Wind Power News: October 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.
Coleford wind turbine campaign steps up as plans are submitted
Campaigners are stepping up their fight against plans for a 86 metre wind turbine in Coleford. Full details of the proposed mast at Poolway Farm have been revealed with the submission of a planning application, prompting protesters to take action. The Dean Forest Crosswinds Group is planning to hit the streets to leaflet drop, canvass support and raise awareness of the turbine and its impact. Campaigner Jeanne Wilson said: “We’ve got two main jobs. One is to make sure all . . . Complete story »
Welshpool warning over windfarm lorry trips’ impact
More than 630,000 extra lorries could travel through Mid Wales over a four-year period if proposed windfarms get the go-ahead, it has emerged. Welshpool Town Council fears it will have a ‘severe impact’. It says thousands of lorries carrying turbines to proposed windfarms could have a ‘severe impact’ on the town. Fears have been raised that windfarm developers will have to carry turbine parts, including blades of up to 45 metres long, through the town to reach various proposed windfarm . . . Complete story »
Moorabool Council plea on turbine planning
Moorabool residents could face a hike in council rates if the state government does not provide extra planning staff to deal with wind farm permits, according to the opposition. With 121 turbines slated for two wind farms around Mount Wallace and Yaloak, council claims it’s under-resourced and needs an assistance program to enforce planning conditions. The council last week moved a successful motion at the Municipal Association of Victoria’s state council, calling on it to lobby the government to help . . . Complete story »
A high price
In his Platform article (29 October), Graham Brown, chairman of Burcote Wind, claims that “wind is free”. If that is indeed the case, perhaps he could explain why overseas wind developing companies are rushing to our shores to build ever more wind turbines? These companies are here to make money, pure and simple. About two-thirds of installed wind turbines are owned by overseas companies to whom we consumers pay huge subsidies when the turbines are operating and massive “constraint” payments . . . Complete story »
Pylon fight on
A National Grid scheme that could see giant electricity pylons constructed along the Waveney Valley has prompted a warning from more than 150 local residents – “you will face a fight.” Concerns were raised at a public meeting in Wortwell Community Centre last Friday, with residents joined by eight officials from the electricity company, South Norfolk Councillor Martin Wilby and South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon, alongside council representatives from both sides of the Norfolk/Suffolk border. Officials from National Grid said . . . Complete story »
Group reports on bird kills at West Virginia wind farms
With the deaths of nearly 500 birds at the Laurel Mountain wind facility earlier this month, three of the four wind farms operating in West Virginia have now experienced large bird fatality events, according to American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the nation’s leading bird conservation organization. “Wind energy has the potential to be a green energy source, but the industry still needs to embrace simple, bird-smart principles that would dramatically reduce incidents across the country, such as those that have occurred . . . Complete story »
A typical week in wind farm noise
I’m traveling this week, so not monitoring the news on a regular basis, but tonight I thought it would be useful to simply highlight a few news items that came through my custom Google News section on wind farm noise in the past few days. The mix of stories is pretty typical of what occurs each week: Representing the widespread efforts of local planning authorities to make sense of conflicting voices are two towns, one near the end of its . . . Complete story »
Why we oppose wind turbines
Over the past two years, there has been a sea change in opinion on Cape Cod, and throughout the world, regarding the potential benefits and adverse impacts of industrial wind energy. Residents and public officials throughout the Cape have embarked on a crash course in the realities of wind energy. They have been surprised, and justifiably alarmed, by what they’ve learned. In Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Harwich, Brewster and Dennis, residents, planning boards and select boards rejected once popular proposals after . . . Complete story »
Hundreds of migrating birds die at Laurel Mountain wind farm
ELKINS, W.Va. – Lights left on at a power substation on a foggy night during the fall migration season are believed to be responsible for the deaths of nearly 500 songbirds earlier this month at the new AES Laurel Mountain wind farm near Elkins. “From a bird conservation perspective, it was a very bad event,” said Kelly Fuller, wind campaign coordinator for the American Bird Conservancy, a national bird conservation group headquartered in The Plains, Va. More than half of the . . . Complete story »
No police; Lowell wind protests go on
NEWPORT CITY – An Orleans Superior Court judge conducted a status conference by telephone Friday morning in the case of Green Mountain Power versus Don and Shirley Nelson of Lowell and protesters of the Lowell wind project. Judge Martin Maley spoke with attorneys for GMP and for the Nelsons, plus Orleans County Sheriff Kirk Martin and Captain Tim Clouatre, Vermont State Police Troop B commander. The status conference was an effort to resolve issues left hanging from Tuesday’s hearing about the . . . Complete story »
