| Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Wind Power News: September 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.
Island power plant
It sounds like something straight out of science fiction: a submarine transmission cable snaking for miles along the ocean floor, shuttling gusts of wind-generated electricity to a bustling metropolis. This isn’t science fiction, but it’s also not reality – at least, not yet. It’s no secret that Hawai’i relies on imported oil for 90 percent of its primary energy needs. In order to curb its craving for fossil fuel, the state established the Hawai’i Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI), which aims . . . Complete story »
Put wind farms offshore and save our landscapes
Your editorial is correct in questioning the way in which public levies are applied to all our electricity bills to support renewable energy developments (“Obligations that go beyond renewable energy”, The Herald, September 29). Such levies, which are imposed by the UK Government, must be adjusted so that most public funding support is taken away from large-scale, land-based wind farm and power line development and redirected offshore. The priority must now be for investment in offshore wind, wave and tidal . . . Complete story »
Unscheduled power cuts leave residents sweating
When contacted, a senior officer of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) conceded that there was unscheduled power cut for about an hour and attributed it to the decline in wind power generation. Complete story »
Ill wind blows turbine mania
Massive wind turbines almost as tall as the London Eye could “utterly dominate” the landscape around Milton Keynes in a few years’ time, claimed objectors this week. As protests hotted up about bids to build wind farms on three separate local sites, residents spoke of fears that ‘turbinemania’ will erupt. While green campaigners praise the turbines for their ecological benefits, countryside lovers predict the structures, all at least 125 metres high, will become massive blots on the landscape. Already Milton . . . Complete story »
Sigel Wind Farm gets preliminary OK
BAD AXE – Huron County planners on Wednesday gave conditional approval to a second wind farm DTE Energy is working on in Huron County. During a special planning commission meeting, DTE Energy Wind Site Development Manager Matt Wagner summarized Part 1 of the utility’s site plan review application for the Sigel Wind Farm. He explained that the farm will consist of a maximum of 44 General Electric 1.6 megawatt turbines. There are 11,400 acres within the project boundary, which is generally . . . Complete story »
Property tax bills coming, expect little if any change for Abilene, Taylor County
Petree said the changes have to do with wind turbines companies showing a tough business year. "The information that was brought to us by the wind turbine companies showed their income was down," Petree said. "These things are bought and sold based upon income." Complete story »
NStar feels the heat
There is a clear pattern of the state pressuring NStar to buy Cape Wind's power, said Audra Parker, president and CEO of the anti-Cape Wind group the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. "The state shouldn't be picking winners and losers," she said, adding that to do so is irresponsible, especially in light of recent financial scandals involving solar power companies backed by the state and federal government. The 2008 Green Communities Act, which the state is relying on to measure the NStar Northeast Utilities merger, is flawed, Parker said, adding that legislation has been filed to require competitive bidding for renewable energy purchased by utilities. Complete story »
Vermilion panel weighs changes in wind turbine ordinance
DANVILLE – A Vermilion County Board committee suggested Thursday night possible changes to the county’s wind turbine ordinance, including slightly increasing the distance turbines can be from a residence. The county board’s executive and legislative committees met Thursday night to discuss a few issues, including the county’s current wind ordinance that was approved in January 2009 to regulate certain aspects of wind farms in Vermilion, which does not have county wide zoning. Currently, there are no wind farms in Vermilion, but . . . Complete story »
New York Power Authority won’t reconsider buying power from Galloo Island Wind Farm
Galloo Island Wind Farm doesn’t have a prayer of getting any money from the New York Power Authority. And neither do any other renewable energy projects, authority staff reportedly said during a conference call Wednesday. “NYPA’s comments were that they were going to put their efforts into upgrading transmission lines and strengthening the grid,” said Assemblyman Kenneth D. Blankenbush, R-Black River, who was on the call. “Therefore, at least at this time, they will not be issuing any” purchase power . . . Complete story »
County rejects ordinance changes
The underlying problem is that the ordinance acts simply as a building code for the wind companies, telling them how to build the wind farms not if they can or can’t do it, according to the report. Vermilion County does not have zoning, which would allow a community to tell people what they can and can not do with their land. “We cannot simply outlaw legal but unwanted businesses,” Donahue told the committee. Complete story »
