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Wind Power News: November 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.
Wind power is intermittent, but subsidies are eternal
‘Tax credits have been essential to the economic viability of wind farms so far, but will not be needed within a few years.” So said Christopher Flavin, now president emeritus of the Worldwatch Institute—in 1984. Thirty years and billions of dollars later, the wind industry is still saying it needs taxpayer support. Congress is currently hearing this argument as it debates whether to extend the 22-year-old “production tax credit” in the lame-duck session. The PTC, which gives wind producers a . . . Complete story »
Noisy wind farms face ban as ministers launch review into ‘annoying’ sound levels
Noisy wind farms that disturb local communities could be banned, after ministers launched an unprecedented review into the annoyance they cause. In the first official admission that wind turbine noise can adversely affect local residents, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has commissioned an independent investigation to assess the levels of sound wind farms produce and the extent of disturbance caused as a result. Experts from the Institute of Acoustics will conduct the research next year, the Telegraph . . . Complete story »
Town, Deepwater Wind assign option to National Grid; Grants project with ‘easement’ to install cable
In what was supposed to be a simple sign off of an option agreement turned into a contentious back and forth between First Warden Kim Gaffett and Town Councilor Chris Warfel over the Deepwater Wind project. Warfel read a prepared statement filled with words such as “collusion” … “half-rate assessment” … “foolish to pursue” … “tarnishing the viewshed” … “Wall Street” … “ignorant actions” leveled primarily at Gaffett and the town. He also said that Block Island could have come . . . Complete story »
National Trust chief speaks out over windfarm opposition
Writing exclusively for the Press and Journal, the chief executive of the National Trust for Scotland, Kate Mavor, outlines the NTS’s reasons for joining the fight against the Stronelairg windfarm. “As many readers will know, the National Trust for Scotland is backing the John Muir Trust’s legal challenge to the Stronelairg windfarm. “We are not in principle opposed to renewable energy generally, nor to wind power specifically. As a conservation charity we are supportive of any action that can contribute . . . Complete story »
Next legislative session could be end for Kansas’ renewable energy standard
Republicans may have gained enough seats in the Kansas House to end the state’s renewable energy standard, and activists on both sides of the issue are preparing for a fight in the next legislative session. The policy, known as the renewable portfolio standard, requires utility companies to get 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020. The standard was passed in 2009 as part of a compromise that included building a coal-fired plant in Holcomb, a project that . . . Complete story »
Work under way to replace turbine toppled by gales
The owner of a wind turbine blown down by high winds near Methlick has confirmed that work to begin replacing the structure is under way. One of the three turbines located near the former Cairnorrie School on the Methlick to New Deer road was toppled by gales earlier this month. Turbine owner Wilth Dalgarno said that plans to put up a new turbine were ‘in hand’ and that the structure was blown over because of the wind. Local resident David . . . Complete story »
Wind report didn’t tell the whole story
I’m responding to a Nov. 16 Reporter letter citing the Wisconsin Public Service Commission’s Wind Siting Council Report. The author of that letter twists the truth by leaving out part of the sentence he quotes from the report. His intellectual dishonesty is paralleled by the authors of the WSC Report. Readers need to understand how the WSC Report was produced and why its heavily biased position cannot be trusted. The PSC staff, widely recognized as very pro-wind, drafted the report . . . Complete story »
Levelized cost of electricity: renewable energy’s ticking time bomb?
Wholesale electricity prices reach extremely high levels for a relatively small number of hours every year. Only power plants that can supply power during those hours can monetize those high prices. The revenue earned by selling power during these high-priced hours may make or break the profitability of investing in new generating plants. Failing to properly account “for output and prices during these critical hours will lead to incorrect economic evaluations of different generating technologies,” said Joskow. [...]The LCOE is like a bad line of code in a software program used to develop other software programs. It has dangerously skewed investors’ understanding of the economics of generating electricity from renewable energy resources. It has also had perverse and difficult to undo impacts on local, state and federal energy policies. Complete story »
Phase two of Enel’s Castle Rock Ridge wind farm on hold again
The Municipal Planning Committee granted Enel Alberta Wind Inc. a suspension on their development permit for phase two of the Castle Rock Ridge wind farm project at a meeting earlier in the month. In the next stage EAWI intends to add 14 previously-approved turbines to the already existing wind plant located just south of the Oldman Reservoir. However, they are held up by a lack of routing information for AltaLink’s Castle Rock Ridge to Chapel Rock transmission lines that will . . . Complete story »
Campaigners search for benefactor who can help halt unsightly windfarms
Anti-windfarm campaigners are calling for a benefactor to champion the cause of Scotland’s natural heritage to prevent massive windfarms scarring its picturesque landscape. Earlier this month, the NTS contacted its 320,000 members to highlight the John Muir Trust’s (JMT) legal campaign to halt construction of the 67-turbine development – which would cover an area the size of Inverness – in the hills above Loch Ness at Stronelairg, near Fort Augustus. The case is due to be heard in the Court . . . Complete story »
