Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Wind Power News: December 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.
2016: What’s the alternative to alternative energy?
PLYMOUTH – Along with electricity a bi-product of ground mounted solar arrays appears to be ink, as proponents and opponents of commercial solar arrays continued to butt heads in 2016. In the past five years a total of 15 arrays have been approved in Plymouth, utilizing close to 200 acres of residentially zoned property. In 2016 alone the Planning Board OK’d three ground mounted solar arrays totaling just under 50 acres of cleared land. Town officials and residents have singled . . . Complete story »
County board imposes moratorium on wind energy
BAD AXE – The Huron County Board of Commissioners imposed a yearlong moratorium on wind energy development Thursday, with the exception of three approved projects. The moratorium does not apply to upcoming projects by DTE Energy in Filion, Sempra US Gas & Power in Winsor Township, or NextEra Energy Resources in Sherman and Sigel townships. It would be in effect for either one year from Jan. 18 or until all issues pertaining to various wind energy-related referendums are resolved, whichever happens . . . Complete story »
Holland: Dairy Air Wind applies for wind turbine permit
HOLLAND – Dairy Air Wind on Friday applied for a certificate of public good to erect a nearly 500-foot-tall wind turbine on Dairy Air Farm. Developer David Blittersdorf, the principal in Dairy Air Wind, is asking state utility regulators on the Vermont Public Service Board to review the project under the board’s simplified procedures for smaller renewable energy projects. It’s the second wind turbine application Blittersdorf has filed in the past week for an Orleans County project. On Dec. 23, he . . . Complete story »
9 months after Bayonne wind turbine’s big repair, cost is still being negotiated
BAYONNE – Nine months after the city’s wind turbine underwent complicated repairs due to a broken bearing, the cost of those repairs is still being negotiated, an official said. Bayonne Municipal Utilities Authority Executive Director Tim Boyle said on Friday that the MUA and its water contractor are still negotiating the cost with turbine manufacturer Leitner-Poma. The MUA – which will be dissolved as an autonomous agency and become a division within the city Department of Public Works on Jan. 1 – originally . . . Complete story »
Phil Scott and the end of turbines on state’s ridgelines?
One of Gov. elect Phil Scott’s most vocal constituencies is the anti-wind coalition and he intends to heed their fondest wish by pursuing a moratorium on large-scale industrial wind turbines proposed for the state’s ridgelines. Mr. Scott recognizes the improbability the Legislature would agree with his proposal, having passed legislation last session that gave communities a greater say in where large-scale renewable energy projects should be placed. But it’s his intention to give the effort a profile high enough to . . . Complete story »
Scott plans to keep wind moratorium pledge
The siting of industrial wind projects could be a key issue during the 2017 legislative session, because Gov.-elect Phil Scott wants lawmakers to enact a two-year moratorium on all large, ridgeline wind proposals. In calling for a moratorium, he is keeping a pledge he made during the recent gubernatorial campaign. The governor-elect has long been concerned that a number of proposed, large-scale wind projects have sharply divided communities across the state. As a result, he said the time has come . . . Complete story »
No. 1 story of the year: Huron County still leads the state in wind energy
Residents and officials in Huron County spent most of 2016 debating wind development. Proposed wind parks by DTE Energy and NextEra Energy Resources divided the Huron County Board of Commissioners, the Huron County Planning Commission, and some township boards at various times throughout the year. Dozens of residents spoke passionately both for and against wind development at numerous wind-related public hearings and during public comment at local and county meetings. Here is a summary of each project: DTE’s Filion Wind . . . Complete story »
2016: Legal battle over turbine continues
KINGSTON – The Independence wind turbine turned again after a mechanical shutdown in 2016, and complaints from neighbors about flicker and noise continue. The year started with the town of Kingston and Board of Health defending against a lawsuit by turbine owner Kingston Wind Independence over a modified abatement order approved in October 2015. The town did so by claiming breach of contract. KWI leases the former landfill property from the town, and there is a power purchase agreement in . . . Complete story »
Sen. Hegeman hears local wind turbine concerns
Wind turbines and transmission lines dominated the conversation last week when a Missouri state senator visited the Clinton County Commissioners. Missouri 12th District State Senator Dan Hegeman came to the courthouse Thursday, December 22, to give the commission a general update on the state of Jefferson City and to field any feedback or concern the commissioners might have. These meetings often go unnoticed, but for those frustrated in Clinton County’s ongoing showdown with NextEra Energy – the company building wind . . . Complete story »
Fishermen: not so fast with wind farm
Could sea scallops and longfin squid be reason enough to stop an offshore wind farm on the coast of New York and New Jersey? The Fisheries Survival Fund, which represents the majority of the U.S. Atlantic scallop industry, claims the site picked for the farm is on documented fishing grounds for both commercially important species. It claims the wind turbines would shut fishermen out. The group is the lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed against the Bureau of Ocean . . . Complete story »