Wind Power News: News
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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.
Wind turbines kill bats without impact
Researchers have found the cause behind mysterious bat deaths near wind turbines, in which many bat carcasses appeared uninjured.
The explanation to this puzzle is that the bats’ lungs effectively blow up from the rapid pressure drop that occurs as air flows over the turbine blades.
“The idea had kind of been floating around, because people had noticed these bats with no injuries,” said Erin Baerwald of the University of Calgary and lead author of a study about the finding in the . . .
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Why wind turbines can mean death for bats
Power-generating wind turbines have long been recognized as a potentially life-threatening hazard for birds. But at most wind facilities, bats actually die in much greater numbers. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology, a Cell Press journal, on August 26th think they know why.
Ninety percent of the bats they examined after death showed signs of internal hemorrhaging consistent with trauma from the sudden drop in air pressure (a condition known as barotrauma) at turbine blades. Only about half of the . . .
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Wind turbines make bat lungs explode
“Beware: exploding lungs” is not a sign one would expect to see at a wind farm. But a new study suggests this is the main reason bats die in large numbers around wind turbines.
The risk that wind turbines pose to birds is well known and has dogged debates over wind energy. In fact, several studies have suggested the risk to bats is greater. In May 2007, the US National Research Council published the results of a survey of US . . .
Flight for Life avoids area wind turbines
Flight for Life recently sent a notice to local law enforcement agencies and fire departments advising them that they will not land in areas where there are clusters of wind turbines due to the risks involved.
These risks include the height of the turbines (400 feet with a wingspan of 270 feet) and vortices equal to the turbulence created by a 747 airplane.
As a taxpayer who lives on the edge of one of Fond du Lac County’s three wind . . .
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Conservation of peatlands could reduce 10 percent of global greenhouse emissions
A new report has suggested that protecting peatland areas can be a cost-effective way to reduce as much as 10 percent of global greenhouse emissions.
Peatlands are wetland ecosystems that accumulate plant material over time to form layers of peat soil up to 20 meters thick. They are present in 180 countries, cover 3 percent of the worlds surface, and store an average of 10 times more carbon per hectare than other ecosystems.
Peatlands are also home to a large share of . . .
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Clipper Windpower hit by commissioning delays
Clipper Windpower, the Aim-listed, US-based wind turbine manufacturer, today warned that only a handful of its turbines will contribute to this year’s earnings.
Clipper had previously said revenues from 35 of the 125 turbines produced at its plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, would be recognised in this year’s figures.
Today, however, it said commissioning delays meant only eight turbines, which were produced late in 2006, would be counted. Revenues and gross profits from the balance would be taken in 2008, the company . . .
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Holland to study wind power
Anticipating that the year 2008 will bring overtures from various companies interested in bringing wind power to Holland, the Holland Town Board decided Wednesday to set up a subcommittee to investigate the sometimes controversial source of energy.
“The whole country is facing the same issue,” Supervisor Michael Kasprzyk said. He added, “We need to know what the sentiments are in our community. Either way, we need to address the issue.”
Neighboring towns of Sheldon, Boston, Sardinia and Eagle recently have voted for . . .
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Article 78 Decision: Brander v Warren Town Bd
Supreme Court, Onondaga County
In the Matter of the Application for a Judgment Pursuant to Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules of Sue Brander, YURI ZAÏKOFF, DIANE MARIE THOMAS, EDWARD AND DORAYNE PEPLINSKI NICOLE ZAÏKOFF, HAMILTON SOUTH II, KAREN SOUTH, LOUISE DOUBLEDAY, CARRIE GREENLAND, ELENA PEREKRESTOV, STEPHEN REICHENBACH, LEON ZGIRSKI, MARION CZWIKLA and ARCHIMANDRITE GEORGE SCHAEFER, Petitioners, .
against
Town of Warren Town Board, TOWN OF STARK TOWN BOARD, JORDANVILLE WIND, LLC and COMMUNITY ENERGY, INC., Respondents.
2007-4515
DOUG H. ZAMELIS, ESQ.
For . . .
Kyoto clean energy projects to dry up
Funding for new projects to supply carbon offsets under the present cycle of the Kyoto Protocol will dry up over the next two years, underlining uncertainty about the pact’s future, a project developer said.
Kyoto allows rich countries to meet greenhouse gas emissions targets between 2008 and 2012 by buying carbon offsets from developing and former communist nations, funding projects there for example to install renewable energy.
But present Kyoto emissions targets expire in 2012, and because projects take up to two . . .
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Wind turbine makers face 'challenge' on equipment
Wind turbine makers face a “major challenge” getting equipment due to surging demand and probably won’t be able to cut delivery times for three years, said Suzlon Energy Ltd., India’s biggest wind farm construction company.
Lead times to supply wind turbines, which have reached at least 15 months, will take time to reduce as suppliers clear order backlogs and add an “unprecedented” amount of new capacity, Andre Horbach, Amsterdam-based chief executive officer at Suzlon, said today in Melbourne. Suzlon has a . . .
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