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 are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Paeroa locals voice scepticism over proposed wind farm, which could power 50k homes
Submissions for a controversial wind farm closed last month, but locals are concerned of the potential impact it could have on the landscape. Kaimai Wind Farm Ltd lodged resource consent applications with Hauraki District Council and the Waikato Regional Council to establish and operate 24 wind turbines on the northwestern side of the Kaimai Ranges. However, nearly three-quarters of those who submitted to the district council were opposed to the idea. Local farmer John MacRae told 1 NEWS one “major” . . . Complete story »
Recommendation could come this week in controversial DeWitt County wind farm case
CLINTON – A recommendation from the DeWitt County Zoning Board of Appeals on the controversial DeWitt County wind farm proposal could come this week after the final four public meetings that begin on Tuesday. Each meeting begins at 5 p.m. at Clinton High School and is scheduled for five hours. All meetings are open to the public. Following the public testimony, the ZBA will vote on a recommendation that will be forwarded to the DeWitt County Board for consideration next month. . . . Complete story »
After moratorium, North Carolina looks offshore for wind energy potential
A ban on land-based wind projects expired, but industry leaders say new onshore development isn’t a current priority. North Carolina is open for business for wind development, now that its 18-month moratorium on land-based projects has expired. But don’t expect a rash of new turbines to be built any time soon. Instead, industry experts say the state’s best potential for economic development from wind energy now comes from locating projects off the coast and manufacturing their components. “I think we’ll . . . Complete story »
Wind farm on the Belvoir Ranch
This month marks the 20th anniversary of my first Bird Banter column for the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. I wrote about cool birds seen on the ponds at the Rawhide coal-powered plant 20 miles south of Cheyenne, https://cheyennebirdbanter.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/birding-the-colorado-coast/. This month’s topic is also connected to Rawhide. It’s NextEra’s 120-turbine Roundhouse Wind Energy Center slated partly for the City of Cheyenne’s Belvoir Ranch. Roundhouse will stretch between I-80 south to the Wyoming border and from a couple miles west of I-25 on . . . Complete story »
Town overreach Senate bill advances
Boots introduced the bill after elected officials from Darlington and Alamo adopted ordinances regulating wind farms in an effort to eliminate its development. The ordinances were based on a state law that allowed towns to make such regulations within a four-mile radius of their respective town boundaries if public health, safety and welfare were a concern. Should the bill become law, the ordinances adopted by Darlington and Alamo would still remain in effect. The bill that passed third reading last week states that the change would not void an ordinance or resolution adopted by a municipality prior to January 1, 2019. Complete story »
Rural Victoria’s power networks set to buckle under weight of wind energy
Authorities say two coal-fired power stations’ worth of renewable energy won’t be able to reach the grid without major upgrades to networks in Victoria’s west. Developers are lining up to build wind and solar projects in towns to the west and north of Ballarat, in what is being hailed as another gold rush. “We’ve got $3 billion worth of projects currently underway,” said Stuart Benjamin, the chairman of a Victorian Government-commissioned taskforce that is overseeing the boom in the Grampians. . . . Complete story »
Ball Hill Wind hearing may draw crowd
SILVER CREEK – The maximum capacity of the Silver Creek Central School auditorium is 768. Will it be enough room to accommodate everyone in attendance at the Ball Hill Wind Energy public statement hearing on Wednesday? That is certainly the hope, as past public hearings and meetings regarding Ball Hill Wind have resulted in large standing-room only crowds and over-flowing parking lots. This was the case on June 26, when a public hearing regarding the proposed increase in turbine height held . . . Complete story »
County to hold meeting Feb. 12 in Boulevard on new substation and powerlines for proposed Campo Wind project
The County will be holding a scoping meeting February 28 at 6 p.m. at the Boulevard Fire Station regarding Terra Gen’s Boulder Brush Gen-tie power line and new substation facilities proposed on private land to support the Campo Wind project. The wind turbines would cover most of the Campo reservation with 60 4-megawatt wind turbines, if approved. The new turbines are twice as powerful and about 100 to 200 feet taller than the existing 25 Kumeyaay Wind and 57 Tule . . . Complete story »
Kansas bill would protect homeowners from wind farms
A House Bill requiring distance between wind farms and residential areas is headed to a committee hearing in Topeka this week. House Bill 2273 says there must be at least a mile and a half between wind farms and surrounding homes. The bill offers protections that some people in Reno County say they’ve been fighting for for over a year. “It’s very quiet out here. We just don’t have a lot of noise. These turbines when they are spinning actually . . . Complete story »
Ordinance proposes to ban wind farms
LAFAYETTE – Wind farming developers in Tippecanoe County might find infertile ground here. Tippecanoe County Commissioner Tom Murtaugh, who serves on the Area Plan Commission ordinance committee, asked that a draft of a law be submitted in the near future that would ban large wind farms in the county. Area Plan Commission Director Sally Fahey said the entire committee wanted the proposed ordinance drafted. A discussion hashing out the setback distances for wind turbines led to the proposed ban, Fahey said. . . . Complete story »
