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Wind Power News: May 2017
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.
100 percent clean power bill wins in state Senate
With the world awaiting President Donald Trump’s decision whether or not to withdraw completely or in part from the Paris climate agreement, California appears to be affirming its support for renewable energy and fighting global warming. International leaders, many of whom had spent years in negotiations to hammer out the final version of the hard-won accord to reduce carbon emissions worldwide, rallied around the pact Wednesday. White House officials told The Associated Press that Trump, who opposed the agreement during . . . Complete story »
Rye Park residents receive a turbine answer
The Planning Assessment Commission has made a determination to grant consent to the proposed Rye Park Wind Farm project with a number of modifications to the proposal. The wind farm, which has been the cause of division among residents in Rye Park, was given the green light mid last week. A total of 92 turbines have been approved, with 17 less than the proposed 109 turbines. Rye Park resident Debbie Vanderlaan sees this as a win for those in the . . . Complete story »
Ontario family says wind turbines have made life a ‘nightmare’
Carla Stachura and her husband Mike thought they’d found the perfect spot to retire. A house in rural Ontario where they run a wildlife sanctuary with lamas and a variety of birds, and planned to spend their retirement years enjoying the peace and quiet of country life. But that dream was shattered when wind turbines began popping up near their Goderich, Ontario home. Since then, their dream has become a nightmare. The couple says they’ve been unable to sleep and . . . Complete story »
St. George to vote on wind, solar power issues
St. George – Voters will have a say on two renewable energy projects June 13 in addition to the St. George Municipal School Unit budget and state bond question. One question will ask whether voters approve of the town entering into an agreement with a solar company to install panels on the roof of the Transfer Station. The other will ask whether voters will allow the town to establish a committee and hire legal representation to negotiate benefits should power cables . . . Complete story »
Wind project still alive until planning commission votes
Although the expiration date for one of Henry County’s proposed wind farm projects has come and gone, its termination date has been stayed until at least the middle of June. The Flat Rock Wind Project’s commission approved use (CAU) to build wind turbines in Dudley and Franklin Townships was set to end May 21. The CAU had already been extended by one year in 2016. “They will not be considered expired while the planning commission is going through the process,” . . . Complete story »
Arbitration looms in wind energy project battle
Loyalist Township council threw a curveball Monday night at the company building a wind energy project on Amherst Island. Council deferred approval of the draft operations plan from Algonquin Power’s subsidiary Windlectric Inc. until it can be determined how best to protect the island’s road system, a move that likely means the two sides will be headed to arbitration. The operations plan is one of the conditions that the company has to meet as part of a road use agreement . . . Complete story »
Family, young children forced from home by wind turbine noise
Victoria Day weekend in Canada is a time for picnics and fun with family and friends, for many people. One set of grandparents living on a farm in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Township in Huron County thought that would be fun too, and were looking forward to having their two young granddaughters come and stay for a lovely weekend in the country. But it was not to be. Early on the morning of the holiday Sunday, the grandmother said, “there was a horrible tonal* . . . Complete story »
Ohio Sen. Cliff Hite proposes loosening setbacks for wind developers
COLUMBUS, Ohio – An Ohio state senator is expected to introduce an amendment to the proposed state budget that would loosen the setback standards for wind turbines and potentially trigger billions of dollars of dormant wind farm development in the state. Ohio Sen. Cliff Hite, a Republican from Findlay, said his amendment would recalibrate how far a wind turbine must be from an unoccupied parcel of land, making it economical again for developers to build wind farms to generate electricity. Hite . . . Complete story »
Government policy means communities can be overruled on windfarms
Nicola Sturgeon said at the National Economic Forum in Inverness on May 12 that communities are “central” to the planning policy of renewable energy …“and we have a planning process that is robust … and allows the views of communities to be heard”. Nothing could be further from the truth. In 2007 the SNP inherited a planning policy which said “broad criteria should be used to set out the considerations that developers should address in relation to local communities. These . . . Complete story »
Even as wind power rises, it falls under a political cloud
Wind farms, with their rapid geographic spread and technological advances, are reshaping the electric system, defying skepticism that they are steady or reliable enough to displace conventional power plants. “The fuel of choice right now, certainly for us, is wind,” said Ben Fowke, the chief executive of Xcel Energy, which shut down a large natural-gas plant in Colorado for two days in January and let wind fill, on average, half of its customer demand. Now politics, not skepticism, may be . . . Complete story »
