Wind Power News: February 2015
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.
Culver council aims for compromise in wind turbine controversy
Plymouth, IN – Culver’s town council aimed for a compromise in regards to a much-debated ordinance governing specifics of WECS (Wind Energy Conversion Systems, popularly known as personal-use windmills or wind turbines) in Culver, at the council’s Feb. 24 meeting. The decision, which passed the ordinance on the second of three readings needed to make it law, came after the most recent debates over proposed changes some two years after work began to define proper use of the devices within . . . Complete story »
Bad winds blowing in Oklahoma
Oklahoma is world-renowned for its spectacular sunsets. There’s even a famous country song that says you’ll think heaven’s doors have opened if you see one. Yet from southeast to northwest Oklahoma, that iconic view is being obstructed. The culprit? Wind turbines. And it’s about to get worse. In 2014, Oklahoma added 3,782 megawatts of wind power and is planning to add 2,000 more in 2015. With this increase, wind would make up nearly 25 percent of Oklahoma’s power generation. Enough . . . Complete story »
Lakeshore towns would be harmed by proposal for up to 70 industrial wind turbines
We have formed a nonprofit citizens’ coalition, Save Ontario Shores Inc., to address the concerns of the health, safety and welfare of taxpayers and residents in the towns of Yates and Somerset regarding the issue of permitting APEX industrial wind corporation to build as many as 70 industrial wind turbines in these rural towns. Concerns include sound and low sound frequency emitting from the turbines 24 hours a day, changes to the rural nature of the area, potential health risks . . . Complete story »
Protection or permission? Are environmental assessments helping to protect anything?
Charlie Palmer’s team of biologists wasn’t looking for rare bats while conducting field work in 2010 to assess impacts of a wind farm on Bear Mountain near Dawson Creek. But that is precisely what they found – two eastern red bats, the first such sighting of that species in the region in 80 years, Palmer said. Typically, the biology that goes into an environmental assessment for a large industrial project is limited to conducting wildlife surveys and collecting data to establish . . . Complete story »
Community survey finds strong opposition to Bairds Malt wind turbine plan
An Angus community survey has claimed 70% of residents are against a bid for a turbine at Bairds Malt’s Arbroath. The respondents said they were against the turbine at the plant for various reasons, ranging from property prices to visual impact and its effect on a nearby path. Bairds Malt said they would be inviting concerned residents to an open evening at the plant where they would “welcome any questions they may have.” Tenants and Residents Uniting Timmergreens and Hospitalfield . . . Complete story »
AG Mills orders wind power opposition group to replace leaders or disband
PORTLAND, Maine – The statewide wind power opposition group Friends of Maine Mountains will have to shut down if it can’t restructure its five-member board of directors within four months, as part of a settlement with Maine’s attorney general. Chris O’Neil, public affairs director for the group, said the process of replacing board members – including himself – is under way and said the group will not shut down. “The measures that we agreed to are largely things that improve any organization,” O’Neil . . . Complete story »
Is wind the solution to R.I.’s energy challenges? The answer is not so simple
With Cape Wind Associates LLC’s massive wind-energy project off Massachusetts derailed – at least for now – Rhode Island’s Deepwater Wind LLC may have the race won to build the first U.S. offshore wind farm. But while Deepwater’s planned five-turbine demonstration project off Block Island could go a long way toward legitimizing both the company and the industry in a nation unaccustomed to seeing giant turbines spinning offshore, it’s far from the scale needed to make a difference in the . . . Complete story »
Vermont House shows support for renewable energy package
The Vermont House has advanced a wide-ranging bill that pushes utilities beyond electricity to help customers save on heat and could resolve criticism that the current state program to promote renewable energy double-counts its results. Supporters say the bill would move Vermont from the back of the pack – the five other New England states already have the renewable energy requirements the bill calls for – to the front by adding language calling for utilities to help customers cut consumption of home . . . Complete story »
Culbokie man lodges complaint about “one-sided” info for wind farm ballot
A formal complaint casting doubt on the fairness of a crucial community vote on contentious proposals for three turbines on the Black Isle is being lodged by a local resident who believes “the whole thing stinks”. The plan by Black Isle Community Energy (BICE) for community-owned turbines on Forestry Commission land at Millbuie Forest has divided local opinion and feelings were running high this week when ballot papers asking people if they were in favour of the scheme were sent . . . Complete story »
EPA, industry assail development plan for vast swath of California desert
The Bureau of Land Management has received at least 12,000 public comments on a sweeping renewable energy development plan for millions of acres of Southern California desert, including notable critiques from the renewable industry and U.S. EPA. The public comment period ended this week for the multi-volume, 8,000-page draft Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) designed to guide development across 22.5 million acres of public and private lands in the Mojave and Colorado deserts. The draft plan unveiled last fall . . . Complete story »
