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Wind Power News: November 2007
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.
Neighbor's windmill lowers property value, civil board rules
DERBY – Being close to a windmill lowers the value of a property, says Derby’s Board of Civil Authority (BCA). After inspecting property belonging to George and Doris Buzzell, the board decided to lower its appraised value by 10 percent from $242,300 to $227,600. The BCA is made up of Derby’s selectmen, justices of the peace and town clerk. It hears appeals of property assessment grievance decisions made by town listers. According to the minutes of recent BCA meetings, the Buzzells . . . Complete story »
Carey residents: ‘No!’ to power line; Hostile crowd raps plan put forth by South Dakota energy giant
Proponents of a proposal to locate a massive power transmission line through southern Blaine County faced an avalanche of criticism Tuesday night when they presented the plan to a standing-room-only crowd in the Carey High School gymnasium. Energy giant Northwestern Energy, based in Sioux City, S.D., would like to build a 500-kilovolt line through southwestern Montana and southeastern Idaho, portions of which may or may not pass through Blaine County depending on the route chosen. For a little more than . . . Complete story »
Companies know things that others don't
I would like everyone to just think about this with an open mind. Has anyone ever offered you money just for living where you do. Wind turbine companies are doing just that. Wind turbine companies are just loving the idea of 1,000 foot setbacks. With only 1,000 foot setbacks they can get many more turbines in. They also understand that there will be issues with the people’s health and welfare that they are willing to pay non-participating residents within one-third . . . Complete story »
Turbines threaten Hogwarts
Aah, vacation. How we look forward to those too-few days of relaxation when we forget our work-a-day cares in some distant locale, perhaps even overseas, maybe Europe. So why did Martha Frey, on a vacation in England with hubby Andy, have Yogi Berra’s deja-vu-all-over-again feeling? Well, she WAS sitting in a hearing room. And, up front, experts were debating the merits of wind power. But instead of Holy Family Monastery’s golden onion domes, they were discussing a wind farm in . . . Complete story »
No wind-energy windfall for District 88
NEW ULM – District 88 will not join the business of wind energy development – even though the decision to refrain was made on a close 4-3 vote Thursday night. The wind energy project, discussed during two previous board meetings, is being developed by Johnson Controls, Inc. Johnson Controls is currently managing the first phase of it. It includes 14 school districts. The company is discussing a second phase with another 40 school districts, including New Ulm. In essence, Johnson Controls would . . . Complete story »
E.ON and RWE: damned duopoly
Love them or hate them, Germany’s two power giants keep the lights on In an apparent victory for the little man, the burghers of Ensdorf this week successfully blocked plans by RWE, a huge German power company, to build a spanking new coal-fired power station in their back yard. But those Saarland villagers have won an incomplete victory. Germany needs to add about 35,000 megawatts (MW) of new capacity by 2020, plus another 16,000MW if its nuclear plants are to . . . Complete story »
Worldwide rush for wind power could result in massive debt
As told in a recent ad, a Johnsburg farmer who will host wind turbines now has many regrets. He regrets having been the “lure” to draw in other unsuspecting landowners. He regrets that he has allowed fields to be subdivided, road base to be spread on land once picked bare of rocks, costly tiling to be cut up. He regrets that he’s no longer the person who controls his own land and is now told where to go by security . . . Complete story »
New wind power goals: More windmills may be on Sweden’s horizon
Writing in Friday’s Dagens Nyheter, the Swedish Energy Agency’s Director-General Thomas Korsfeldt and project manager Klas Tennberg say Sweden needs 6000 new wind power plants in order to reach European Union renewable energy goals. When it comes to wind power, Sweden’s current annual output is 1.4 terawatts an hour from 800 plants. The national Energy Agency suggests a goal of 30 TWh by 2020. That’s trippling the goal currently in place. There are a few hurdles before the wind lights . . . Complete story »
Two to stay on Westar case
Two state energy regulators on Thursday refused a consumer advocate agency’s request that they disqualify themselves from a pending case over how Westar Energy should be paid for developing large-scale wind power. A once-confidential memo indicates that Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who appointed the regulators, promised utilities that they would be “fully compensated” for the added costs of wind energy. In statements filed shortly before the close of business Thursday, Kansas Corporation Commission Chairman Thomas Wright and Commissioner Michael Moffet said . . . Complete story »
Designer takes the wind out of Wel's hearing sails
Uncompromising evidence from an Aotea Harbour resident has forced the adjournment of a Resource Management Act hearing for the Te Uku wind farm until at least February. It remains to be seen whether sail design consultant and aerodynamicist Sean Cox has scuttled Wel Networks’ plans to build a 28-turbine wind farm 3km south of Te Uku, but he has certainly blown the Ngaruawahia hearing off course for a few months. Yesterday Wel networks successfully applied for an adjournment to the . . . Complete story »
