Wind Power News: October 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.
Speaking out against wind
Residents of Jack and surrounding counties nearly filled a school auditorium Monday to hear speakers presented by a group opposing wind turbines in the region. Jack County Concerned Landowners, which hosted the forum, invited residents of Archer, Cooke, Montague, Palo Pinto, Wichita, Wise and Young counties to attend. Arguing against development of wind energy were Jack Hunt, president and CEO of King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas, Thomas Hewson, an energy and environmental consultant, and Steven Thompson, a Houston attorney specializing . . . Complete story »
Public debate over wind farm still blows strong after 7 years
Seven years after first squaring off, supporters and critics of Virginia’s first proposed industrial wind farm resumed their public debate Monday in Richmond. The State Corporation Commission is conducting its final public hearing on the Highland County proposal, which is expected to set a precedent for all future wind energy projects in Virginia. The Highland County proposal is part of the wind energy industry’s expansion from its traditional home in the West to the ridgelines of the Appalachian Mountains, where . . . Complete story »
Debate centers on environment; Highland wind farm's supporters and foes both claim high ground
One Virginia family has a vision of windmills grinding out clean electric energy on the Highland County mountaintop they own. Wind energy’s supporters see it as preferable to power generated by burning coal or other fossil fuels. Wind power, they say, can cut pollution that sickens people and contributes to global warming. Opponents see windmills as a threat to migratory birds, bats and other wildlife. The mammoth structures will scar a pristine landscape and hurt tourism, they say. Yesterday, a . . . Complete story »
Point Pelee wind turbine proposal axed
A surge of opposition has diverted a plan to put wind-powered turbines on the Point Pelee peninsula. Boris Vondrus of Advantis Energy confirmed on Monday his company will respect the wishes expressed quite passionately at a Saturday night public meeting and look for a more bird-friendly location for the turbines. “We think we can find a solution a lot of people will be positively pleased with.” His Toronto-based company set up the meeting Saturday to present its 10-megawatt project employing . . . Complete story »
An unnatural death: Wind turbines may have effect on bat populations
In popular Halloween folklore, vampires are able to transform into bats. And, of course, fiction tells us that one way to kill a vampire, and thus the bat, is with a stake through the heart. But in areas around the United States, a new potential bat killer has emerged – wind turbines. Since 2003, the concerns have grown so much on a national scale that in Woodford and McLean counties, government ordinances now require wind farm developers to include an avian . . . Complete story »
Nats leader hails wind farm reverse
Energy giant AGL has suspended plans to build a controversial 48-turbine wind farm in Victoria’s east. Although the energy company said the move was purely a business decision, Nationals leader Peter Ryan hailed the pullout as a community victory. “I think that (AGL) is conscious of the enormity of the opposition generated from Gippslanders,” said Mr Ryan, whose seat of South Gippsland takes in the proposed Dollar wind farm. The AGL backdown came more than three years after the company . . . Complete story »
Iberdrola to invest 400 mln eur in East Europe wind farms
Iberdrola SA will invest 400 mln eur to expand its wind farm business to eastern Europe through the acquisition of the rights to build parks in Hungary, Poland and Estonia, Cinco Dias reported, without citing a source. Iberdrola has acquired the rights for the construction of the parks, which will have a potential of 336 MW, the newspaper added. The Spanish utility is also spending 115 mln eur to develop two wind parks near the border of Slovenia, which should begin . . . Complete story »
FPL profit rises 55 percent
FPL Group Inc., Florida’s largest utility owner, said third-quarter profit rose 55 percent after gains in wind and nuclear power sales made up for the cost of its abandoned $12.4 billion bid for Constellation Energy Group Inc. Net income rose to $524 million, or $1.32 a share, from $339 million, or 87 cents, a year earlier, the company, based in Juno Beach, Fla., said in a statement today. Revenue increased 34 percent to $4.69 billion. FPL Group, whose Florida Power . . . Complete story »
Wind farm gets council thumbs up
The Turitea Reserve wind farm took a major step forward last night after the city council voted to proceed with the project, but the vote split councillors and charges of secrecy over the proposal continue. The council voted 13 to three to change the purpose of the Turitea Reserve to allow renewable electricity generation, confirming the decision made by the infrastructural well-being committee on October 18. Mighty River Power is now free to apply to the council for a resource . . . Complete story »
Woodford meeting's 'recess' may be illegal
CONGERVILLE – Mary Truax thought the impromptu meeting was peculiar, and questioned it. The Woodford County Zoning Board of Appeals’ chairman described it as a “recess.” But if the Illinois Attorney General’s Office is made aware of a private meeting among the members of the board before they voted on a wind farm permit Thursday, it could be considered illegal. Before the panel voted to recommend that the Woodford County Board approve a special use permit to allow a wind farm . . . Complete story »
