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Wind Power News: September 2008
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.
Companies seek Washoe sites for wind turbines
In the Virginia Range northwest of Pyramid Lake, the Pah Rahs east of Sparks and the Fort Sage, Dry Valley and Dogskin Mountains in northern Washoe County, scientific instruments are measuring wind strength and directions for potential turbine sites. “This is serious stuff, and it’s coming our way,” said Bill Whitney, a county planner who conducted a workshop Tuesday night for about 100 people interested in wind energy in the county. In the southern part of the county, as many . . . Complete story »
B.C. study to help bats survive wind farms
DAWSON CREEK, British Columbia – Bats may never find wind farms as friendly as belfries, but a three-month study in northeast British Columbia is designed to make the power-generating turbines at least somewhat less deadly. Monitoring devices installed by AltaGas at the site of the proposed Bear Mountain Wind Farm have been recording data on the population and migratory routes of bats in the area since July. In later stages of development, the research is intended to help how the company . . . Complete story »
'Wind farm would be too close to homes'
A major rural campaign group is fighting controversial wind farm plans for an East Yorkshire village. The East Riding group of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has thrown its weight behind opposition to the scheme at Withernwick, near Hornsea. Energy business Energiekontor UK Ltd wants planning permission to build nine wind turbines on arable farmland in Aldbrough Road on the edge of the village. Parish councils in the area, including Withernwick, Aldbrough, Hatfield, Ellerby and Sproatley, have also . . . Complete story »
Wind fuels gas
Following Russia’s invasion of Georgia, a vital link between Europe and the energy resources of Central Asia, energy security is back at the top of Europe’s agenda. For years now, many Europeans thought that a major part of their future energy security might come from wind turbines and solar panels. Industry, too, has suggested that this may be the case: At this summer’s World Petroleum Congress in Madrid, most major oil and gas companies presented new plans for big renewable . . . Complete story »
Washoe officials reviewing plans for state's first large wind farm
Officials of a company called Nevada Wind want to build $300 million worth of turbines above Warm Springs Valley in the Pah Rah Mountains, the first large wind farm in the state. If Washoe County officials approve, the 20 to 50 turbines on ridges near Virginia Peak could be under construction next year, generate power by 2010 and be completed by 2013, said Tim Carlson, a partner in the Las Vegas company. Slowly rotating blades as long as 125 feet . . . Complete story »
Washoe officials reviewing plans for state's first large wind farm
Officials of a company called Nevada Wind want to build $300 million worth of turbines above Warm Springs Valley in the Pah Rah Mountains, the first large wind farm in the state. If Washoe County officials approve, the 20 to 50 turbines on ridges near Virginia Peak could be under construction next year, generate power by 2010 and be completed by 2013, said Tim Carlson, a partner in the Las Vegas company. Slowly rotating blades as long as 125 feet . . . Complete story »
PSC OKs sale of RG&E's parent, Energy East, to Iberdrola
Despite misgivings, New York regulators on Wednesday cleared the way for Spanish energy giant Iberdrola to buy the parent company of two Upstate utilities while also owning and developing wind power facilities. The state Public Service Commission voted 4-0 to approve Iberdrola’s $4.6 billion acquisition of Energy East, the parent of New York State Electric & Gas and Rochester Gas & Electric. As a condition of the deal, Iberdrola must provide $275 million to help lower rates for the 1.7 . . . Complete story »
German experts deem wind turbines lethal for bats
German animal campaigners are alarmed by the number of dead bats being found near wind turbines and have called for restrictions on generators in areas with high populations of the nocturnal mammal. “The bats are not only being clobbered to death by the turbines, but can also suffer from collapsed lungs due to the drastic change in air pressure,” said Hermann Hoetker of the Michael Otto Institute for wildlife and the environment. Hoetker, an ornithologist and expert on bats at . . . Complete story »
