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Opinions, Scotland
02 Aug 2008
Closing Bell — Why the answer on power is not blowing in wind
I was lucky enough to spend three days on the West Coast of Scotland recently. Inexplicably the sun shone without interruption and the views were breathtaking, helped by the mighty midge being in a sun-stroked sulk. However, one aspect of this glorious part of the world that I find less than inspiring is the swathes of sitka woodlands. The Forestry Commission manages 7,720sq km of land in the UK, some 60 per cent of which is in Scotland. And although there are ...
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Indiana
02 Aug 2008
Here with the wind; Commissioners to address issue of wind energy at meeting
Horizon Wind Energy LLC could begin construction on a proposed wind farm west of Brookston in about a year if all goes well with new county zoning ordinances and if design plans are developed by then. The ordinance issue, a county-wide revision of zoning ordinances in general, will include a wind ordinance with setbacks for wind turbines and other details as part of the overhaul. County Board of Commissioners President John Heimlich said the ordinance plan will come before county commissioners on ...
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Blogs, New York
02 Aug 2008
Local government role in the siting of wind facilities
So far, the case law that has been generated on the sited of wind farms clearly indicates that the decisionmaking has been occurring at the local government level through routine land use planning and zoning (and applicable local environmental review) decision making. However, as the promotion of wind turbines is promoted more as a viable source of much needed “green” energy, and as some courts are beginning to hold that wind farms may be considered akin to public utilities, ...
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Ontario
02 Aug 2008
Prime property for wind turbines; County on radar of green power companies
The high cost of energy and the push for green power has prompted a gold rush of sorts, as companies eye Renfrew County as a host for a series of ambitious wind power projects. While still far ...
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U.S.
05 Aug 2008
Pickens Plan Stirs Debate, and Qualms
California automobile dealers report long waiting lists for a Honda Civic that runs on natural gas. In Utah, where natural gas is especially cheap, drivers are scouring the Internet for vehicles that burn it. In Washington, members of Congress are eagerly filing bills favoring natural gas cars. Boone Pickens presented his natural gas and wind power proposal last week in Topeka, Kan. Mr. Pickens wants to curb American dependence on foreign oil. In other countries, interest has been rising for years in ...
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New Zealand
04 Aug 2008
Call for fresh evidence on wind farm
An application for new evidence to be heard at an Environment Court appeal hearing for Meridian Energy’s proposed $1.5 billion Project Hayes wind farm will be decided this morning. Appellant party Maniototo Environmental Society (MES) counsel Mike Holm, of Auckland, lodged an application for new evidence to be heard in relation to possible cumulative effects of both Project Hayes and the Mahinerangi wind farm. As TrustPower’s $400 million Mahinerangi project, which would sit southeast of the proposed Project Hayes site, was ...
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England, Press releases
04 Aug 2008
Planning permission for the Den Brook Wind Farm quashed
We are pleased to be able to announce that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has agreed to quash the planning permission for the Den Brook Wind Farm as a result of our legal actions. A Consent Order signed at the last minute by the Secretary of State’s office, RES and ourselves details the reasons why the Secretary of State has agreed the Inspector’s decision was in error. The agreement remains subject to court ratification at which time ...
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Wales
04 Aug 2008
Major power lines could go through Powys
Mid Wales has to face up to the possibility of a major 400kv steel power line according to a Powys County Councillor. Powys County Councillor, Wynne Jones, portfolio holder with responsibility for regeneration and development, said Mid Wales electricity network would need upgrading if the majority of 19 possible windfarm sites identified by the Welsh Assembly Government document TAN 08 are given the go ahead. A Spokesman for National Grid also confirmed it is looking at the possibility of a 400kv line ...
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England
04 Aug 2008
Residents seek wind turbine tax rebate
Hundreds of home-owners in Burton-Upon-Stather have warned they will make a mass claim for council tax discount if a plan to build wind turbines alongside their village is given the go-ahead. Burton Against Turbines (BAT) will base their case on a landmark ruling last week by a woman in Lincolnshire, who was granted a discount because her home was rendered worthless by a turbine nearby. BAT last month organised a 400-strong rally against the seven-turbine plan, set for land owned by ...
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Colorado, , , Opinions, U.S.
04 Aug 2008
Convention carbon offsets as "green" as bottom line
Democrats can’t get to Denver without dumping carbon into the air. They’re washing away the sins of transportation and electrification by purchasing carbon offsets ...
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Editorials, Pennsylvania
07 Aug 2008
Municipalities best be prepared for onslaught of power proposals
It’s not clear how many municipalities have approved ordinances or taken other steps to govern windmills. It doesn’t appear to be many. But the reality is that there could be a windmill — or windmill farm of 20 or more towering wind machines — coming to a field near you in the not-too-distant future. Thus, at least the possibility of such should be on the radar screen of every municipal governing body in the state. Dauphin County’s Middle Paxton Twp. took ...
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England
07 Aug 2008
Radar fears scale back wind plan
Plans to build a wind farm to generate power for 5,500 homes and businesses in east Berkshire have been scaled back. A study found only five wind turbines should be built after British Aerospace said the original plan for six could impact on the radar at Heathrow. The University of Reading, which is behind the scheme on its land by the M4 at Rushy Mead, agreed to the findings. It said a planning application for a temporary wind monitoring mast on the site ...
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Vermont
07 Aug 2008
Symington proposes increase in wind power
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gaye Symington said she’d like to see 225 wind turbines in clusters spread across the state, producing 20 percent of the state’s electricity within 10 years. Symington released a proposal Wednesday that calls for increasing the state’s use of wind energy ...
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England, Letters
08 Aug 2008
Too many turbines put views at risk
An application has been made to North Cornwall District Council to build 20 wind turbines, each 126 metres (415 feet) high in Davidstow Woods alongside Crowdy Reservoir. The tops of the turbine blades would be at the same height as Roughtor, only one and a half miles away, and the array would be visible ...
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New York
09 Aug 2008
Prattsburgh wind project to move forward
A controversial Southern Tier wind project has been slated to move forward, but not everyone thinks it will really happen. The Prattsburgh wind project has not been a light topic in the community. On Friday the energy company First Wind announced, construction will begin in Spring 2009. Back in June, groups of people were rallying for and against the proposed wind project filled a town board meeting. ...
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New York
09 Aug 2008
New York PSC sets meetings on Iberdrola, Energy East
The proposed $4.5 billion takeover of Energy East Corp. by Iberdrola SA of Spain will come before the state Public Service Commission on Aug. 20 and 27, the PSC announced Friday. Energy East is the parent of Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. and New York State Electric and Gas Corp., both headquartered in Rochester. Iberdrola, a big international utility that specializes in wind energy development, proposed the acquisition of Energy East in June 2007. The deal has been approved by the federal ...
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Texas
09 Aug 2008
Group mulls action to halt wind farm; Environmentalists want federal government to get involved
An environmental group may try to push the federal government to file a lawsuit against the state, arguing that it failed to stop developers ...
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England
11 Aug 2008
Go-ahead expected for Burton windfarm mast
Planners are expected to grant permission for a mast which could pave the way for a controversial windfarm. When North Lincolnshire Council’s planning committee meets on Wednesday, it is expected to grant permission for the 70-metre mast on land close to Burton-Upon-Stather. The mast, which will gauge how much power is likely to be generated by turbines at the site, is seen by many as the first step towards securing the windfarm itself. Flixborough Parish Council has objected to the mast on the ...
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Blogs, Pennsylvania
11 Aug 2008
Attack of the wind power monsters
It started out as a simple phone call: “Would I like to have a couple of wind towers on my PA. mountain property? Some of your neighbors have already signed–how about you?” My answer was a firm no! “…. Well how about the wires? You’d surely let us string some wires over your property?” My answer was, “What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand?”Bear in mind, that by agreeing to such an offer, I would be desecrating the woodland surroundings of ...
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Washington
11 Aug 2008
Wind power hits turbulence in Washington state
At the Wild Horse Wind Facility in Kittitas County, 127 tall white turbines, each with a blade diameter larger than a Boeing 747 wingspan, dot miles of ridgeline, cranking out enough power to serve 55,000 homes. Puget Sound Energy, which owns the facility, wants to expand it, adding another 25 turbines to power another 10,000 homes. The Wild Horse expansion, if approved, would add to the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on wind projects in recent years. The wind industry in ...
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Kansas, Opinions
11 Aug 2008
Facing reality of wind energy
Perhaps it would clarify the wind issue if some basic facts were understood. The term is WECS: Wind Energy Conversion Systems, not “farms,” “ranches,” or “parks.” The structures are industrial-scale turbines. WECS will produce small amounts of energy with an efficiency range averaging 35 percent at most locations. WECS in Kansas in operation or under construction have the ability to produce 1,014 megawatts of electricity at maximum production; less than a quarter of that electricity stays in Kansas. WECS will not replace ...
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Florida
11 Aug 2008
Mandates on the use of renewable energy would have a profound impact on the environment, but at what cost?
A crucial argument about the best way to combat global warming comes down to two alternatives that may seem deceptively simple:
• Force utilities to make a certain percentage of electricity ...
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Nova Scotia
12 Aug 2008
Wind turbine will remain inactive
AMHERST – The wind turbine at the Cumberland RCMP detachment likely won’t be spinning anytime soon. Detachment head Staff Sgt. Frank Kingston said Thursday he is awaiting word ...
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Pennsylvania
13 Aug 2008
Fall construction start anticipated for area turbines; Appeal denied in Tioga County court decision
WELLSBORO - The Tioga Preservation Group’s land use appeal of the Tioga County Planning Commission’s decision to grant conditional approval for a wind farm project has been denied, opening the door for the construction of 124 wind turbines in Tioga and Bradford counties. On Aug. 8, Tioga County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Robert E. Dalton Jr. issued an order denying the appeal of the group, and upheld the planning commission’s preliminary conditional approval of the land-use application made by ...
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New Brunswick
13 Aug 2008
Shear wind power play; 1,000 megawatts N. S. firm exploring feasibility of two new wind farms in New Brunswick
Shear Wind Inc. is studying the idea of building up to 1,000 megawatts of wind energy in northern New Brunswick, a move that could pump as much as $2 billion into the province. The Halifax-based firm (TSX:V:SWX) is studying two sites in the province, one at Benjamin River outside of Campbellton an another at Mann Siding, which is located between Campbellton and Grand Falls, near Kedgwick. Both projects would begin as 150 megawatt farms and could expand up to 500 megawatts each, ...
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Ontario
13 Aug 2008
Wind farm plan breezes through
A wind-power project to erect six turbines in Lakeshore met little opposition at a public meeting in St. Joachim Tuesday. Wind Prospect Inc., a U.K.-based company which has an office in Windsor, plans to erect the 80-metre turbines between Belle River and St. Joachim. The turbines will be in farm fields near Concession 3 north of County Road 42 and south of the CP railway line. Lucas Reindler, the project manager, estimated the turbines would power 3,000 homes. Four property owners have agreed ...
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England, Opinions
14 Aug 2008
A poke in the eye for Goliath
Is there anything more depressing than a dreary summer? Not much, but I can think of a few things. First, digging up a beautiful, red-skinned, home-grown potato, planted and tended so lovingly, only to find it riddled with slug holes – and the slug still inside. Then there’s the smell of three washer loads of damp clothes that I cannot dry inside – since the heating and the Aga are off – or outside, for obvious reasons. Finally, there is ...
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Delaware, Letters, New Jersey
14 Aug 2008
Bird champions are too silent on wind farm harm
The “Birds, fish may like wind farm” article on Monday 11 was poorly researched. It has been well-documented that thousands of birds (
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New Zealand
15 Aug 2008
Another wind farm looms on horizon
The Puketoi ranges in the Tararua could be the location for a new wind farm if plans by Contact Energy to build up to 65 turbines are approved. The ranges, east of Pahiatua, have been pinpointed by the company for a 177- megawatt wind farm, with the potential to power about 86,000 homes. The $500 million wind farm brings the number of proposed farms on the ranges to two, with state-owned Mighty River Power beginning to wind-test for a 200-megawatt farm earlier ...
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Wisconsin
15 Aug 2008
State swings for wind rules; Municipalities fight for local control
The state Legislature will try again to establish statewide wind farm standards, but the one-size-fits-all approach faces the same opposition. Since the last legislative session ended with a failed attempt to approve standards, several local governments created wind farm ordinances, and many argue that’s where the discussion should stay.“It’s a scary prospect to put (turbines) in here among all the homes,” said Mike Luethe, chairman of the town of Ridgeville, which last week joined the town of Wilton in passing an ...
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England
15 Aug 2008
Opposition grows to hillside wind farm scheme
Peak Park planners look like adding their weight to opposition to a wind farm on a hillside between Penistone and Stocksbridge. Protests are growing over an application for five turbines, each 80 metres high and with three blades, at Sheephouse Heights. The location is just outside the Peak District National Park, which has no wind farms, but officers are concerned that the structures would dominate the whole area, affecting views ...
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New York
16 Aug 2008
In farming community, windmills split town, families
LOWVILLE, N. Y. — “Listen,” John Yancey says, leaning against his truck in a field outside his house. The rhythmic whoosh, whoosh, whoosh of wind turbines echoes through the air. Sleek and white, their long propeller blades rotate in formation, like some otherworldly dance of spindly-armed aliens swaying across the land. Yancey stares at them, his face contorted in anger and pain. He knows the futuristic towers are pumping clean electricity into the grid, knows they have been largely embraced by his community. But Yancey ...
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New York
16 Aug 2008
Rancich presses on for windfarm, housing project in Tompkins
ENFIELD — Sitting on his back patio in Newfield, John Rancich glances across Ithaca and points west to a ridge along the horizon and says, “That’s where the wind farm will be.” He later says he’d be happy to see the hills that surround Ithaca lined with wind mills. Rancich appeared before the Enfield Town Board more than a year ago to lay out his business plan for the wind farm. A group of residents fervently opposed the idea, arguing ...
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Texas
16 Aug 2008
Residents band together to fight wind turbines
Johnny and Tesa Whitley bought 350 acres in rural Erath County to raise horses and enjoy the breathtaking sunsets, but their view is now marred by something they never expected: two dozen wind turbines. The 400-foot-tall turbines tower over trees atop ridges, some just a mile away. At night the structures’ bright red lights blink intermittently, even reflecting in their lake, Tesa Whitley said.“We had a beautiful horizon, and now all we see is turbines,” she said. Folks in several nearby towns, ...
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Nevada
16 Aug 2008
Grand vision of green Lincoln County runs into hunter opposition
But turbines would scare off the deer, elk … Before Nevada can become the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy, it will have to come to peace with the hunters in Lincoln County. In that rural stretch north of Las Vegas, county commissioners oppose plans to blanket four mountaintops with enough tall wind energy turbines to power 250,000 homes. Nothing against a wind farm, the elected officials say, they just don’t want windmills atop prime elk and deer habitat where families have come ...
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Delaware
16 Aug 2008
Delmarva submits financial report to state’s Public Service Commission; Electric customers to pay 24¢ on bill for wind projects
Delmarva Power consultant estimates that three land-based wind contracts will cost residential customers the equivalent of 24 cents more a month over the life of the contracts. The estimate was part of a package of financial information Delmarva has submitted to the Public Service Commission, which will consider approval of the company’s land-based wind power contracts in the coming months. The PSC review starts at its meeting Tuesday in Dover. Utility officials are hoping to see fast approval of the projects, proposed ...
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Letters, Wales
16 Aug 2008
Blot on the landscape
Having just returned ...
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England
18 Aug 2008
Theatre impresario joins north Dorset turbines protest
Sir Cameron Mackintosh jetted in ...
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Wales
20 Aug 2008
Turbine battlers' meeting victory
The Betws Mountain turbine inquiry will be held in Ammanford, after defiant campaigners took it upon themselves to have it moved ...
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New York
25 Aug 2008
PSC Considers Iberdrola Sale Terms; Spanish firm wants to acquire 2 Upstate utility companies
Senior advisers to the state Public Service Commission laid out several options Wednesday under which the commission could approve Spanish energy company Iberdrola’s $4.6 billion acquisition of Energy East, the parent of two Upstate utilities. But it won’t be known until next week whether the five commissioners will approve the deal and, if so, on what conditions. For four hours, senior staff members laid out the risks and benefits of the deal as it affects customers of New York State ...
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New York
25 Aug 2008
Bloomberg's wind-power talk just blew smoke
A day after touting the great potential of wind powering New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg acknowledged yesterday that his proposal placing wind turbines atop bridges and skyscrapers would be a bit impractical. “I have absolutely no idea whether that makes any sense ...
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England, Letters
26 Aug 2008
Turbines not my legacy
Legacy: Well, well, I have discovered that I am a 62-year-old NIMBY because I don’t want an Eco village or wind turbines in Maer Hills. I have read with interest the letters ...
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Scotland
27 Aug 2008
Warning over wind turbine applications; Manufacturers criticised for not providing information
Homeowners in Aberdeenshire hoping to instal domestic wind turbines in built-up areas are likely to have their applications rejected unless manufacturers provide the council with information detailing their impact, a councillor warned yesterday. Garioch area committee chairman Martin Kitts-Hayes made the comment following the “very reluctant rejection” of proposals to erect a turbine at a home at Kinmuck, near Inverurie. The committee is now planning to write a letter to companies who make the machinery, urging them to ...
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Norway
27 Aug 2008
Millions wasted on wind power planning
The wind power industry has spent at least NOK 100 million on projects that are unrealistic at the outset, according to the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE). The main reason is that the exsisting national grid does not have the capacity to carry the added power ...
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Illinois
28 Aug 2008
Permits approved for Walnut Ridge
Tuesday was, no doubt, a good day for the Walnut Ridge wind farm developers. In a special meeting Tuesday night, the Bureau County Board approved conditional use permits for 143 turbines, four meteorological towers and three substations for the proposed Walnut Ridge wind farm in northern Bureau County. Board members in attendance were unanimous in their approval of the conditional use permits. Board members Joe Bassetti, Tom Giordano, Lisa Mangrich, Rob Pozzi, Pete Swanson and Joe Vasquez were absent. ...
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Illinois
28 Aug 2008
Wind farm proposal expected
OREGON, Ill. — Interest in Illinois as a source of wind-generated electricity has grown in recent years and is likely to grow further, even in parts of the state initially thought to be unsuitable for wind farms, a panelist said Wednesday at a forum held to discuss the issue. “We’re receiving inquiries ...
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Letters, Ontario
29 Aug 2008
Turbines will hurt much more than just the view
It’s too bad that “Save Our Skyline” sounds like a group concerned about the visual impact of industrial wind turbines. That’s the least of our worries. We’re concerned about the huge impact of clear-cutting and blasting roads and tower sites. We question who will pay for the high-voltage transmission lines needed to get electricity ...
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Massachusetts
30 Aug 2008
No rebate, no wind turbines on rooftops at Commons
The state’s suspension of a rebate program for small wind turbine projects has led Mashpee Commons to rethink its proposal to mount two turbines to the roof of the Talbots’ building in the middle of the commercial and residential development. Douglas S. Storrs, a vice president of both Mashpee Commons LP another related development firm, said this week that in light of the suspension the developers are now investigating using the two small turbines, purchased nearly a year ago, at ...
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Maine
30 Aug 2008
Roxbury ordinance debate stirs emotions
It was a hot time in Roxbury Thursday night, as about 75 residents grappled with the issue of whether or not to amend the town’s zoning ordinance to create a “mountain zone” that would permit the building of an industrial wind power facility on Record Hill. In a public hearing that lasted nearly three hours and was moderated by state Rep. John Patrick, D-Rumford, citizens grilled would-be wind farm developer Rob Gardiner, of Independence Wind, ...
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Letters, Oregon, Washington
30 Aug 2008
Protecting habitat
I oppose liquefied natural gas. I have witnessed two LNG pipeline fires in the Columbia River Gorge. I watched as proponents used what seemed to me to be dirty tricks to build the LNG electrical production plant in Goldendale, Wash. My sense of it is that the LNG people will do just about anything to accomplish their goals, and that they are willing to risk all of us to secure their profits. Wind power has been proposed in letters to ...
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Letters, Washington
30 Aug 2008
Wind power has limitations
Wind turbines are the latest popular “answer” to our country’s energy problems with talk of three-bladed monsters covering vast areas from Texas northward. T. Boone Pickens is spending millions to promote his vision of generating 20 percent of our energy from wind power (although her refuses to install any of the turbines on his own 120,000 acre ranch). Readers should be aware of wind turbine limitations. The number of wind turbines per square mile is restricted to between 5 and ...
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Scotland
30 Aug 2008
Gravir villagers hold showdown against energy cable
A large crowd of disgruntled villagers have held a showdown with energy giant SSE to try and stop it industrialising a remote rural part of Lewis. Scottish And Southern Energy (SSE) through its subsidiary firm Scottish Hydro-Electric Transmission (Shetl) wants to build a large electricity convertor station on a hill above Gravir in South Lochs. The small community would become an energy junction where electricity from planned giant windfarms would pass through a prominent sub-station, and carried via a ...
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Scotland
30 Aug 2008
Gravir villagers face SSE over giant convertor station
Energy giant SSE faces unhappy residents at Gravir and Pairc in a public meeting in Gravir School tonight. Scottish And Southern Energy (SSE) through its subsidiary firm Scottish Hydro-Electric Transmission (Shetl) wants to build a large electricity convertor station on a hill above the village. Renewable energy generated from giant wind farm on Lewis would be carried over a widespread series of overhead electrical lines and poles to converge in Gravir. SSE propose to build a large sub-sea interconnector ...
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Letters, West Virginia
30 Aug 2008
Alternative energy
Before everyone unquestioningly embraces wind power as the latest answer to all our energy problems, some unfortunate facts about our energy use as a nation need to be faced. Wind power, ethanol and other forms of alternative energy, while all wonderful ideas, are not viable long-term solutions in the face of America’s disproportionate energy consumption. Our nation makes up less than 5 percent of the world’s population, yet we consume about one-fourth of the world’s total energy resources. Yearly, we ...
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Ireland
30 Aug 2008
Kerry devastated by mudslide
Countless millions of dollars of damage to property and wildlife was caused by the worst mudslide in Ireland in five years. An estimated 3,000 salmon and sea trout were wiped out and their spawning grounds contaminated when liquid peat seeped into the Rivers Smearlagh and Feale in north-east Kerry. More than 20 homes in a rural area between Tralee and Castleisland were cut off by a mudslide a mile and a half long and up to 75 yards wide last ...
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Scotland
30 Aug 2008
Island plan to build the biggest community owned wind farm in Britain
Point and Sandwick Power have submitted a planning application to build the biggest community- owned wind farm in Britain on common grazings outside Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. The Company Chair is Cllr Donald J MacSween. Mr MacSween said: “We have submitted a planning application to build a community owned wind farm at Beinn Greidaig, south of the junction of the Pentland Road and the A858, 5 km west of Stornoway. “It will be located on common grazings which ...
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Maine
30 Aug 2008
Cape officials explore wind power
More questions about “small wind energy systems” blew around the table at the latest Cape Elizabeth Ordinance Committee meeting last week. It was the last chance the committee had to amend the drafted ordinance before presenting it to the town council Sept. 8. The committee is made up of four of the seven councilors – Chairman Cynthia Dill, Sara Lennon, Mary Ann Lynch and James Rowe. While the committee unanimously agreed to amend some language to further discourage the development ...
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New York
30 Aug 2008
PSC to vote on Iberdrola’s proposed Energy East acquisition Sept. 3
The state Public Service Commission is scheduled to vote Sept. 3 on a proposal from Spanish utility Iberdrola’s to buy Energy East Corp. A vote scheduled for Aug. 27 was postponed as a result of two of the five PSC commissioners were absent—Robert Curry, who was sick, and Cheryl Buley. Buley has since announced her resignation from the PSC. Buley is getting married and moving out of the state. The commission vote will cap a review and negotiation process lasting more ...
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Massachusetts
28 Aug 2008
Ashby investigates Ashburnham's wind-turbine plans
ASHBY — Planning Board members are looking at possibly adopting zoning regulations to govern wind turbines. Planning Board Member Andy Leonard said the effort comes in light of a movement in Ashburnham to build a 1.5- or 2-megawatt wind turbine on Blood Hill, near the Ashby town line. “The line between Ashburnham and Ashby is an invisible line,” Leonard said. Board members reviewed Ashburnham’s proposed zoning bylaw to regulate commercial wind turbines to see what can apply to Ashby. “It’s ...
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Australia
29 Aug 2008
Allendale windfarm proposed
The South East region’s reputation as a leading provider of clean, green energy is likely to receive a further boost with the announcement of a potential windfarm near Allendale. The proposed windfarm’s developer, Acciona Energy, provided a briefing to a Grant District Council last week. It is proposed about 50 wind turbines would be built, potentially producing enough energy to power around 43,000 houses. Acciona Energy, an international company, owns and operates windfarms across the globe, including a 50pc share ...
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Bulgaria
29 Aug 2008
Harvesting the wind
The number of wind parks along Bulgaria’s northern Black Sea coast is already bigger than the number of trees in the same area. The natural absence of any trees in those areas and the high winds makes it the best place in Bulgaria to produce green energy from wind generators. About 60 wind turbines have already been built in Kavarna municipality, a town hall spokesman told The Sofia Echo by telephone on August 26. They have been issued permits by ...
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India
29 Aug 2008
Wind power output plunges
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu could well face a power crisis if the Electricity Board, struggling hard to cope with dwindling resources, fails to reduce the widening gap between demand and supply in the state. There is every chance that this winter could be harrowing and sweaty just like last year. On Thursday, state electricity minister Arcot N Veeraswami is said to have talked to Union power minister Sushilkumar Shinde, demanding allocation of additional power from the Central pool, as the 100 ...
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Letters, Ontario
29 Aug 2008
Wind power isn't the answer
Wind power has its roots in small-scale implementations, and at this level it has some value. This was the case for the leader in wind development for most of the 20th century, the United States, and for European countries such as Denmark and Germany. Because of attractive government subsidization, a wind turbine industry was born and industrial wind plants emerged. As Denmark and Germany have discovered, though, once wind power approaches mid-to-high single digits as a percentage of the total ...
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England
29 Aug 2008
MP shocked by report supporting wind farm
North Shropshire MP, Owen Paterson, has spoken of his “shock” that North Shropshire District Council officers have given the go ahead to build a wind farm in Norton-in-Hales. Controversial plans to build seven giant wind turbines at Lower Farm, Bearstone, are set to get the green light from planning chiefs, despite thousands of objections from angry neighbours. A report set to go before North Shropshire District Council’s development control committee on Tuesday recommends plans for the wind turbines, which will ...
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England
29 Aug 2008
Questions unanswered at wind farm meeting
Angry villagers turned out in force to protest against a potential wind farm being built on their doorstep. A meeting was held on Tuesday night by developers Your Energy to talk to the planning committee of Yelvertoft Parish Council and members of the public about the proposed plans for an eight-turbine wind farm near the village. However the meeting in the Reading Room, in the High Street, left some people frustrated as the developers were unable to answer many of ...
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England
29 Aug 2008
Tolkien landscape spared wind farm turbines by planners
A stretch of landscape said to have inspired the father of modern fantasy literature has been saved by planners who turned down an application for three giant wind turbines. Energy giant E. ON is considering an appeal after plans for the cluster of turbines in the Holderness village of Roos were rejected by councillors after a narrow vote. The meeting heard that JRR Tolkien was stationed at the Humber Garrison during the First World War a mile from Roos and there ...
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England
29 Aug 2008
MP to fight wind farm
An MP has joined a chorus of opposition against the UK’s largest wind turbines. Weaver Vale MP Mike Hall has spoken against the cluster of four 410ft-high turbines, 100ft taller than Big Ben, and would even dwarf the Fiddlers Ferry Cooling Tower if they were built at Aston Grange. After giving evidence at a public inquiry into the proposals he said: “The developers Tegni Cymru have said that a specific planning policy gives them the right to build the wind ...
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Maine
29 Aug 2008
Wind power zoning law change hits snag
ROXBURY — Brunswick-based wind power developers Robert Gardiner and Angus King were at a Planning Board meeting Thursday night for expected work on zoning changes that would allow wind towers on town hills. But that didn’t happen. The planning meeting was supposed to have been preceded by a meeting Tuesday at which selectmen were expected to appoint planners Barry Bunten, Mark Henry and Randy Orr to a planning commission. That commission would be tasked with reviewing and recommending revisions to ...
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Maine
29 Aug 2008
Work begins on Kibby wind farm
Work on the $320 million Kibby Wind Power project has started on Kibby Mountain in northern Franklin County. The project that will span Kibby Mountain and Kibby Range in Kibby and Skinner townships has moved from the regulatory and business development stage to the implementation stage. The 44-turbine commercial wind farm has received all permits to move forward, project manager Wolfgang Neuhoff said Thursday. TransCanada MaineWind Development Inc., an affiliate of TransCanada Corp., a Canadian-based energy company, is also asking ...
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New York
29 Aug 2008
Acciona reduces turbine numbers; Updated plans have 53 windmills, not 96
CAPE VINCENT — St. Lawrence Wind Farm developer Acciona has shrunk its proposal from 96 turbines to 53. Acciona showed off the new maps for the wind power development at a public forum at the village fire hall Thursday afternoon and evening. Project manager Pete Zedick said the winnowing was a result of the environmental studies and feedback from its draft environmental impact statements. “We’ve done a lot of work to comply with the requirements of the town and take ...
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Ontario
29 Aug 2008
Public voices concern about windfarm; Gilead Power Corp. wants to erect 12 turbines in Prince Edward County
Skeptics in the crowd scanned visuals of wind farms proposed for Prince Edward County on display last night and said the only thing green about them is the money the proponent stands to make. Others came to a public meeting at the Crystal Palace eager to learn more about a growing industry they believe can benefit the environment. Gilead Power Corp. unveiled more details of its plans to erect up to 12 turbines in an area west of Ostrander Point ...
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Scotland
29 Aug 2008
Height of Ceres wind turbines may be reduced
The firm behind plans to build a windfarm near Ceres has said it hopes that a reduction in the height of turbines proposed will see it secure planning approval. EnergieKontor spokesperson Judith Cornfield told the Fife Herald that the company had felt determination of the contentious application had “taken a while”, but said it was hopeful that discussions with the Ministry of Defence over radar implications for RAF Leuchars could soon be resolved. She said: “I understand that Fife Council ...
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Wisconsin
29 Aug 2008
Town balks at sharing wind revenue; Chairman pushes for legal shift
While Randolph’s chairman is optimistic about a 145-megawatt wind farm development, he’s bothered by how much money — or rather how little — the town will get in the deal.“I don’t like the revenue-sharing aspect,” Town Chairman David Hughes said of the We Energies deal. “We’re the ones that will have these things here. Our residents are going to be the ones dealing with any ill effects … I think the town deserves a bigger cut of the revenue it ...
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Estonia
29 Aug 2008
Locals fight against the wind power park in Lääne Viru County
Energy company OÜ Nelja Energia wants to establish a wind power park in Lääne Viru County in Ojaküla with three wind generators, the locals, however, are against it. The energy company is planning to invest in the wind power park EEK 150 mln, postimees.ee quotes Viru Teataja. The locals, who have also submitted a protest letter, are disturbed by the idea that the park would be too close to the village. The people there are most worried about the ...
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