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Wind Power News: June 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.
The wind industry’s relative youth means fewer traditional barriers for women in Maine
Tourists visiting the Portland waterfront stop to watch the screeching seagulls coasting in the gentle wind. To them, the drifting birds are a bit of local atmosphere. But what Katherine Joyce sees in the onshore breeze is a multibillion-dollar industry. Joyce is an attorney at Bernstein Shur in Portland who specializes in the complex permitting process needed to harness wind for power, a cause to which she’s clearly devoted. “Think of the resources here,” she says, gesturing seaward from a . . . Complete story »
Supreme Court: Criticism for Coos officials but tiny Millsfield still unsure about huge tax hike
Despite a Supreme Court ruling in their case about a dozen households in tiny Millsfield in the North Country still don’t know whether they’ll be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes. But they do know that the state’s highest court wasn’t impressed by how Coos County Commissioners settled on a value for the Granite Reliable wind farm, which was the subject of the court case… In 2008 the three Coos County commissioners – Tom Brady, . . . Complete story »
Fire at Cappaboy windfarm
Three units of Bantry Fire Service fought a blaze when one of ten turbines at Cappaboy Beg windfarm caught fire last week. Bantry Fire Station officer Ian Vickery said they were alerted to the fire – at the Pass of Keimaneigh. ‘The blades on one of the turbines went on fire. One blade sheared off and landed 200m away, setting fire to forestry and another landed 50m away, setting fire to hill and gorse,’ Mr Vickery said. A substantial area . . . Complete story »
Woman vehemently opposes wind park
Valerie Malicki sat with her hands clasped, tears streaming down her eyes, which she closed during a Greenwich Township trustee meeting Tuesday. Earlier in the tense meeting, she shouted as she frantically rummaged through two piles of material she’d gathered about wind farms – and what she felt were their negative effects. The trustees had asked the crowd of about 40 to keep their comments to five minutes, due to the amount of people in attendance. They were there to speak . . . Complete story »
40 turbines to be built north of Grand Bend
Dozens of wind turbines are coming to a stretch of Lake Huron shoreline boasting some of the most beautiful sunsets in the province. The Ontario Environment Ministry is giving the green light to a $380-million wind farm that will add 40 turbines in a 16-kilometre corridor along Lake Huron starting near Grand Bend and running north. Most of the turbines will be about a kilometre inland from the beaches. The wind farm is opposed by some local residents who say . . . Complete story »
Talks continue for The Balsams redevelopment
DIXVILLE – Information about the redevelopment of The Balsams is still in short supply, but spokesmen for both Les Otten and Brookfield Power confirmed that they are talking about reducing setbacks from wind turbines that Otten says he needs to eventually quadruple the size of the Wilderness ski area. That said, however, it’s been more than a month since the May 22 annual meeting of the North Country Chamber of Commerce in West Stewartstown where Otten announced the “spectacular rebirth” of . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine proposal close to Hadrian’s Wall set to get the green light
Plan for two wind turbines close to Hadrian’s Wall look set to be given the green light, despite opposition based on their proximity to the World Heritage Site. A farmer at Bardon Mill in Northumberland is seeking planning permission for two turbines up to 21.6m high at a site 1.3km from the Hadrian’s Wall Heritage site. The proposal is facing opposition from the local parish council and 27 residents, with concerns voiced over the proximity of the proposed site to . . . Complete story »
Turbines plan withdrawn
Plans for three large wind turbines near Cumbria’s Killington Reservoir have been scrapped by Banks Renewables. The plan was approved by South Lakeland District Council last year, and called in by secretary of state for communities and local government Eric Pickles last March. Many groups have objected to the new turbines, including the Open Spaces Society, Friends of the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales Society. A public enquiry was set to take place in September, but the planning application . . . Complete story »
Turtle goes back to court
The fight to defend Ostrander Point and the endangered species that reside in this rare habitat will go on. The construction of nine industrial wind turbines on CrownLand will have to wait. For at least another few months, the Blanding’s turtle, the whippoorwill, and the myriad migrating birds that travel through and rest along the south shore of Prince Edward County will be spared the incursion of giant 50-storey machines into their domain. On Friday, the Ontario Court of Appeal . . . Complete story »
Campaigners’ ‘delight’ as controversial Cumbria turbines plan withdrawn
Campaigners have welcomed the news that plans to build three massive wind turbines close to a national park have been dropped. The Open Spaces Society said it was delighted that the proposals for the turbines near Killington Reservoir had been shelved. The site, west of Sedbergh, is only 3km (2 miles) from the western boundary of the Yorkshire Dales national park and is near the gateway to the Lake District from the M6 motorway. Banks Renewables applied for permission to . . . Complete story »
