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Wind Power News: May 2014
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.
Obama administration retools sprawling Western ‘energy corridor’
The Obama administration is slowly taking the first steps to revise potentially large sections of a congressionally designated 6,000-mile-long energy corridor as mandated by a nearly 2-year-old legal settlement with environmental groups that claimed the original corridor unnecessarily tore through sensitive landscapes and fails to advance renewable energy development. But it could be years before any substantive revisions are made to dozens of contested sections of the “West-wide Energy Corridor” that stretches across 11 Western states and nearly 3 million . . . Complete story »
Transmission developer rides Neptune’s success into New England’s energy battles
Building wind-based transmission facilities will be important as New England seeks to meet its renewable portfolio standards. "The basic metric is that the RPS standards of New England, as a whole, require a Cape Wind project to be selected and built each year for the next five years," Edward Krapels, founder and director of Anbaric Transmission LLC, said. As proposed by its developer, the Cape Wind project, to be built off the coast of Massachusetts, will total about 468 MW. Complete story »
Scots wind farms to power 500,000 UK homes after wind-ustry wins battle over Ministry of Defence objections
The UK Ministry of Defence is set to withdraw standing objections to hundreds of megawatts of proposed wind farms around the Eskdalemuir nuclear test-ban monitoring facility in southern Scotland following publication of new independent scientific evidence that wind turbines do not materially interfere with seismic monitoring. The Eskdalemuir Seismic Array is one of 170 seismic stations across the globe used to monitor compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. The UK is bound by the Test-Ban Treaty not to compromise the . . . Complete story »
Let wind complete without favors
Michael Goggin of the American Wind Energy Association makes the assertion that wind electricity (and other low-fuel-cost sources) are inherently cheaper than those consuming expendable fuels, but he offers no supporting facts (Letters, May 27). He blames temporary lack of transmission lines and existence of “inflexible” nuclear plant competition for wind’s occasional local premiums. Mr. Goggin’s unsubstantiated assertions ignore the massive energy cost jump Germany experienced after its major move to wind and solar, causing home heating cost spikes and . . . Complete story »
Pobladores de Oaxaca se quejan del zumbido de 91.5 decibeles que producen parques eólicos
[Residents of Oaxaca complain of 91.5-decibel hum from wind farms] La empresa Desarrollos Eólicos Mexicanos (Demex) ha ocasionado “un problema muy grande” en Unión Hidalgo, Oaxaca, ya que hay personas que a 500 metros de los aerogeneradores del parque eólico Piedra Larga se quejan del zumbido que producen (de 91.5 decibeles de acuerdo a un estudio independiente realizado en el lugar) informó el presidente municipal de dicho poblado, José López de la Cruz. El munícipe, quien denunció que ahora la . . . Complete story »
Howard County council considers wind farm abatements; Council considers closed-door session on agreement with E.ON
Opponents of the Wildcat Wind Farm in eastern Howard County once again showed they aren’t ready to let the issue of wind development die down. Community members voiced their desire for the Howard County Council to examine how to back out of its abatement agreement with E.ON Climate & Renewables, which has plans to construct wind turbines in eastern Howard County in phases II and III of the Wildcat Wind Farm. While council members offered no promises to change the . . . Complete story »
An ecological disaster in the making?
A growing number of East County residents, fire chiefs, environmentalists and elected officials are voicing alarm over the proposed large-scale destruction of natural and scenic resources for numerous industrial-scale “renewable” wind and solar energy projects and related powerlines, substations and more. A map reveals that East County is targeted for a disproportionate share of these projects, pushed forward by energy companies and politicians who contend such development is needed to disrupt disastrous effects of global warming and fill the regional . . . Complete story »
Heslerton Wold wind farm plan axed
Plans for ten 126m high wind turbines on the Yorkshire Wolds between Malton and Scarborough will not go ahead after the Secretary of State overturned a planning inspector’s decision. Permission for the wind farm – which has been the subject of a four year long planning wrangle – on Heslerton Wold was quashed in a decision by the Secretary of State. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles reviewed and then overturned a planning inspector’s decision on RWE nPower’s plans. In a ruling . . . Complete story »
Energy Dept. decision knocks wind out of proposed Lake Erie wind farm
There may come a time when it’s a good idea to produce electricity by putting windmills in Lake Erie a few miles northwest of downtown. But the U.S. government has concluded that time is not now. Nor may it ever be. At least not in the lifetime of anyone reading this piece. Using our abundance of fresh water in ways that secure Greater Cleveland’s economic survival should always be at or near the top of the region’s list of priorities. . . . Complete story »
Residents claim proof of power line health risks
Randolph County residents are fighting the Grain Belt Express Clean Line in Mid-Missouri claiming there is proof high voltage power lines are a health risk. The power line, more than 700 miles long would run from Kansas to Indiana, passing through northern Mid-Missouri. The project promises to provide clean and affordable wind energy. However, some residents in Chariton, Randolph and Monroe counties are worried about their property values, crop irrigation, and adverse health effects. Dennis and Laurie Smith live on . . . Complete story »
