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.
Swampscott gets grant to study wind power off Forest Avenue
Swampscott – Swampscott will get a $75,000 grant from the state to study the feasibility of a wind turbine off Forest Avenue. State Rep. Lori Ehrlich announced the grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to explore the feasibility of developing a 600 kW wind project on land adjacent to the Swampscott Middle School’s athletic fields. The site is on town-owned land, adjacent to the Middle School and its accompanying open athletic fields. The study will include wind monitoring, wind resource . . . Complete story »
Windmill lawsuit settled
A civil trial scheduled in Blair County for July has been canceled after both sides in a lawsuit over wind turbines in the Route 164 area overlooking Portage Township was settled. Parties involved in the May 2008 lawsuit filed by a Blair County doctor and his wife would not comment on the case nor discuss terms of the settlement. “The matter’s been resolved,” was the only statement Pittsburgh attorney Bradley Tupi would make Friday. He refused to discuss terms of . . . Complete story »
Carver green building code rejected
Residents at Town Meeting defeated a proposal to adopt an energy-saving building code that would have increased the costs of home construction but reduced annual energy costs. The so-called stretch code was mandated by the state’s Green Communities Act for towns seeking grants under the law. Town Meetings in Kingston and Duxbury recently approved the stretch code. Carver officials backing adoption of the stricter building standards said increased building costs would be paid off in savings in energy costs. However, . . . Complete story »
Proposed ordinance regulating wind farms
LITCHFIELD – Residents fear there aren’t enough regulations controlling wind farm projects like the one that could add a dozen turbines on Dry Hill in this rural Herkimer County town. So, when the Town Council asked residents to help draft an ordinance that would control such projects, they jumped at the chance. The proposed ordinance would require wind farm developers to go through multiple town permitting processes and impose requirements about how far turbines need to be set back from residences . . . Complete story »
A look at the ‘green’ building code
CARVER — The sparsely attended first night of Carver’s annual Town Meeting May 17 said yes to a variety of home-grown redevelopment projects and several important zoning changes, but voters turned down a change in the building codes that may prevent the town from earning “Green Community” status, which raises questions as to Carver’s ability to compete regionally for commercial development. The arguments The so-called “Stretch Code” is a series of energy-saving changes to building codes that, while adding to . . . Complete story »
Wind farm will be invasive to farms
Regarding the State Journal editorial on May 25 titled “Wind turbines fit with farms”: As a resident of the town of Scott in northeast Columbia County, I can tell you the Glacier Hills Energy Park is not like the wind project at Montfort in Iowa County, which you featured in a photograph. When Florida Power and Light first proposed a wind farm to our family, the idea was to place a row of turbines on an area we call the . . . Complete story »
Noisy offshore wind park scares off porpoises
They might produce renewable energy, but offshore wind farms are a scourge for porpoises. Researchers have found that construction noise at a turbine site off the German coast has scared away the marine mammals, who depend on their acute hearing. A “bubble curtain” could protect the sensitive cetaceans from future stress. They might produce renewable energy, but offshore wind farms are a scourge for porpoises. Researchers have found that construction noise at a turbine site off the German coast has . . . Complete story »
Reward offered for information in turbine shooting
Authorities have mounted a coordinated investigation after shots were fired May 10 at an Adams Township wind turbine where two maintenance employees were working. On Tuesday, Cambria County Crimestoppers announced a $2,000 reward for information leading to the shooter’s or shooters’ arrest. Vandalism incidents at two unmanned wind turbines near Portage also are being investigated. “We have had multiple incidents around Portage. On May 10, it escalated to a point where lives were endangered,” District Attorney Kelly Callihan said Tuesday . . . Complete story »
