Wind Power News: August 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.
Meade gives green light to wind energy; Township rejects turbine moratorium on split vote
MEADE TOWNSHIP – Officials in Meade Township voted down a six-month moratorium on wind energy development on Tuesday, following a more than three-hour debate with nearly 50 residents, township and county officials and DTE Energy representatives. Township planners considered delaying wind energy development, in light of DTE Energy’s plan for a 58-turbine wind park in parts of central Huron County that include Meade, scheduled to receive 45 turbines, and Colfax townships. Construction of the as-of-yet-unnamed, 100-megawatt wind park may begin this . . . Complete story »
Campaigners against Cumbrian windfarm lose battle
Campaigners have lost their battle against plans for a windfarm with turbines more 400ft tall. Despite a raft of objections, councillors gave the green light to an energy firm’s proposals to erect nine 413ft turbines – each three times the height of Carlisle Civic Centre – at Beck Burn Peat Works between Longtown and Gretna. It is the latest chapter in a four-year fight to prevent the proposal by EDF Renewables from going ahead. Members of Carlisle City Council’s development . . . Complete story »
Secretary of State dismisses Louth Canal wind farm appeal
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles MP, has formally dismissed an appeal against East Lindsey District Council’s refusal to grant planning permission for a wind farm near North Thoresby and Tetney. The application to build three 113.5 metre wind turbines on land adjacent to Louth Canal was submitted back in 2012, was refused by ELDC Planning Committee in April last year. The Secretary of State decided in October 2013 that he would determine the outcome of . . . Complete story »
Developer to scale back Glenfarg windfarm plans
Plans for a Perthshire windfarm have been scaled back in light of feedback from a public consultation. A planning application will now be submitted to the council by Element Power for turbines at the Binn Eco Park industrial site at Glenfarg. “As a result of the feedback received from our community consultation, including the first round of public exhibitions, and the completion of our environmental and technical studies, we have made a number of significant changes to the proposed design . . . Complete story »
Behind the News: Edel Grace, wind farm opponent
‘I’m not anti-wind. It’s about the right development in the right place,” says Edel Grace of Kilcommon Upperchurch Wind Awareness Group. It plans to take a judicial review of An Bord Pleanála’s approval of an €80 million wind farm, to be built by Ecopower Developments, between the two Co Tipperary villages. Grace says one of the turbines will be too close to her house. “From our measurements the nearest turbine will be 363m from our house, which is less than . . . Complete story »
More controversy surrounds application for wind turbine in Gwynedd
Comments made about controversial plans for a wind turbine have come under scrutiny amid concerns that some were made without the knowledge of their supposed authors. In a bid to establish whether comments were submitted without the knowledge of those whose names appeared on them, Gwynedd council took the rare step of writing to the hundreds of people who had apparently made representations. The controversy surrounds an application for a 67m wind turbine at Moelfre Bach in Llanaelhaearn near Pwllheli . . . Complete story »
Donald Trump–opposed windfarm given marine licence
An offshore windfarm facing strong opposition from Donald Trump has won final planning consent – but cannot go ahead until the outcome of a legal battle with the American tycoon. The Scottish Government has awarded a marine licence to the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) off Aberdeen Bay. The project will see 11 650ft turbines built, powering thousands of homes. Trump launched a major campaign against the £230 million windfarm, fearing it will destroy the views from his championship golf . . . Complete story »
SDG&E on track to meet 33% renewables goal by year’s end
Jim Avery, a senior vice president at San Diego Gas & Electric Company, says the utility will meet California’s 33% renewable energy goal by the end of 2014 – six years ahead of schedule, IT San Diego reports. The state’s ambitious mandate for utilities has pushed aggressive construction of transmission lines such as Sunrise Powerlink as well as industrial-scale wind and solar projects in desert and rural regions. Avery made the announcement in Los Angeles at a meeting of state . . . Complete story »
Éoliennes: le rêve non rentable
Le 5 août dernier, Hydro-Québec Distribution déposait à la Régie de l’énergie une demande visant une hausse tarifaire de 3,9 % à compter du 1er avril 2015. La Régie devra statuer sur cette demande d’ici le printemps prochain, mais il est d’ores et déjà connu que 2,1% de cette demande est la conséquence du coût des nouveaux approvisionnements, principalement éoliens, et ce, alors même que l’on vient de subir en avril 2014 une hausse de 4,3 % de notre compte d’électricité. Depuis . . . Complete story »
Iowa State center approved loans for wind turbines at regent’s farming operation
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The agribusiness owned by Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter was awarded $480,000 in no-interest loans from an Iowa State University center a few months after he joined the school’s governing board, records show. The loans from the Iowa Energy Center helped Summit Farms LLC finance the $990,000 cost of installing wind turbines at its corporate office and two hog confinements. Rastetter owns the Alden-based producer of crops, beef and pork, which grew out of his family . . . Complete story »
