Wind Power News: April 2011
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.
Anti-wind farm group hopes to win special protection
Campaigners have vowed to get the Yorkshire Wolds officially protected to prevent wind farms being built after scoring an initial success against a controversial development. Plans to build as many as 14 turbines 475ft high on agricultural land close to Hunmanby, near Filey, have sparked a public outcry. But proposals to install a 260ft monitoring mast, which would have helped developers from Banks Renewables select the most suitable site for the wind farm, were blocked by Scarborough Borough Council’s planning . . . Complete story »
FPL wind towers in western St. Lucie County not creating controversy like turbine proposal
Florida Power & Light Co.’s latest efforts to generate wind power in St. Lucie County should meet far less resistance than the company’s controversial attempt to put turbines on Hutchinson Island. FPL has asked the county for permission to build 200-foot meteorological towers to gather wind data in western St. Lucie County. The data would determine whether there’s enough wind to build turbines out west. While environmentalist groups and island residents worried turbines on Hutchinson Island would negatively affect humans . . . Complete story »
Council thwarted over planning fees spike
The Victorian Government will not allow the Moyne council to increase planning fees to cover the cost of wind farm planning applications. On Wednesday the council adopted a motion calling on Planning Minister Matthew Guy to raise fees from about $16,000 to $500,000 or 0.5 per cent of each project. Earlier this year, the Government returned planning authority for wind farms to local governments and the council says that has increased the financial burden on it. However, Mr Guy says . . . Complete story »
Wasteful, redundant schemes must stop
Every day we are bombarded with stories about the out-of-control spending going on in Washington, as our national debt continues to soar. A particularly infuriating report that recently came out exposed the hundreds of billions wasted every year due to redundancy in our government. With the United States flirting with economic disaster as our debt nears $14.3 trillion, it seems we could all agree on this one thing – redundancy must be eliminated! A perfect example of government-sponsored redundancy that taxpayers . . . Complete story »
Legislative inquiry deepens into Maine Green Energy Alliance
Sparks flew, tempers flared and the gavel banged Friday as Democratic and Republican lawmakers debated whether to have the Legislature’s watchdog agency conduct a formal inquiry into the now-defunct Maine Green Energy Alliance. Despite the rancor between the top Republican and Democrat on the Joint Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology, committee members – who have spent the last two months conducting their own informal inquiry into the Alliance – ultimately voted unanimously to ask the Office of Program Evaluation and Government . . . Complete story »
Health is too high a price for sharing the burden
In response to Lawrence Dings’ April 26 letter: I am well aware that we need to share the burden and am willing to do that, but not at the expense of some people’s health and well-being. These 400-foot turbines should not be placed in residential areas. They should be placed far away from neighborhoods. Why should some neighborhoods shoulder the health problems and environmental problems that go along with these massive turbines without even being able to vote on them, . . . Complete story »
Wind power lease area generates interest
The chance to build wind turbines south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket has sparked a wave of interest from almost a dozen developers, including a community-organized cooperative on the Vineyard. “We believe we are well positioned to hold and get these leases,” said Richard Andre, executive director of Vineyard Power, an electricity cooperative based in West Tisbury. Vineyard Power has joined forces with New Jersey-based OffshoreMW to develop a project that could provide electricity for the entire island. OffshoreMW is . . . Complete story »
Wind power vs. nuclear
“An Opportunity for Green Energy” (Reuters Breakingviews, April 22) reports that Oregon’s Shepherds Flat wind project “will create 850 megawatts of capacity, close to the output of a typical atomic reactor.” The Watts Bar reactor that the Tennessee Valley Authority is building is “typical.” It has a capacity of 1,180 megawatts. Its output will be available 95 percent of the time. (Watts Bar will be offline once every 18 months for maintenance and refueling.) The 845-megawatt Oregon wind farm will . . . Complete story »
BHP expects wind farm to be a breeze
Black Hills Power won’t need a permit from state utility regulators to construct or operate a wind farm in Butte County. The Public Utilities Commission requires permits only for projects of 100 megawatts or more, and a proposed Belle Fourche-area wind farm is just 20 megawatts. Where to draw the line at permitting has been debated at the PUC for the last few years, chairman Steve Kolbeck said. When a permit is required, PUC staff talk to landowners, study exact . . . Complete story »
Viewing the Berkshire East turbine
Over almost 40 years since my founding the Conway School of Landscape Design, there has been a welcomed increase in citizen and organizational environmental awareness. Collective intention and resolve to make a difference is thankfully increasing. We need to applaud the many local efforts, including businesses such as Berkshire East, for attempting to do their part to help with the energy and C02 climate change issues. We all need to be doing more! In several ways, Berkshire East could be . . . Complete story »
