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Wind Power News: January 2016
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 stirs Swanton’s backyard
SWANTON – There might have been a time when Swanton residents could endorse, on faith, the invisible current that makes its way to wall sockets. If so, that time is gone. Electricity is losing its mystique here, where seven utility-scale wind turbines are proposed for a low ridge near Swanton’s border with St. Albans and Fairfield. The plan corresponds to a growing field of so-called wind farms, on the drawing board and built, that purport to spin the Green Mountain . . . Complete story »
Residents oppose wind farm over noise concerns
Residents in East Galway are up in arms over plans to provide wind turbines – allegedly almost 50 metres higher than O’Connell Street’s Spire – in their locality. One family said that the wind farm near Clonfert would result in constant noise, flickering as well as destroying their views. The turbines, they say, would also interfere with their internet coverage. The planning application is for a ten-year permission to construct a wind farm at Lisbeg in Clonfert. The plans involve . . . Complete story »
Application for Dooish wind farm rejected by planners
An application to construct a new wind farm near Drumquin has been refused by planners. The decision to refuse the bid to build ten 125 metre wind turbines on the mountain hillside was taken after a vote at last week’s Fermanagh and Omagh District Council Planning Committee. Hertfordshire woman Doreen Walker, trading under Dooish Wind Farm Ltd, is behind the planning application. She has already launched an appeal of the decision. The application for the proposed wind farm was originally . . . Complete story »
Light flicker from wind turbines can disturb brain function
A huge complaint by homeowners living near wind turbines concerns light flicker created by the rotating blades during daylight hours. When the first fluorescent lights came out they created perceptible flicker, and there were all kinds of complaints about it, such as it caused headaches, eyestrain and concentration difficulties. Newer fluorescent lights flicker at a much higher rate which most of us can’t consciously detect, though some people can. While the jury still is out on whether prolonged exposure to . . . Complete story »
Brown County needs to lead wind turbine study
The most unsettling aspect of the wind turbines debate is that nothing has been settled, nor does it look to be anytime soon. This is despite efforts over the years from those who say wind energy doesn’t affect the health of those who live near the turbines and those who blame it for sleep disturbances, motion sickness, headaches, naseau and more. Since the Shirley Wind Farm, run by Duke Energy Renewables in southern Brown County, began operation in 2010, some . . . Complete story »
Protestors accuse Labour of “burying rural Ireland”
The Labour Party conference got underway in Mullingar, Co Westmeath on Saturday but it was the protestors outside that grabbed the limelight. While Tanaiste Joan Burton was rallying the troops inside, a number of people dressed as mourners at a funeral carried a black coffin and flags that read “Labour buries rural Ireland”. Some wore Joan Burton paper masks while others donned masks with Alex White’s face on them. The protest was organised by Protect Rural Ireland to highlight Labour’s . . . Complete story »
Board of Health member derides state reaction to wind study request
LOCKPORT – A member of the Niagara County Board of Health had harsh words for the state Department of Public Service this week, after reading its response to the board’s request for a full environmental review of the proposed Somerset wind power project. The department seemed to decline the request, contending that the special review process for wind projects, signed into law about five years ago but never before used, serves much the same purpose. “Did they actually answer our . . . Complete story »
Crews remove 213-foot-tall wind turbine in Portsmouth
After five days of work, crews have finished disassembling a 213-foot-tall wind turbine in Portsmouth. The turbine, which is located at Portsmouth High School, was built in 2009 but has been idle since 2012 because of a faulty gearbox. The company that made the turbine and gearbox has since gone bankrupt. Wind Energy Development of North Kingstown started dismantling the turbine Tuesday and finished on Saturday, according to owner Mark Depasquale. Along with removing the broken turbine, the company will . . . Complete story »
Cape Wind mounting comeback
Cape Wind, the controversial Nantucket Sound wind farm given up for dead last year when it lost a lucrative pair of utility contracts, is trying to mount a comeback. Jim Gordon, the energy executive who has already invested $100 million in the 15-year-old project, asked the state’s Energy Facilities Siting Board earlier this week to grant him a two-year extension on a permit to run an underwater power line in state waters between the wind farm and Cape Cod. If . . . Complete story »
Questions raised about turbine policing costs
Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey is urging local municipalities to ensure they’re getting enough revenue from wind energy companies following the discovery that policing costs for wind turbine properties are now included in Ontario Provincial Police’s municipal bills. Politicians in the Township of Frontenac Islands, near Kingston, first raised the red flag this month after they saw close to a $26,000 increase to their most recent OPP bill. After township staff investigated further, they discovered the increase was due to the . . . Complete story »
