Wind Power News: December 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.
Killing endangered birds while ‘saving’ the planet
On Sunday, Dec. 20, the Times-Call published an article titled “Bald eagles lose nest after Erie tree cut down.” It described all the fuss and ado over a dead tree being cut down that once supported an eagle’s nest. Evidently the property owner had to apply for a permit, which was granted after more than two years of cooperation, and only after paying a mitigation fee. All of this was overseen by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the . . . Complete story »
Controversial Mount Lothian estate wind farm plans rejected
A controversial plan to construct a wind farm on an estate owned by one of Scotland’s most distinguished noble families has been dismissed by the planning authorities. A bid to put up turbines on land owned by Sir Robert Clerk of Penicuik has been rejected by the Scottish Government. The decision was taken in response to an appeal lodged by the developer Wind Prospect Developments Ltd. The renewables company made the appeal after Midlothian Council failed to reach a decision . . . Complete story »
Locals file complaint against wind plants in Aegean province
A number or local residents in the Aegean province of İzmir’s touristic Çeşme and Karaburun districts have filed a lawsuit against the construction of wind power plants in their neighborhoods. Çeşme and Karaburun have suitable wind power for the plants, however many of the plants are built in the districts without the proper permission, locals and activists have said. There are currently 280 wind turbines on the Çeşme peninsula and this number will increase to 490 when the plants still . . . Complete story »
Wind farms a ‘serious concern’ for council
Attempts by council planners to safeguard the region from “inappropriate” wind farm developments have fallen on deaf ears at Holyrood. Borders councillors have reacted angrily to having their carefully-considered policies on the siting of future turbines sacrificed on the altar of Scottish Government renewable energy targets. The protection of the region’s landscape and environment was enshrined in SBC’s local development plan (LDP) – the land-use blueprint which will inform all planning decisions at Newtown over the next five years. But . . . Complete story »
Dixfield selectmen table wind ordinance vote until Jan. 11
DIXFIELD – The Board of Selectmen unanimously voted Monday evening to table a vote on whether to place the amended Wind Energy Facility Ordinance on the annual town meeting warrant next June. Selectman Eugene Skibitsky made the motion to table the vote to Jan. 11, 2016, saying he wanted to give the board and residents the chance to review the proposed amendments made by Kristin Collins, a Belfast lawyer. “They can compare them to the ordinance that they defeated in June, . . . Complete story »
Plans for revolutionary Fife windfarm withdrawn
People power appears to have put a stop to plans for three wind turbines in north-east Fife. Temporis Wind had hoped to install the revolutionary devices on Drumcarrow Hill near Strathkinness, with the turbines – made by American company Ogin International – using a much smaller rotor contained within a cowling system. The design failed to sway local residents who submitted more than 60 objections. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) also lodged its formal opposition, raising “potential flight safety implications” . . . Complete story »
Scottish wind energy firms expect industry to shrink following tariff review
Scotland’s wind energy sector has hit out at last week’s UK government tariff review for small scale energy generators saying that that a newly imposed cap on the number of wind turbines that will qualify for Feed-in Tariff (FiT) subsidies could restrict the building of new wind turbines to as few as one a month across the UK. Trade body Scottish Renewables says that, although the new reduced rates for small wind turbines are not too bad, a new quarterly . . . Complete story »
Tazewell officials to slate public hearing about zoning ordinance
TAZEWELL, Va. – A date will be set on January 5, by the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors for a public hearing about a proposed zoning ordinance. The zoning plan, as currently proposed, would prohibit certain “undesirable developments” including wind turbines and medical waste facilities. The proposal would not prohibit or impact residential, rural residential, and multi-use developments including agriculture, industrial and forestry. In December, the Tazewell Planning Commission voted 4-3 to move the draft ordinance to the Tazewell County Board . . . Complete story »
Vestas V112 collapses in Sweden
A Vestas V112 3MW turbine has collapsed at Stena Renewable’s 96MW Lemnhult wind farm in Sweden. The company said the machine failed during the morning of 24 December and that the wind farm’s other 31 turbines were shut down immediately as a precaution. No one was injured in the incident, a technical investigation is underway and local authorities and other stakeholders have been briefed. “It is now currently known how long the investigation will take,” said Stena. Oil spilled during the . . . Complete story »
Kingfisher Wind: No completion by end-of-year deadline
KINGFISHER – An Oklahoma wind project in Canadian and Kingfisher County will not be completed by its deadline, according to an Apex Clean Line Energy official. Apex spokeswoman Davhi Wilson said construction with the Kingfisher Wind facility is ongoing, even though it was scheduled to be completed before the end of 2015. “Though we have been working hard to achieve our goal to be fully operational by the end of this year, we have experienced some standard construction delays on the . . . Complete story »
