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Iowa
2 August 2010
Lightning strike burns down wind turbine
PETERSON, Iowa — A lightening strike started a fire in a wind turbine Saturday morning, destroying the turbine and one of three new blades that had been laid out on the ground beneath it in order to be installed as replacements. Damages totaled $760,000, according to Peterson Fire Chief John Winterboer. The turbine was owned by Aes Wind Generation Inc., of Alta Iowa. Winterboer said the call came in at 7:30 a.m., but firefighters were on the scene until 3:30 ...

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England
2 August 2010
Wind mast plan rejected on aircraft safety grounds
Plans for a wind mast at Toyota’s Derbyshire factory have been rejected amid concerns it would impact on aircraft safety. The car giant applied to South Derbyshire District Council to put up a 60-metre mast at its Burnaston plant to measure wind speeds to see if the site would be suitable for a wind farm. The company wanted to have the mast in place for 12 months to record data to give them a better idea about whether wind turbines ...

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Ontario
2 August 2010
Green energy project gives cottage country the blues
The view ...

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Ohio
3 August 2010
Storm’s bolt damages blade at Shoreway
SHEFFIELD LAKE — A wind turbine installed at Shoreway Shopping Center last month did fine until it was pitted against an untamed energy source — lightning. One blade of the 100-kilowatt turbine, atop a 120-foot tower in the Shoreway Shopping Center parking lot, was hit by lightning during a thunderstorm Wednesday night, according to Ted ...

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New York
3 August 2010
Wind panel wants town noise study in Hammond
HAMMOND – Defined in Webster’s Pocket Dictionary as “general agreement,” consensus is proving to be a major obstacle for the Hammond Wind Committee to overcome. Committee members were given an assignment in preparation for Monday’s meeting by David B. Duff, facilitator, to write a paragraph representing their personal recommendation to the town board on regulating ...

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Maryland
3 August 2010
Western Maryland wind project takes shape; Constellation erecting turbines in face of local opposition
OAKLAND — The first slender white tower went up about a month ago. Others soon followed, poking above the trees on Backbone Mountain. Now blades are being added, forming giant pinwheels that loom over the landscape, visible ...

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Illinois
4 August 2010
Wind farm opponents site concerns for crop dusting
MONMOUTH — The Warren County Board will have a special meeting 7 p.m. Thursday at the courthouse to allow testimony on the proposed Monarch Wind Power project between Monmouth and Roseville. A hiring freeze and use of the annex building are also on the agenda. Opponents of the proposed wind farm on and near the ...

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England
4 August 2010
Villagers ready for another battle against giant turbines
Villagers have stepped up their latest campaign against a wind farm plan believed to be among the most unpopular planning applications Dorset has ever seen. Two years ago, a record 1,987 people wrote to North Dorset District Council to object to plans to build six giant turbines – each 120 metres (394ft) high – in ...

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U.K.
4 August 2010
Fish shoals face death over noise
Noise pollution ...

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Maine
5 August 2010
Canadian firm to scale back Kibby Mountain wind project
BANGOR, Maine — A Canadian energy firm is scaling back its expansion plans for Western Maine’s Kibby Mountain wind farm after state regulators made clear that they could not support placing an additional 15 turbines in the area. TransCanada officials told the Land Use Regulation Commission on Wednesday that they plan to file a revised application removing the four southernmost turbines in the 15-turbine project. The project is proposed for Kibby and Chain of Ponds townships, approximately two miles ...

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Michigan
6 August 2010
Oceana County Planning Commission urges rejection of Scandia’s proposed offshore wind farm
HART — The Oceana County Planning Commission recommended that the county board reject Scandia Wind Offshore’s proposal for a Lake Michigan wind farm off Pentwater. The planners’ 7-2 vote Thursday afternoon comes a day after a contentious public information meeting when Scandia opponents strongly voiced their objections to wind turbines being put in Lake Michigan. “The Oceana County Planning Commission does not endorse Scandia offshore studies or the proposed wind development off the northern Oceana County Lake Michigan coast,” according ...

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North Dakota
6 August 2010
Otter Tail electric bills rise with wind power
Otter Tail Power Co.’s North Dakota customers will see higher electric bills as the utility adds more wind power to its energy sources, state regulators say. Beginning Sept. 1, a separate charge assessed to ratepayers to pay for Otter Tail wind energy projects will increase the monthly bill by almost $1.40 for a residential customer who uses 750 kilowatt-hours of electricity, state Public Service Commission filings say. For that customer, the wind energy charge would rise ...

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Maine
7 August 2010
Wind power bandwagon hits bumps in the road
AUGUSTA — The Wind Energy Act of 2008, which gave developers a fast track to putting up wind turbines in some of the state’s treasured high ground, was a special interest bill justified at the time in the name of jobs, energy independence and climate change. “There is tremendous potential for Maine to become a leader in clean, renewable energy, including wind energy,” said Governor John Baldacci, who appointed the task force whose report led to the bill. “This kind ...

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New York, Ontario
7 August 2010
Bird, bat deaths prompt call for St. Lawrence Valley wind moratorium
Save the River, an environmental group based in Clayton, NY, wants a three-year delay in development of more wind power along the St. Lawrence River. A spokesperson for the group says there are proposals for some 400 wind turbines in the Thousand Island region. Preliminary numbers ...

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Denmark
9 August 2010
Protesters look to EU to stop wind turbines
Parliament’s decision to create test centre in protected area challeged Opponents of the parliament’s decision to place 250-metre high wind turbines at the protected nature area of √òsterild Plantag in northwest Jutland are now turning to the EU as their last hope to stop the project. The gigantic turbines are to be part of a new wind power test centre. But the Danish Society for Nature Conservation (DN) has filed an official complaint with both the EU Commission and EU ...

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Europe
9 August 2010
Organised crime exploits wind industry
Europe’s booming wind energy industry is being exploited by criminals, according to Kroll, the corporate security group. Criminals see an opportunity to tap into billions of euros’ worth of European Union subsidies. Organised groups linked to the Italian Mafia are among those to have infiltrated the industry, Jason Wright, senior director of Kroll’s consulting group, told The Times. While emphasising that the overwhelming majority of European wind projects were “entirely legitimate”, he said that criminals were increasingly investing in the ...

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Maine
9 August 2010
Some now have second thoughts about fast-tracking wind
AUGUSTA — The Wind Energy Act of 2008, which gave developers fast-track approval for putting up wind turbines in some of the state’s treasured high ground, was justified at the time in the name of jobs, energy independence and climate change. “There is tremendous potential for Maine to become a leader in clean, renewable energy, including wind energy,” said Gov. John Baldacci, who appointed the task force whose report led to the bill. “This kind of investment would create jobs ...

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England
9 August 2010
Sinister twist in Mouldsworth’s turbine dispute
A bitter dispute over a proposed wind turbine has taken a sinister twist. Protesters found a large kitchen knife embedded in one of the placards left near their homes. Resident Steve Warburton woke up to discover a kitchen knife embedded in one of the protest placards signed ‘No wind turbines here!’ posted on his front garden. Local people have now called in the police to investigate. Some residents in Mouldsworth, near Chester, have been left angry at the plans to ...

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Ireland
9 August 2010
Watchdog hits out at renewable energy levy
A row has erupted over government plans to hit consumers with an electricity levy of more than €30 a year to fund green energy. Consumer watchdogs warned the Government that cash-strapped consumers would “not take the new charge lightly”, just days after if emerged that electricity bills were set to rise. The Commission for Energy Regulation has ordered suppliers, including the ESB and Bord Gais, to levy customers with an annual charge that will be used to subsidise the higher ...

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England, U.K.
9 August 2010
Lord proposes controversial 2km residential distance ruling on wind farms
Legislation that would ban wind farms ...

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Blogs, England
10 August 2010
Wind farm protesters make feelings known to Lichfield planning chiefs
People living in villages around the site of a proposed wind farm have “inundated” Lichfield District Council with objections over proposals to build four wind turbines. The plans for the 420ft turbines near Haunton have been strongly criticised by loca residents but planning chiefs will only make a final decision on the scheme in September. Staffordshire County Councillor Matthew Ellis (Cons, Lichfield Rural East) has been supporting locals in their efforts to make their objections heard. He said: This proposal ...

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Illinois
10 August 2010
DeKalb County couple against wind farm
ADAMS COUNTY, ILL. — “I’m against irresponsible wind energy, and that’s what this is,” says Dave Hulthen. That is Dave and Stephanie Hulthen ...

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Editorials, England
11 August 2010
Government moves with the public on wind farms
In the book of daft things uttered by Labour ministers (an extremely fat tome) leadership hopeful and former Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s contention last year that opposition to onshore wind farms was “socially unacceptable” deserves to be recorded in bold italics. Drinking and driving is socially unacceptable; holding and expressing racist or sexist views is socially unacceptable. Opposing the growth in onshore wind farms is, arguably, a logical and sensible response to the visual damage they do to the landscape ...

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Wisconsin
11 August 2010
State cracks down on local wind energy rules
An advisory council to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission has recommended new standards for wind turbines. Supporters say this will fix a broken patchwork of local regulations that’s earned the state a reputation as a bad one for the wind business. Objectors, however, say the proposed rules don’t do enough to protect nearby residents ...

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Ontario
12 August 2010
Court battle looms over wind turbines
Wind Concerns Ontario, a group opposed to all installations of wind turbines, is severely critical of both the Ontario Government and the wind industry generally in a news release supporting the right of a municipal council to oppose windfarm developments. The news release, describing the industry as “a desperate parasitic industry whose product cannot survive real world levels of regulation,” is Wind Concern’s response to an Arran-Elderslie bylaw prohibiting turbines along with a reported response ...

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New York, Ontario
13 August 2010
International group calls for three-year wind farm moratorium
Alarming bird and bat mortality rates at the Wolfe Island wind farm have an international group calling for a three-year moratorium on wind energy projects on the Upper St. Lawrence River and east end of Lake Ontario. Save The River vice-president Stephanie Weiss said the 86-windmill farm has caused the death of 688 birds and bats, equalling eight per windmill. That’s far higher than the estimated two to four deaths for each windmill projected over a 12-month period and sends ...

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New York
13 August 2010
Fenner turbines power up while cause of collapse remains unknown
Life is returning to the Fenner Wind Farm, one turbine at a time. A handful of local officials, residents and Enel North America employees watched Thursday morning as three of the farm’s 19 windmills began turning. “Let’s get them rolling,” Fenner Supervisor Russell Cary said into a walkie-talkie. Within minutes, the blades were spinning — slowly at first, then picking up speed. The remaining turbines will return to service in the coming weeks. The windmills have stood silent since Dec. ...

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Massachusetts
13 August 2010
Norwell: Neighbors voice opposition to wind turbine proposal
The Norwell zoning board held a hearing Wednesday night for a special permit for the construction of a wind tower on the Mount Blue Farm property. Several neighbors turned out to rally against the proposal by Mount Blue Farm owner Bruce Meacham, to put up a 200-foot wind tower, to see if there’s enough wind to support the construction of one or possibly two full blown wind turbines. However, that’s shaping up to be a tough sell to the neighbors. ...

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Pennsylvania
13 August 2010
Turbine tussle persists; Wind farm focus of public hearing
SOMERSET — The number of people turning out for a public hearing on the proposed Shaffer Mountain Wind Farm on Thursday night was a fraction of those at a similar hearing three years ago. Absent this time were the signs opposing the project, the anger and the confrontational spirit that highlighted the August 2007 hearing by the state Department of Environmental Protection. But the testimony bore a marked similarity to that of three years ago, with many of the nearly ...

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Ireland
13 August 2010
Residents object to €120m Mountlucas wind farm
An objection has been lodged with an Bord Pleanala to a €120 million wind farm for Mountlucas. A group of residents calling themselves the Concerned Residents of Drumcaw have objected citing a number of reasons for their opposition to the proposal. While Bord na Mona claim the wind farm would create 30 new jobs, the group believe there is no guarantee any of these will go to locals. “Bord na Mona said they would be tendering the works, so there ...

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Editorials, New York
13 August 2010
Power authority should obey open records laws
In this era of rampant citizen mistrust of public officials, the New York Power Authority isn’t doing itself any favors. That’s because it continues to refuse to release even basic information about the five proposals it’s considering for turbines in either Lake Ontario or Lake Erie. The authority is arrogantly flouting the open records law by missing a July 16 deadline to respond to an appeal by the Democrat and Chronicle. The newspaper, on behalf of citizens, is appealing a ...

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England
13 August 2010
‘We don’t know how effective wind farm will be,’ says firm
Developers who have installed three giant wind turbines in Rotherham’s green belt have admitted that they still do not know how effective they will be. The three 95-metre tall structures at Loscar Common, Harthill, have taken less than a week to install. A series of tests are currently being carried out by developers, south coast-based Cornwall Light and Power, ahead of the project’s first contributions to the national grid electricity supply. The wind farm is expected to be fully operational . . . ...

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Pennsylvania
13 August 2010
Wind project continues to fan emotions
SOMERSET — A hearing about the Shaffer Mountain Wind Farm project brought out friends and foes Thursday evening. Approximately 250 people attended with more than 50 giving testimony on a potential project permit ...

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New York
14 August 2010
State probing officials at Cape; Misconduct alleged in wind development
CAPE VINCENT — The state attorney general’s office is investigating allegations of misconduct by “certain” town officials in connection with the development of wind farms. John T. Milgrim, spokesman for the attorney general, confirmed that a letter was sent to the town and its attorney Friday afternoon informing them an investigation had been launched. Mr. Milgrim also confirmed that two senior members of Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo’s staff, Deputy Chief of Staff John B. Howard and Henry M. Greenberg, ...

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Maine
14 August 2010
Noise controversy over Vinalhaven wind turbines amps up
Vinalhaven sits 15 miles off the coast and just over an hour’s ferry ride ...

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Wisconsin
16 August 2010
Union man details how council wrote wind rules
UNION TOWNSHIP — A local man who worked on the state council to write wind siting rules says the slanted make-up of the committee toward the wind industry created a disservice to the process. The resulting rules likely will increase local dissent and resistance to proposed projects, which he predicts will end up in court, said Doug Zweizig, who co-chaired the wind siting council. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I don’t think it’s going to be pretty,” ...

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Maine
16 August 2010
State wants $36,000 for public records on wind energy
As part of its reporting on the Wind Energy Act of 2008, the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting filed a state public records request under Maine’s Freedom of Access Act, called a FOAA request. However, the Center never received much of the material it requested ...

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New York
17 August 2010
Attorney General launches investigation into wind dealings in Cape Vincent
Syracuse, NY — The state Attorney General’s office has launched an investigation into possible misconduct by Cape Vincent officials as they consider plans to build more than 100 wind turbines in their town. Opponents of the two proposed wind farms complained to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo that the planning process was tainted by conflicts of interest on the town board and planning board. Two out of five town board members and three out of five planning board members either personally ...

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New Zealand
17 August 2010
Vandals cripple wind turbines
Vandals have shut down the Tararua wind farm, bringing more than 30 turbines to a halt and costing TrustPower at least $200,000. Thieves broke into the site’s transformer yard before 1am yesterday, cutting up copper earthing wire in an attempt to steal it, and drained oil ...

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Maine
19 August 2010
Residents say state rules for wind farms lacking
DIXFIELD — Panelists and townspeople at a public hearing Wednesday night blasted what they believe are insufficient state regulations to govern the half-dozen or so wind farms proposed for western Maine. The hearing was sponsored by the River Valley Alliance and the Friends of Maine’s Mountains, groups that oppose such developments. Other groups, such as the Friends of Spruce Mountain in Woodstock, were also at the hearing. Among the panelists was Robert Rand, an acoustical engineer

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Vermont
20 August 2010
Wind opponents organize legal entity to fight Northfield Ridge projects
Opponents of a proposal to bring a commercial wind farm to the Northfield Ridge in Waitsfield have formed a legal entity to fight the project. Friends of the Northfield Ridge, the new group, is a registered nonprofit organization and one that will have legal status in any permitting hearings on wind farming on the ridge. Jim Tabor, Waitsfield, spokesperson for the group, said that it was formed after many residents and property owners attended an April meeting when Randy Male, ...

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New York
20 August 2010
Ruling dismisses town’s objection; Judge says Henderson failed to show injury
A state Supreme Court judge has dismissed the town of Henderson’s legal opposition to a proposed wind farm on Galloo Island in the town of Hounsfield. Henderson’s Town Council brought an Article 78 proceeding in February asking that a judge, among other things, annul the town of Hounsfield Planning Board’s site plan approval for Upstate NY Power Corp.’s Galloo Island Wind Farm. Judge Joseph D. McGuire ruled that Henderson lacked both standing and capacity to bring the action and that ...

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Letters, Maine
20 August 2010
Ragged Mountain wind power development
It has come to the attention of several property owners and concerned citizens in the Camden/Rockport/ Hope and other neighborhoods on or near the Snow Bowl and Penobscot Bay that plans are under way to develop wind power on Ragged Mountain. As a community of laypeople, we have begun to educate ourselves about the potential advantages and disadvantages of this development. We assume we all share a common goal of wanting to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. We are ...

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Illinois
20 August 2010
Public opposition to proposed area wind farm addresses board
BLOOMINGTON — Members of the public concerned about a proposed wind farm near Lexington, Colfax and Chenoa got an opportunity to address the McLean County Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday. The board is hearing a request by Horizon Wind Energy LLC for a special-use permit to build the Bright Stalk Wind Farm on about 37,800 acres in Lexington, Lawndale, Chenoa and Yates townships. But some residents think adding a 223-turbine wind farm in close proximity to the existing Twin ...

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Maine
21 August 2010
Grievances aired over wind turbines
VINALHAVEN, Maine — Residents expressed grievances about turbine noise at a Thursday meeting that allowed islanders to ask questions of two wind professionals who will be collecting noise data in an attempt to identify specific mechanical perpetrators. The experts then will come back to the community with options and prices for noise mitigation. It has been about two years since Vinalhaven voters, with a 383-5 vote, approved the construction of three wind turbines. It has been about a year since ...

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Maine
21 August 2010
Christy Hill residents protest Peninsula Power plans
The recent placement of a meteorological tower on Christy Hill brought approximately 20 people—many of who objected to the 100-foot structure—to a meeting of the Peninsula Power group. The meeting was held on August 12 in the Sedgwick Elementary School library. For some of these people, this was the follow-up to their appearance at the Sedgwick Planning Board two nights earlier. (See Town Topics, this issue.) At that meeting, residents Pete Douvarjo and Nicole Gray made statements and presented a ...

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Scotland
21 August 2010
Row over beauty spot turbines plan
More than 60 representations have been lodged with Highland planners over proposals for the erection of three turbines on a privately-owned beauty spot. But the council may have to waive its usual planning procedures and timetable so it can consider the application, after complaints that few people were aware of the scheme. Julie Bryce, who owns Sunnyside Croft at Bunacaimb, between Arisaig and Morar, wants to erect the 50ft wind turbines with 30ft blades on a hill alongside the scenic ...

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Maine, Opinions
21 August 2010
A call for a windpower moratorium
It was with intense interest that I read the expose on LD 2283, the “Expedited Wind Permitting Law,” by Naomi Schalit of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting. In October 2009, I learned of the law’s origin and was disturbed by the fact that it was rushed through the Legislature as an “emergency measure” in 15 short days, with no debate, and with not a single member of the Legislature voting against it. This law fast-tracks industrial wind development ...

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England
21 August 2010
Protestors unite against Birdsedge wind farm plan
Conservationists hoping to open a nature reserve near a proposed wind farm have united with other plan protesters. Birdsedge Countryside Project (BECP) have been developing Birdsedge Nature Reserve, off Dearne Dyke Lane which includes wheelchair access. Pure Renewable Energies are hoping to erect build four 360ft (110m) wind turbines on farmland at nearby Windmill Lane. But BECP says a turbine near the reserve will act as a ‘massive scarecrow’ frightening away birds and ruining 12 years of work on the ...

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Ontario
21 August 2010
Wind blows, mayor says
Building wind turbines close to the Lake Huron shoreline will hurt tourism, says the mayor of Lambton Shores. A standing committee of Lambton County council backed Gord Minielly’s request Thursday for a staff report on the potential impact of off shore wind turbines. Ontario proposed rules for offshore wind turbines in June that included a five kilometre buffer zone. Three companies have submitted 12 off shore applications Lake Huron sites as near as 50 metres ...

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Ontario
23 August 2010
Noise detectives on the prowl
A Toronto company hired by the Ontario government is probing for the ‘cold hard facts’ about health problems caused by the sounds emitted ...

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Massachusetts
24 August 2010
Lots of questions, not many answers at Brimfield wind farm forum
BRIMFIELD – More than 90 people packed into a tight first-floor meeting room at the Hitchcock Free Academy on Monday night to hear developers of a proposed wind-turbine wind farm explain what the controversial project does and why they feel it is critical that the eight to 10 massive windmills be placed along a mountain ridge in Brimfield. Anyone expecting particulars about this project was likely disappointed because there weren’t any particulars to be presented. Or at least, as First ...

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Arkansas
24 August 2010
Wind-turbine plans up in the air
MARSHALL — Bradley Ragland and Charles Baker agree that the proposed installation of more than 100 wind turbines on Star Mountain and South Mountain would change Searcy County. However, Ragland and Baker have widely divergent opinions on what that change would be. Ragland sees new jobs and landowners’ profits igniting the stagnant economy of Searcy County, with per capita income of $20,488, the lowest in Arkansas, according to the most recent data available ...

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Maine
26 August 2010
Environmental agency fines Fox Islands Wind
Maine’s Board of Environmental Protection has approved a $3,864 consent agreement between the state and Fox Islands Wind LLC for trenching work done prior to approval in 2009 on Vinalhaven. Fox Islands Wind has already paid the fine, according to the consent agreement. The BEP met Aug. 19 for a regularly scheduled meeting in Augusta and unanimously approved the agreement. The BEP is a 10-member advisory board whose citizen members are appointed by the governor to provide independent decisions on ...

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Virginia
26 August 2010
Botetourt County strikes down BP tower
BOTETOURT COUNTY, Va — BP loses in Botetourt County. The company was seeking a special exceptions permit to keep a wind tower standing off Route 622. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted against it 4 to 1. BP’s project manager for this meteorological tower says they’re exploring their options after the vote. The company can appeal the vote to Circuit Court. The nearly 200 foot tall tower was erected off Route 622 in April 2009. But BP never notified ...

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Idaho
26 August 2010
Wind farm denied in Bonneville County
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — A proposal to allow a wind farm east of Idaho Falls has been denied. After four hours of debate and motions, the Bonneville Planning and Zoning Commission denied the use permit for Ridgeline Energy. The Seattle-based company can appeal the decision to the County Commissioners within 10 days. The permit would have allowed Ridgeline to build about 75 wind turbines in the Meadow Creek area along 115th East. The P & Z commission voted 4 to ...

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Massachusetts
26 August 2010
Cape Wind cost spikes; Deal touted by AG left out 4% fee
National Grid’s proposed electric contract with Cape Wind will cost ratepayers about $200 million more than previously reported, thanks to a sweetheart deal for the giant utility and other power companies that buy energy ...

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Maryland
27 August 2010
Erosion violations halt Garrett County wind project
State environmental officials have halted construction on Maryland’s second industrial wind project after finding “numerous” erosion-control violations on the remote Garrett County mountain ridge where an Annapolis-based developer is putting up 20 turbines. The Maryland Department of the Environment ordered Synergics Wind Energy and its contractor, White Construction, to stop work until they fix all the shortcomings in their measures to prevent mud ...

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Opinions
28 August 2010
Wind energy gets huge subsidies. So where are the CO2 reductions?
Ed. note: This story is an extended version of an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on August 24. Over the last few years, the wind industry has achieved remarkable growth largely due to the industry’s claim that using more wind energy will result in major reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. There’s just one problem with that claim: it’s not true. Recent studies show that wind-generated electricity may not result in any reduction in carbon emissions, or those ...

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Massachusetts
28 August 2010
Dispute over Brimfield Wind project not likely to blow over anytime soon
BRIMFIELD – A proposed wind farm for West Mountain has generated a lot of heat ...

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Maine
30 August 2010
Maine wind farm not soothing to all ears; Turbines’ sounds have town divided
VINALHAVEN, Maine — Three white wind turbines, their 124-foot blades stretching 39 stories high, churn out more electricity than is used on this picturesque, pine-studded island off mid-coast Maine. Some residents call them objects of graceful art, others point to lower utility bills, and the environmentally conscious hail the benefits of clean energy. But to some families living near the land-bound turbines, which began spinning in November, the blades signify something else. “That noise is so insidious that you can ...

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Massachusetts
30 August 2010
Massachusetts Senate One last gust for wind bill
The Senate will try again today to pass a bill supporters say will streamline the location of wind power facilities in Massachusetts. The legislation, which has received mixed reviews ...

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New Brunswick
31 August 2010
Municipalities warned of wind farm document
FREDERICTON — New Brunswick municipalities are being warned that a government document on community wind farms could mislead them into spending tens of millions of dollars on projects that could end up losing money. The Energy Department recently published a paper called New Brunswick Community Wind Projects — Getting to the Tipping Point. The paper includes a mock business plan based on NB Power paying 10 cents a kilowatt/hour plus an inflation factor for wind-generated electricity. The province wants to ...

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Wisconsin
31 August 2010
Regulators vote to adopt standards allowing local governments to pay residents living near turbines
State energy regulators completed work Monday on rules that would restrict the location of wind turbines in Wisconsin. The Public Service Commission voted 3-0 to adopt standards for noise and shadow flicker, and opted to allow local governments to require “good neighbor payments” to residents who live within one-half mile of a wind turbine but aren’t hosting a turbine on their land. Commissioners have grappled with details of the rules during a series of meetings over the past few weeks, ...

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U.S.
31 August 2010
Responses of the ear to low frequency sounds, infrasound and wind turbines
Abstract Infrasonic sounds are generated internally in the body (by respiration, heartbeat, coughing, etc) and by external sources, such as air conditioning systems, inside vehicles, some industrial processes and, now becoming increasingly prevalent, wind turbines. It is widely assumed that infrasound presented at an amplitude below what is audible has no influence on the ear. In this review, we consider possible ways that low frequency sounds, at levels that may or may not be heard, could influence the function of ...

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Massachusetts
31 August 2010
Seven wind turbines proposed for Bourne
CAPE COD — Plans have been filed with the Cape Cod Commission for installation of seven 100-meter wind turbines on land proposed for a green technology campus off Route 6 in Bourne near the Cape Cod Canal, extending west to Route 25. The turbines will produce 17 megawatts of clean, renewable energy, enough to supply power to 5,000 to 6,000 homes annually. Boune Panhandle Trust, owners of undeveloped land abutting Route 25 in Bourne, and the Lorusso family, owner of ...

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Connecticut, Massachusetts
31 August 2010
Connecticut eyes Mass. renewable energy bill
Connecticut may get a boost from Massachusetts in meeting the Nutmeg State’s renewable energy goals, as the Massachusetts state Senate is trying again to pass a bill supporters say will streamline the location of wind power facilities in Massachusetts, The Associated Press reports. By 2020, the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control wants 23 percent of the state’s power to come from renewable energy sources such as wind, water and solar, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. While Connecticut ...

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England
31 August 2010
Wind turbine protest group to march across blocked off land
A protest walk is set to highlight a blocked public footpath and controversial wind turbine plans in Grange Moor. Members of the Grange Moor Protest Group (GMAT) are set to walk along a footpath that has been blocked off by barbed wire and debris. The public right of way that links from behind the Kaye Arms pub at Wakefield Road to Denby Lane is believed to have been obstructed by the landowner. It has now partially re-opened following intervention from ...

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Massachusetts
31 August 2010
Wind plan is under wraps
A wind farm off Cuttyhunk — one of only two places in the commonwealth designated for commercial wind development — is in the earliest stages of planning, although at this stage the details are being kept carefully under wraps. At a public meeting held on the southernmost Elizabeth Island Friday afternoon the Gosnold wind committee, a subcommittee appointed by the selectmen in that town, met to announce that it was working to draft a memorandum of understanding with the state ...

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Wisconsin
31 August 2010
PSC sets new rules for windmill sites
Wind turbine siting rules approved Monday by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission likely will have little impact on a Chicago-based company’s attempts to build a 100-turbine wind farm in southern Brown County. The PSC established guidelines for local governments to set restrictions on projects less than 100 megawatts in generating capacity. However, the Ledge Wind project proposed by Invenergy LLC in the towns of Morrison, Holland, Glenmore and Wrightstown would exceed 100 megawatts. The company submitted its application to the ...

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Massachusetts
31 August 2010
GOP again blocks wind turbine bill in Mass. Senate
A Republican lawmaker has again blocked the Massachusetts Senate from taking a final vote on a bill that backers say will make it easier to site wind turbine facilities. The bill had passed the Massachusetts Senate and House, but failed to win a final parliamentary vote in the Senate before the clock ran out in the Legislature’s formal session on July 31. Democratic leaders are hoping to push the bill through during the Legislature’s informal session. Gov. Deval Patrick has ...

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Maine
31 August 2010
Selectmen to continue wind-ordinance discussion
RUMFORD — Selectmen may decide whether to place a 42-page proposed wind energy facility ordinance before voters during the Nov. 2 general election at their Thursday board meeting following a special three-hour workshop Monday night. But first, they plan to hold yet another workshop prior to the Thursday meeting. For nearly three hours, the board listened to John Maloney of Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, Andy Fisk of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Neil Kiely of First Wind LLC ...

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Massachusetts
31 August 2010
State regulators examine Cape Wind’s cost-effectiveness
Massachusetts public utilities regulators will begin hearings next week as part of a precedent-setting review of whether the price of power from the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm is cost-effective. The hearings on a contract between Cape Wind and National Grid are scheduled to run from Sept. 7 through at least Sept. 22 at One South Station in Boston and will include more than a dozen witnesses. Though witnesses have filed testimony in advance of the hearings, officials will be ...
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Maryland
31 August 2010
Wind power big issue in Garrett commission race
OAKLAND — The wind turbines rising over the Garrett County landscape in recent weeks also loom large over the race for the District 1 seat on the county commission. Incumbent Republican Ernie Gregg, a 24-year veteran of the commission and its current chairman, is running for re-election. He will face first-time candidate Gregan Crawford in the Republican primary. Eric Robison, the Democratic candidate, is unopposed in the primary and will not face a challenger until the Nov. 2 general election. ...

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Vermont
31 August 2010
Sheffield wind project granted final permit
A Vermont Environmental Court judge has ruled that a 16-turbine wind-energy project is entitled to the final permits it needs to begin construction on Granby Mountain and Libby Hill in Sheffield. Judge Merideth Wright ordered several revisions in the construction stormwater permits issued to Vermont Wind, a subsidiary of Boston-based First Wind, but upheld those permits. Vermont Wind would be only the second such project to be constructed in Vermont. A commercial wind farm in Searsburg, in southern Vermont, was ...

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New Brunswick
31 August 2010
Government’s community wind power numbers questioned
A new government document on community wind farms could mislead municipalities such as Fredericton into spending tens of millions of dollars on a project that could end up losing money, says the Alliance for Community Energy. The Department of Energy recently published a paper called New Brunswick Community Wind Projects – Getting to the Tipping Point, which includes a mock business plan based on NB Power paying 10 cents a kilowatt/hour plus an inflation factor for wind-generated electricity. The province . . . ...

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Scotland
31 August 2010
Major wind farm plan for Moray Firth
A 200-turbine offshore wind farm has been proposed for a site off the Caithness coast. Consortium Moray Offshore Renewables is to hold a series of studies on the project’s potential economic and environmental impact. Public meetings will also be held in communities along the coasts of the Moray Firth. The proposed site is near the Beatrice oil field where there are two experimental offshore wind turbines. Meanwhile, the output from shore-based wind farms in the north of Scotland have exceeded ...

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Letters, Scotland
31 August 2010
It will take many years for wind farm to ameliorate damage done during its construction
Catriona Stewart (“In praise of … Whitelee wind farm”, The Herald, August 28) wonders if wind turbines hum and whether one can feel the energy being made by putting one’s palm against a turbine. She notes that a similar project on the Lewis peatland would be unacceptable which, of course, it proved to be. Though less iconic, Eaglesham Moor was also a major peatland and thus a CO2 sink. Assessing the scheme’s environmental impact, ScottishPower estimated that “only” 300,000 cubic ...

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Texas
31 August 2010
Wind transmission lines across Hill Country face holdup at Public Utility Commission
The decision had been a clear one: A transmission line would cut through the Hill Country as part of a statewide network to carry West Texas wind power to the population centers of Central Texas, the Public Utility Commission said in an order in May 2009. The Lower Colorado River Authority, charged with building and operating the line, held more than a dozen Hill Country hearings. A judge reviewed a segment of the route and made recommendations. But Hill Country ...

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Illinois, Letters
31 August 2010
Wind farm work leaves roads in bad shape
I was amused by some of the comments made by representatives of Horizon Wind Energy at the recent informational meeting that was held to discuss the expansion north of Route 9 of the eastern McLean County wind farm. We live in the middle of the existing wind farm, and heard many of the same comments at our informational meetings a few years back. According to the Aug. 19 Pantagraph article about the most recent meeting, Horizon’s representative, Robert Yehl, claimed ...

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Ohio
31 August 2010
NASA seeks wind farm for Plum Brook Station
NASA officials are blowing into town for a public hearing on the space agency’s plans for a wind farm at NASA Plum Brook Station. The Sept. 14 meeting at Sandusky High School is a necessary step for NASA to complete an environmental impact statement on the proposed wind farm. It’s part of the federal government’s effort to “go green” and obtain alternative energy at its facilities. The current schedule calls for the wind farm to go operational in summer 2013, ...

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Arizona
31 August 2010
Wind farm study due in the spring
KINGMAN – Representatives from BP Wind Energy and the Bureau of Land Management visited Kingman, White Hills and Dolan Springs last week to provide an update on a 500-megawatt wind farm planned for the White Hills area, approximately 40 miles northwest of Kingman. The project would place up to 335 wind turbines on more than 40,000 acres of federal land – 31,000 acres from the BLM and around 9,000 from the Bureau of Reclamation. The original project had the turbines ...

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Australia
31 August 2010
Not blowin’ in the wind, just blowing earnings
It’s an ill wind that blows no good. Or in the case of Infigen Energy, it was a case of not very much wind at all. The wind farm specialist, with operations in Australia and the US, yesterday notched up a $75.3 million loss after the breezes took a little time out during the past financial year. Considering the company once formed part of the self-immolating Babcock & Brown juggernaut, many might look on yesterday’s numbers as almost respectable. Unlike ...

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Australia
31 August 2010
Wind farm investment runs out of puff
Infigen Energy says wind farm investment is suffering a ”bust” due to complex policy changes and uncertainty over government responses to climate change. But the company – whose shares have lost a quarter of their value since June – is confident this will become a ”boom” within a few years, as power retailers are forced to obtain a growing share of their electricity from renewable sources. The country’s biggest specialist wind developer yesterday reported a $73.5 million full-year loss, after ...

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Press releases, Vermont
30 August 2010
Environmental Court’s Decision on Sheffield Wind Project Stormwater Construction Permit Opens the Floodgates for Stormwater Pollution
“This Lowers the Bar for All Permits” Energy, community, and environmental activists reacted today to the Vermont Environmental Court’s decision on the appeal of Sheffield Wind’s construction stormwater permit, which was released Aug. 26. In a decision that has wide reaching implications, Justice Meredith Wright ruled that First Wind does not need to monitor baseline water quality prior to construction at their ridgeline location, and can use Best Management Practices for low risk environments to ensure that the Sheffield project ...

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Switzerland
30 August 2010
Les dernières éoliennes? [The last wind turbines?]
Les projets de parcs éoliens en Suisse mobilisent des opposants plus résolus que jamais. Les huit nouvelles éoliennes géantes du Mont-Crosin (Jura bernois) ont pourtant poussé sans tempête. Mais les 108 autres risquent de devoir baisser pavillon. [Wind energy projects in Switzerland are mobilizing opponents who are more resolute than ever. The eight new giant wind turbines of Mont-Crosin (Bernese Jura) have gone forward without trouble yet. But the 108 others risk having to lower their banner.] Elles viennent ...

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