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Wind Power News: Americas
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.
State governors seeking federal help for offshore wind industry
A group of U.S. governors is calling on the Biden administration to help ease the “extraordinary economic challenges” that have combined to threaten not only future offshore wind development, but also the number of projects that are already under way. In a letter submitted to the White House, the governors of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island say “inflationary pressures, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the lingering supply-chain disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic” have resulted . . . Complete story »
Brazil’s big cats under threat from wind farms
Weighing more than 100 pounds, big cats have long reigned over this hot and semi-arid region of Brazil, developing tougher paws for the scorched earth and reaching speeds of 50 miles an hour to bring down wild boar and deer. But nothing could have prepared them for the 150-foot blades now slicing up the deep blue sky above them. Jaguars and pumas are facing extinction in the Caatinga, Brazil’s northeastern shrublands, as Europe and China pour investment into wind farms, . . . Complete story »
Foreign investors will reap 92 percent of profits from Aroostook County’s King Pine wind power scheme
When the 170-turbine 1,000 megawatt King Pine Wind Farm in Aroostook County becomes operational near the end of the decade, the majority of the profits from the sale of electricity to New England ratepayers will head to the other side of the planet. That’s because Longroad Energy, the Boston-based developer that will manage the wind farm, is 92 percent owned by large foreign investment funds, including one controlled by a foreign government, according to financial records reviewed by the Maine . . . Complete story »
The Biden Administration misleads the public on the vast expanses of land needed for ‘net zero’
The Biden administration is misleading the country about the amount of land that will be required to meet its ambitious renewable energy goals, RealClearInvestigations has found. The Department of Energy’s official line – echoed by many environmental activists and academics – is that the vast array of solar panels and wind turbines required to meet Biden’s goal of “100% clean electricity” by 2035 will require “less than one-half of one percent of the contiguous U.S. land area.” This topline number . . . Complete story »
Why won’t Greenpeace admit that wind turbines may be killing whales?
Who cares about whales? Whales might be dying because of sonar surveying, but Greenpeace simply ignores the science that doesn’t suit it. So far last year, 71 whales have washed up dead on the shores of New England and neighbouring states. The rate seems to have risen in recent years along with a growth in the number of offshore wind turbines. A small group of concerned citizens have started to campaign against the turbines on behalf of the whales, and . . . Complete story »
6 arrested in Ocean City wind protest that blocked roadwork
Ocean City – Protesters on Tuesday morning blocked the start of work on 35th Street, a project laying the groundwork for power lines traversing the barrier island as part of an offshore wind energy project. Six people were arrested. City officials said they were given several warnings before they were charged with disorderly conduct – failure to disperse and obstruction of public pathways, a petty disorderly persons offense. At its height, the protest had about 60 people in the street preventing a . . . Complete story »
6 protesters arrested as onshore testing for NJ wind farm begins
Police in Ocean City, which has become the hub of resistance to offshore wind projects in New Jersey and elsewhere along the U.S. East Coast, arrested demonstrators after the city said they failed to heed four warnings to get out of the roadway. “There were three people lying in the street,” said Robin Shaffer, a spokesman for Protect Our Coast NJ, a residents’ group opposed to the local project and to offshore wind in general. Each of the protesters, none . . . Complete story »
Financial hit from faulty wind farm turbines expected to deepen in P.E.I.
Profits at the P.E.I. Energy Corporation were slashed by more than half last year, with auditors warning revenues will drop even further as the Crown enterprise tries to fix one of the province’s biggest wind farms. In its annual report released last week, the P.E.I. Energy Corporation recorded a profit of $3.5 million. That’s less than half of what the utility has posted in any fiscal year since 2014-15, the first full year the Hermanville wind farm in eastern P.E.I. . . . Complete story »
Biden wants to shrink proposed marine sanctuary to accommodate wind energy factory owned by Dem donor
President Joe Biden wants to shrink a Pacific Ocean marine sanctuary meant to protect endangered whales in order to accommodate offshore wind energy factories—one of them owned by a major Democratic donor. The Biden administration late last month proposed cutting about 1,400 square miles of ocean and coastline from an Indian tribe’s proposed national marine sanctuary to make room for wind turbine infrastructure. One of these factories would belong to Invenergy, whose founder and CEO Michael Polsky has given more . . . Complete story »
Willmar wind turbine stands idle while awaiting a $95 part
As has been the trend since February, the August wind turbine report presented Monday during the Willmar Municipal Utilities Commission meeting was less than stellar – again foreshadowing the potential demise of wind power in Willmar. Wind turbine number three, which has been causing the most trouble for Willmar Municipal Utilities this year, was available 35.5% of the time in August, according to Facilities and Maintenance Supervisor Kevin Marti. Wind turbine number four was available 61.4% of the time. The total . . . Complete story »
