project is proposed by Vancouver, Wash.-based Columbia Energy Partners on private land in the Steens area. The project was approved in December by the U.S. . . .
BPA asked to clarify transmission line plans
Public scrutiny of the Bonneville Power Administration’s proposal to build a transmission line through Clark and Cowlitz counties is well known. But as the BPA crafts detailed plans for the 500-kilovolt line, it’s also faced tough questions from one of the agencies responsible for permitting the project. Last fall, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asked the federal power marketing agency for better justification in eliminating some alternate routes — including a citizen-proposed route some residents have rallied around for . . .
Ocean wind energy might come to Coos Bay
The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay announced it signed a six-month exclusive negotiating agreement with an ocean wind energy company. The port said it hopes the company will win a contract with the Department of Energy to test ocean wind energy on the West Coast. If the company wins the DOE contract, it would launch wind energy platforms from the west birth of the Oregon Gateway Terminal slip. The port has not yet released the name of the ocean . . .
Study finds wind turbines may be bad for your health
Everything from vertigo to sleep deprivation, migraines, heart disease, stress and tinnitus has been blamed on wind farms. The Oregon Health Authority Office of Environmental Public Health spent more than a year investigating whether living close to wind turbines damages personal health or brings discord into a community. The results appear in a recently released 134-page health impact assessment. Tuesday, the health authority at a hearing at the Umatilla County Justice Center gathered public comment on the report. Another session . . .
Wind energy a bad deal for Oregon
I am embarrassed, frustrated and deeply disappointed by Senator Wyden who joined a bipartisan group of senators on March 15, introducing an unmerited bill to extend wind energy tax credits for two years; just two days after the US Senate wisely defeated a similar proposal. Senator Wyden continues to ignore the indisputable facts about wind energy even though it is widely known that wind energy is neither green nor efficient and is horribly expensive. Oregon’s wind project, Shepherds Flat, is . . .
Focus on technology overlooks human behavior when addressing climate change
EUGENE, Ore. — (March 18, 2012) — Technology alone won’t help the world turn away from fossil fuel-based energy sources, says University of Oregon sociologist Richard York. In a newly published paper, York argues for a shift in political and economic policies to embrace the concept that continued growth in energy consumption is not sustainable. Many nations, including the United States, are actively pursuing technological advances to reduce the use of fossil fuels to potentially mitigate human contributions to climate-change. . . .
Senate failure is victory for Eastern Oregonians
A huge victory was achieved by citizens working at the grass roots level when the Production Tax Credit Amendment failed in the US Senate March 13. Wind energy projects have been dependent on these tax credits to be financially feasible. Failure of this amendment means that our nation will not incur a $5-$20 billion dollar debt (plus interest) to the Chinese. The work of thousands of citizens – both Democrat and Republican, educating themselves and others about the truth of . . .
