Wind Power News: U.S.
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch 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.
A proposed power plant near Hermiston may be canceled, but controversy remains
Friends of the Columbia Gorge and other environmental groups are currently challenging the agency’s decision to greenlight construction of the Summit Ridge Wind Farm in Wasco County. They say that project, located along a section of the Deschutes River classified as wild and scenic, would have adverse impacts on raptors and other wildlife. Again, they contend that agency illegally allowed project backers to begin roadwork at the site to meet a construction deadline, avoiding changes its site certificate that would have triggered more public scrutiny and input. Phased construction was never contemplated in the original permit. Complete story »
Green Development of Rhode Island proposes to replace Kingston turbine
KINGSTON – A new wind turbine developer proposes to build a new, quieter machine to take the place of Kingston’s controversial Independence wind turbine. However, some doubt the quiet part. Green Development, LLC of Rhode Island proposes to remove the Independence at no cost to the town and help the town establish a decommissioning fund for future removal. The Independence developer, Kingston Wind Independence, failed to deliver on a bond. The Independence wind turbine may soon be in Kingston’s past. . . . Complete story »
N.J. fishing groups worry offshore wind will adversely affect their industry: ‘This is our farmland’
Capt. Hank Lackner docked a 100-foot trawler in Cape May on a recent day after unloading a catch of squid that might end up as calamari on someone’s plate just about anywhere in the United States. Lackner fears that offshore wind farms coming to the waters off the New Jersey coast in the next few years could threaten his business. Other commercial and recreational anglers, along with the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), a political action organization, share his concerns. They . . . Complete story »
Landmen who once staked claims for oil and gas now hunt wind and sun
Carter Collum used to spend mornings shoulder to shoulder with competitors in the record rooms of East Texas courthouses, hunting for the owners of underground natural-gas deposits. At night, he made house calls, offering payments and royalties for permission to drill. Mr. Collum worked as a landman, tracking the owners of oil and gas trapped in rock layers thousands of feet beneath the earth’s surface and getting their signatures, a job about as old as the American petroleum industry. He . . . Complete story »
Avalon residents not sold on offshore wind farm
AVALON – Two days after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held a virtual public hearing concerning the environmental impact of wind farms off New Jersey’s coast, residents used the public comment period of Avalon Borough Council’s April 14 meeting to express opposition to the project. Orsted, a Danish company, is planning a wind energy farm off the New Jersey coast, which would use 98 large wind turbines at intervals of 1 mile, stretching from Atlantic City to Stone . . . Complete story »
The unsettling truth about green energy, with Mark Mills
Bill Walton: Welcome to the Bill Walton Show. I’m Bill Walton. It seems like there’s an ever-increasing number of people who have super strong opinions about science, technology, the environment, energy issues, on and on. Keystone Pipeline, blackout in Texas, artificial intelligence, green energy, trade with China, lost manufacturing jobs. The problem is that most people, including me, don’t have the background or knowledge to reach good answers, and so we’re left with these policy issues pretty much a mess . . . Complete story »
Swanson: Counting the cost of the Green New Deal
As the US considers an infrastructure bill, we need to ask ourselves how much is the New Green Deal really going to cost. Let us start with looking at the cost of industrial wind. We are told turbines are cheap. I am seriously reconsidering the information that the media has “reported” in recent years. In Iowa we have cashed in $20 Billion federal dollars to build about 5000 wind turbines. Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy CEOs have admitted publicly that 100% . . . Complete story »
Douglass Township planners begin working on new wind ordinance
DOUGLASS TOWNSHIP – The Douglass Township Planning Commission began the lengthy process of creating a new wind ordinance Wednesday evening in yet another meeting featuring colorful commentary from township officials and dissension from audience members – as well as a failed attempt to limit public comment. About three dozen audience members were present, most wearing face masks, but there wasn’t much social distancing going on as all the chairs were set up side by side in the township hall (the township board . . . Complete story »
NJ, wind-farm developer push for smaller wind-energy area off Hamptons
A top New Jersey utility official and a wind-farm developer on Friday raised objection to the idea that wind turbines should be excluded from waters off the Hamptons, arguing inclusion would foster competition. The official’s request follows federal release Wednesday of proposed wind-farm areas for the waters between New York and New Jersey that unexpectedly excluded two areas 15 miles from Long Island from a proposed lease sale later this year or early next year. New York state and local . . . Complete story »
State Pier redevelopment estimated to cost $235.5 million
New London – The state has put a $235.5 million overall price tag on the project to redevelop State Pier into an offshore wind hub. The figure represents the actual cost of the redevelopment, with $204 million for the construction project and an additional $31 million for “soft costs,” Office of Policy and Management Deputy Secretary Konstantinos Diamantis said during a State Bond Commission meeting Friday. During the meeting, the State Bond Commission approved $55 million toward redeveloping and upgrading the . . . Complete story »
