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Wind Power News: June 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 turbines pose groundwater, health issues, panel says
Board of Health advises against wind farms in southern Brown County The Brown County Board of Health, citing the threat to groundwater contamination as its chief reason, has recommended that no wind turbines be built in the county’s southern region where a 100-turbine wind farm has been proposed. Board Chairwoman Audrey Murphy said the history of well contamination and concerns about the impact of noise and shadow flicker “make this area unsuitable for a wind farm.” Its recommendation will be . . . Complete story »
Turbine shut down in high winds
Over the past month, the town’s wind turbine at the Wastewater Treatment Facility on Blacksmith Shop Road has been voluntarily shut down 39 times when wind speeds have been in excess of 22 mph as a way to mitigate the noise being emitted from the machine. Falmouth Town Manager Robert L. Whritenour Jr. told selectmen that this is just one way his office is attempting to appease disgruntled residents who have complained about the turbine since it became operational in . . . Complete story »
GMP fund doesn’t stop harmful windmill noise
I was fascinated to read the recent piece in the Herald by Mary Powell, head of Green Mountain Power, in which she introduced a “Good Neighbor Fund” for neighboring towns that would be facing the large industrial wind project proposed by GMP, the developer and a major investor in the project. It would appear now that everyone affected by this massive project will be compensated. The huge amount of federal subsidies poured into this project will now benefit the host . . . Complete story »
Why exactly is the wind energy siting bill such a good idea?
The Patrick administration and the environmental groups have been falling all over themselves recently supporting the so-called wind energy permitting reform legislation currently before the Legislature (An Act Relative to Comprehensive Siting Reform for Land Based Wind Projects, S. No. 2260, H. No. 4687). The Senate has already passed the legislation, and word is that the House is ready to approve it as well. The legislation would make sweeping changes to existing law. For starters, it would exempt new wind . . . Complete story »
Mad about wind? Valley must decide
WAITSFIELD – Last month, at a meeting attended by about 40 residents of the Mad River Valley, a Boston-based energy company tried to see which way the wind blows. Citizens Wind wants to install large turbines atop Northfield Ridge, one of two ranges that frame this idyllic resort community. The proposal is exceedingly preliminary. Citizens Wind, owned by Citizens Energy, doesn’t even know whether the ridge, in Waitsfield, is a viable site for wind power. Before proceeding with the costly . . . Complete story »
Does money grow in wind farms?
From the summit of Plynlimon, in the deep country of the Cambrian Mountains, there is a 70-mile panorama of the Cader range, hill after green-blue hill stretching into the distance, from the peaks around Bala to the shores of Cardigan Bay. It was a view that caught the breath. It still does, in a different way. The view from Plynlimon now is of more than 200 wind turbines, nearly a tenth of Britain’s onshore total, stretching across ridge-lines, dominating near . . . Complete story »
David Bellamy joins march against wind farm
Hundreds of protesters were joined by conservationist David Bellamy on Saturday in a march against a proposed wind farm. Campaigners said about 350 people took part in the protest through an area of the Lammermuir Hills in the Scottish Borders, where 48 turbines could be built. The Say No To Fallago group argues that unspoiled countryside will be threatened by the construction. Developers insist the area is remote and would enjoy access to a nearby power line – and accused . . . Complete story »
Windfarm turbines deadly for birds, bats
“Shockingly high” numbers of bird and bat deaths caused by one of Canada’s biggest wind farms should serve as a warning to planners of other projects that may be built in crucial wildlife zones, one of the country’s key conservation groups says. The 86 huge turbines on Wolfe Island, just outside Kingston, Ont., began to produce power about a year ago, and an on-going count of bird and bats that have been killed by the blades has been conducted since . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine lawsuit set
A group of farmers in Midwestern Ontario is turning to the courts in an effort to stop wind turbine development in Central Huron. But the lawsuit could grow to include residents from across the province. A proposed class-action lawsuit seeks damages from TTD Wind Project, Twenty-Two Degree Energy Corporation and individuals who put up wind turbines on their properties. Lawyer Patrick Murphy of the Goderich firm Donnelly and Murphy has been hired to launch the proposed action. Murphy admits the . . . Complete story »
Corporate corruption and whooping cranes
To National Geographic: Hello, I read your recent article about the Whooping Crane population and I would like to share some additional insight with National Geographic. As you well know, last year (2009) the Whooping Crane flock, lost 57 members. In Texas 23 were reported lost on their wintering grounds. Officially some of this decline is attributed to the South Texas drought that affected the birds’ food and water sources. I think there is much more to this story that . . . Complete story »
