Wind Power News: Editorials
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.
Rush to wind is like haste for LNG; The Columbia River is an example of our ability to alter nature, for good and ill
Generations of children growing up in Eastern Oregon may never know it was an expansive and majestic landscape devoid of wind turbines. Already the foothills that display a beauty all their own are becoming something of an anomaly.
Wind turbines and the necessity of high-voltage power lines to access the energy they produce are the most recent threat to the Blue Mountains. As a consequence, Umatilla County is considering a proposal to protect a chunk of its land as a viewshed.
The . . .
Get out of town
Let us not hesitate in beating paths to our state representatives’ doors and urging them to vote a resounding NO on the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act, otherwise known as the Bill That Would Plaster The Berkshires With Wind Turbines.
In case you haven’t heard, our state officials, led by Secretary of Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles, want to take all power from the cities and towns when it comes to siting wind turbines and to put it in the hands of . . .
'Honeypot' overflows
Companies don’t stay in business long if they make a habit of borrowing $500,000 for capital equipment of dubious utility from which they expect a $30,000 annual return. But Phoenix Press in New Haven will do just that, and thanks to Uncle Sam and Aunt Jodi, can expect to clean up on its investment even as taxpayers and ratepayers are forced to take a bath.
As reported in Forbes magazine, Phoenix will buy a 121-foot wind turbine it doesn’t need and . . .
Right problem, wrong answer
Congress has taken up the so-called “cap and trade” bill that Democrats hope will drastically cut the greenhouse gases that many scientists believe imperil our planet.
We know our country must cut its greenhouse gas emissions, but this bill isn’t the way to do it. Even supporters of this complex system acknowledge that the measure relies far too much on clean-energy technology break-throughs that remains only theoretical.
The proposed legislation sponsored by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and . . .
Plan to ban wind turbines in the Blues has merit
Our concern is that the visual blight would more than offset the economic gains of even a very large wind farm.
The beauty of the Blue Mountains is something to behold. The colors and textures are amazing.
That beauty is one of the many things that make this area a great place to live. It is clearly an economic benefit.
Tonight the Umatilla County Planning Commission meets to discuss whether to adopt an amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan that would ban . . .
Slow down the rush of siting wind turbines in our Blue Mountains
Successive generations of children growing up in Eastern Oregon may never know we were once surrounded by an expansive and majestic landscape devoid of wind turbines. Already the foothills that display a beauty all their own are becoming something of an anomaly.
Wind turbines — and the necessity of high-voltage power lines to access the energy they produce — are the most recent threat to our Blue Mountains.
The initial step in the wind turbine issue begins Thursday, when the Umatilla County . . .
Big power line controversy
Underneath the way it’s been handled lies question: Is it needed?
The word “huge” aptly describes just about everything about the proposed electrical transmission line that would run from northeast California down the Central Valley into the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts and over to the Bay Area.
The 500-kilovolt line would stretch more than 600 miles, through more than a dozen counties and across thousands of privately-owned properties. The towers would stand up to 150 feet high. And the estimated . . .
Old problems for new energy
Just like the fossil fuel industries, creating the “new energy economy” runs the risk of trampling sensitive natural areas.
Western governors, animated by President Obama’s goal of doubling renewable energy production in the U.S. within three years, have identified dozens of areas rich in “new energy” sources. However, they’re now facing some of the same “old energy” obstacles to getting the projects moving.
Their challenge risks creating a contradiction in which building environmentally friendly new-energy plants tramples sensitive natural areas.
We urge . . .
No stone unturned
Highland New Wind Development is ready to start building the state’s first commercial wind-powered plant to generate electricity. Or is it?
The point is debatable. Or is it?
After seven years of seemingly endless discussion, testimony, lawsuits, and research, this company claims to be only weeks away from a building permit and a few months away from erecting 400-foot towers on Highland County’s western ridge tops. All but a few loose ends are tied up, HNWD says, and construction could be well . . .
A fine point on the absurd
Once upon a time, children sharpened their pencils in class one of two ways. They inserted them into a metal pencil sharpener fixed to the wall and turned a crank on the sharpener. Or they sat at their desks and used those cheap plastic sharpeners which entailed putting the pencil in and rotating it until it came to a fine point. Now, however, St. Mary Catholic School in Edmonton powers its electric pencil sharpeners with a wind turbine standing four . . .
