Wind Power News: March 2010
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.
Wind farm opponents plan civil disobedience campaign
The local mayor and members of the Coalition for the Ventanas Verraco Dry Forest said Tuesday if the government continues with its plans to establish a wind farm on the coast of Guayanilla that they would have no other option but to begin a civil disobedience campaign. During a press conference, Guayanilla Mayor Edgardo Arlequín Vélez and about 30 environmental activists reaffirmed their opposition to the Windmar Project, which gained Planning Board approval last week. “We are not going to . . . Complete story »
Turbine plan sparks emotion in Harwich
HARWICH – Harwich selectmen on Monday heard from several opponents to the town’s plan to install two, 400-foot wind turbines on water department land in North Harwich, and the proposal brought one homeowner to tears. About a dozen critics of the plan spoke at length, pushing the meeting past 11:15 p.m., and several pleaded with selectmen to abandon the project. Resident Alice Kuntz asked Rick Toma to show the selectmen what the impact of shadow flicker would be like in a . . . Complete story »
Cape turbine failures during storm stir up concern
When the 100-foot-tall wind turbine at Bartlett’s Ocean View Farm hurled one of its broken blades nearly 200 feet Jan. 18, it was a statistical anomaly. Wind energy experts claim, and statistics seem to show, failure rates are low. But when a second 100-foot-tall turbine, this time in Marstons Mills, shed its blades in a northeaster this Sunday, it seemed to some the start of a troubling trend. That is especially relevant as the Cape sees an ever-growing demand to . . . Complete story »
Industrial wind projects hurt quality of life
One of the great benefits about living where we do is the open space and the importance we as ranchers put on the quality of life our culture provides not only for our families, but for society as well. Regarding the infringement of property rights expressed in the editorial letter of Feb. 23 (La Grande Observer), no one believes stronger in that right than we do. But when an industrial complex is allowed to devalue the land and lifestyle, that . . . Complete story »
Developers power down interest in Blues wind
As Umatilla County continues to wrestle over new rules for new wind farms, a pair of wind developers may have pulled the plug on their plans here. Two major companies - Renewable Energy Systems, Inc., and Gaelectric Developments – had secured land leases east of Highway 11, near the Blue Mountains. Wind developers often use those agreements to measure wind activity on site, or conduct other research before a decision to build is made. But late last month, county records show . . . Complete story »
Noisy wind farms face crackdown
Noisy wind farms face a crack down from councils following Government concern complaints are not being taken seriously enough. Complete story »
Crosswinds buffet proposed turbine
WELLFLEET – Town officials are moving ahead with plans to place a windmill on town land a half-mile from Ocean View Drive. But opponents are organizing as well, albeit loosely, to gather information and form a coalition as critical decisions appear on the horizon. At the April 26 annual town meeting, voters have an opportunity to renew their support or openly oppose the $5.3 million turbine planned for the woods near White Crest Beach, in the Cape Cod National Seashore. A . . . Complete story »
County wind power debate begins
At a community meeting on Bent Mountain last week and before the ICLEI “green” committee on Monday, Don Giecek made the case for wind power in Roanoke County. Giecek, the business manager for Chicago-based Invenergy, traveled from his home in central Virginia to talk about a proposal to place 15 energy generating wind turbines on Poor Mountain, near the communication towers that already dot the landscape there. Giecek heard Bent Mountain and Copper Hill residents voice concerns about lower property . . . Complete story »
The big wind-power cover-up
Scandal: Spain exposed the boondoggle of wind power in 2009, discrediting an idea touted by the Obama administration. In response, U.S. officials banded with trade lobbyists to hide the facts. It was a cold day at the Energy Department when researchers at King Juan Carlos University in Spain released a study showing that every “green job” created by the wind industry killed off 4.27 other jobs elsewhere in the Spanish economy. Research director Gabriel Calzada Alvarez didn’t object to wind . . . Complete story »
Court upholds wind farm law
The state’s highest court on Thursday dealt the Friends of Lincoln Lakes a major legal defeat by reaffirming state approval of a $130 million industrial wind site intended for northern Penobscot County. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court’s unanimous ruling also upheld the constitutionality of a state law fast-tracking the permit process for Maine wind sites. Click here to read the court’s decision. Maine Attorney General Janet T. Mills, whose office represented the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the Board . . . Complete story »
