Wind Watch: Industrial Wind Energy News
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Wind farm developer pares down plan for land west of Burney, sweetens offer to Shasta County
The company that wants to build a wind farm in eastern Shasta County has downsized the project in hopes supervisors will overturn an earlier decision by the planning commission that denied the use permit. But some opponents of the controversial Fountain Wind project are crying foul, saying what the developer is doing is skirting the rules. ConnectGen LLC marketed the changes in a half-page advertisement in Tuesday’s Record Searchlight, calling the revisions “Substantially Reduced Impact & Visibility.” The company says . . . Complete story »
University of Minnesota researchers drill down on ways to protect eagles in wind farms’ airspace
Resilient as bald eagles are, they are no match for wind turbine blades, whose spinning tips can reach speeds of up to 200 mph. Intent on keeping the two apart, a team of University of Minnesota researchers with expertise in wildlife behavior, neuroscience and mechanical engineering is continuing its work to find solutions through what bald and golden eagles hear and how it affects their behavior. The findings might help create acoustic deterrents at wind farms that could save the . . . Complete story »
2 offshore wind developers submit bids
The headlines detailing the emergence of a US offshore wind supply chain in its infancy are starting to pop up in all sorts of places – a $250 million monopile facility in New Jersey in partnership with wind farm developer Orsted and a wind tower manufacturing operation in Albany, New York, in conjunction with wind farm developer Equinor. But so far none of these facilities are being talked about or built in Massachusetts, which is rekindling a long-running debate in . . . Complete story »
2 of world’s largest oil companies want to build offshore wind farm near Morro Bay
Two of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, along with several other energy companies, have expressed interest in pursuing a lease to develop an offshore wind energy farm off the Central Coast. A subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell – Shell Renewables and Energy Solutions LLC – and bp America Inc. both wrote to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to express eagerness about the proposed floating offshore wind farm in the Morro Bay call area west of Cambria and . . . Complete story »
Residents hit out at new wind turbines ‘twice the height of Edinburgh’s Scott Monument’
Six giant wind farm turbines are to be built on the fringe of the Pentlands National Park, despite fears it will hit tourism and disrupt vital broadband signals for local residents. Plans had already been approved for the six turbines being built by French energy giant EDF, but a new application was submitted after they decided to increase the height of the turbines from 455ft to a new tip height of 491ft – more than twice the height of Edinburgh’s . . . Complete story »
Clifton wind farm expansion on track to be online in September 2022
A planned expansion that would triple the energy output of a wind farm in Clifton is on track to be online next fall. Halifax, Nova Scotia-based firm SWEB Development Inc. received approval earlier this year to build another five wind turbines alongside the Pisgah Mountain Wind Project’s existing five turbines in Clifton. The Silver Maple expansion would allow the development to add 20 megawatts in wind energy, resulting in more than triple the Pisgah Mountain project’s current 9-megawatt capacity. Construction . . . Complete story »
Newing residents wary after Viking correspondence
Residents in the Newing area of South Nesting say they feel wind farm developer SSE Renewables might try to “fob us off” after receiving “no real answers to our queries, concerns and fears”. The group of residents approached the owners of the Viking Energy wind farm earlier this summer after it emerged the developer was planning to create a large ‘borrow pit’ to extract stone for tracks and turbine bases less than 500 metres from their homes. The homeowners have . . . Complete story »
How much offshore wind energy is coming to California? Gov. Newsom signs law to find out
Offshore wind is no longer a distant possibility in California. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Thursday mandating that the California Energy Commission create a plan for offshore wind development in federal waters. “Offshore wind power is one step closer to finding a home on the Central Coast and making us the nation’s clean energy capital,” said Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham, R-San Luis Obispo, an author of AB 525. “Offshore wind is a win-win-win. It means more renewable . . . Complete story »
Vulcan County’s planning commission approves development permits for Buffalo Hills wind farm project
Shane Cockwill, who chairs the MPC, said the planning commission members empathize with the local residents’ legitimate concerns about the project and did their best to address their concerns “to the degree we had an influence,” he said. But the MPC’s jurisdiction was limited in its jurisdiction, to matters such as roads and setbacks, said Cockwill. “We were bound legally to only decide a few things,” he said. Wind farm projects mostly come under the jurisdiction of the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), Cockwill pointed out. Cockwill said he hopes the AUC hears the concerns of residents and that those concerns carry weight when the decision on the project is made. Complete story »
Planned Minnesota wind farm to be moved farther from Jeffers Petroglyphs site
The Minnesota Historical Society and two Dakota bands have consented to a wind farm near the Jeffers Petroglyphs after the developer moved its turbines farther away from the ancient and sacred site. The Big Bend project near Comfrey would be one of the state’s largest wind farms, and it would be paired with a big solar array – a unique arrangement for renewable energy developments. The historical society and the the Upper and Lower Sioux Indian communities objected to the original . . . Complete story »
