| Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Wind Power News: July 2006
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort 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.
U.S. court: Moratorium valid for wind farm in energy battle
Some towns have welcomed and embraced the use of wind power as an alternative energy source; others have not. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York said, similar to the Don Quixote story, these towns might see monstrous giants instead of windmills. Communities such as Italy, N.Y., are reluctant to use wind power because of concern surrounding how wind turbines may affect the town’s scenic and aesthetic character. In Ecogen v. Italy et al., Judge David . . . Complete story »
Boundary mountain area faces development issues
The Friends of the Boundary Mountains organized some time ago to protect a 150-mile area in Maine extending from Grafton Notch on the New Hampshire border in Attean Lake. From the south, the mountains begin with the magnificent Bigelow Range and extend into Quebec. Few people are aware of this area, but it is now the target of corporate juggernauts sensing the profit to be made from production tax credits, accelerated deprecation and other taxpayer financial schemes. In a recent . . . Complete story »
New Research: Wind Farms Are Causing Noise Problems
But ‘sensible siting’ of turbines can overcome most of the problems. Within weeks of the Government’s Energy Review (1) proposing that planning controls be relaxed to speed up the introduction of wind farms, a new report (2) reveals that badly-sited wind turbines can cause real noise problems for local communities. In compiling its report, the Noise Association carried out a comprehensive review of the research done into wind farm noise. It found that the stress and annoyance some people experience . . . Complete story »
Tilting at foes of wind power
LEWISTON – Few Maine environmental groups are supporting a proposed wind farm near Sugarloaf Mountain – and that is prompting criticism from others worried about global warming. “It’s frustrating,” said Robert Monks, co-founder of Democracy Maine, a group created to combat partisan extremism. “It’s fiddling while Rome’s burning.” Critics say environmentalists are too worried about birds, vegetation and spoiled views, and not worried enough about the planet. Traditionally, Maine environmentalists have focused locally, but the dynamics of environmental problems have changed, Monks . . . Complete story »
Vermonters take sides on Searsburg facility
A project significantly larger than the Redington Wind Farm that is now being considered in Vermont is being met with mixed feelings from area community members. Deerfield Wind LLC wants to extend the Searsburg wind facility, which exists on private land, onto about 80 acres of national forestland. The expansion, to include another 20 to 30 more wind turbines along two ridge lines, would reach an elevation of 3,200 feet. About four miles of new access roads are planned, along . . . Complete story »
LURC takes a trip
REDINGTON TOWNSHIP – The proposal to build a 30-turbine wind farm atop 1,000 acres in Maine’s western mountains is likely be one of the most important and difficult decisions the seven members of the state’s Land Use Regulation Commission will make in coming years. The agency, which functions as the zoning and planning board for the state’s nearly 10 million acres of unorganized townships, is set to begin a series of public hearings on the project in August. Among other issues, . . . Complete story »
Legal bid to get windfarm plans blown off course
A protestor is making a one-man stand against the combined might of big business and the Government in a bid to save Scout and Knowl Moors from a 26-turbine windfarm. Businessman and solicitor Edward Smethurst is single-handedly mounting a judicial review to halt plans for the £50M development, which was given the final green light by Rural Affairs Minister Jim Knight in May. Backed with the full support of the Friends of Scout and Knowl Moor – the pressure group . . . Complete story »
Wind farm posed along Columbia; Turbines would create 750 megawatts
A California company has notified Oregon officials it plans a wind farm covering 32,000 acres with 300 turbines. The Shepherds Flat Wind Farm would be the largest in the Columbia River Gorge. It would generate 750 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 188,000 homes. The developer, LifeLine Development Group of Sacramento, is a newcomer to the wind-energy boom in the gorge and hasn’t developed any wind farms. It was formed expressly for Shepherds Flat, said Patricia Pilz, LifeLine’s development . . . Complete story »
