Wind Power News: Colorado
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 tower falls over in Logan County
Fire officials say a wind tower fell over in Logan County on Wednesday. The Fleming Volunteer Fire Department said it was called to County Road 61 on reports that blades were falling off a wind turbine. The Sterling Fire Department also responded and said it was near the area of CR 61 and CR 59. Fire officials who responded found the tower “had fallen over,” according to the fire department in Fleming. Photos show the tower folded in half, its . . . Complete story »
A land rush for renewable energy is transforming the Eastern Plains
Colorado’s Eastern Plains – from Yuma County cornfields to Prowers County feedlots and the wheat and sorghum fields in Kiowa County – are set to undergo their biggest transformation in more than a century as clean electricity is added to the crops they produce. There is already a flurry of activity as wind and solar developers – more than a dozen have turned up in Yuma and Kiowa counties – are locking up acreage for prospective projects in leases with ranchers and farmers. “We’ve . . . Complete story »
Interior approves big power line for renewables in U.S. West
The Interior Department yesterday announced the final approval to construct a 416-mile transmission line intended to move renewable energy across three Western states. The Energy Gateway South transmission line from PacifiCorp will support the utility’s renewable expansion and will carry wind energy from Wyoming to solar-rich areas of Utah, as well as power from traditional plants. The line is set to originate near Medicine Bow in southeastern Wyoming, travel through northwest Colorado and end outside of Mona, Utah. The project . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine blocking Highway 47 in Pueblo
A major roadway in Pueblo is shut down after a wind turbine fell off a truck. Pueblo police say the turbine fell onto Highway 47 just east of the interstate. The area is on the north end of town. The Eastbound lanes of Highway 47 are closed from the I25 off-ramp to Dillon Dr., due to an accident. Please use alternate routes to access business in the area. The road will be closed for several hours. We will update when . . . Complete story »
Not here, not now, not this kind
An Ellsworth, Maine, newspaper columnist lamented voters’ defeat of a transmission line to bring renewable energy. “Talk about mixed messages. We want renewable energy but not here, not now, not this kind. We have to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, but we won’t support a project to replace them.” Voter schizophrenia is not unique to Maine – it is nearly universal. It’s understandable because no source of energy is entirely green. For 40 years energy companies, utilities and government researchers . . . Complete story »
The clean-power megaproject held hostage by a ranch and a bird
There’s a big piece of land in lonely northwest Colorado where the grassy plains meet the mountains, wide-antlered elk drink from icy rivers and sage-grouse pump their chests in wild mating dances each spring. Ranch hands still ride herd on thousands of cattle and sheep here, just as they started doing 150 years ago when Texas cowboys first drove cows north into the high country. The Cross Mountain Ranch is one of the last pieces of a historic American West . . . Complete story »
Wind energy company pleads guilty to killing eagles
The wind energy company ESI Energy Inc. (ESI) must pay more than $8 million in fines and restitution and serve a five-year probation after pleading guilty to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, according to a statement released by the United States Department of Justice. In the U.S., ESI is a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc., one of the largest providers of renewable energy, per Reuters’ Barbara Goldberg. The company deliberately elected not to apply for proper permits for “any . . . Complete story »
Ruling on eagle deaths divides wind power industry
The sentencing of a wind energy company this week in the deaths of at least 150 eagles has brought renewed focus to the complicated relationship between wind turbines and birds. A subsidiary of NextEra Energy, the world’s biggest generator of wind and solar power, pleaded guilty to three deaths of bald and golden eagles in Wyoming and New Mexico. It also acknowledged that more than 100 other eagles had been killed across 50 of its 54 wind farms, primarily during . . . Complete story »
Wind operator to pay $8M in pact over killing eagles
A leading wind farm operator has agreed to pay fines and other fees totaling just over $8 million, plus potentially spending millions of additional dollars, because its operations were linked to the deaths of at least 150 eagles over about a decade. Partly at issue was whether the energy producer should have applied for permits before its operations killed the birds, or if the business should have taken other actions. The legal case points up the fact that responsible wind . . . Complete story »
Energy company to pay up to $35 million after turbines killed eagles
An American wind energy company has admitted to killing at least 150 bald and golden eagles, most of which were fatally struck by wind turbine blades, federal prosecutors said. ESI Energy pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) after eagles died at three of its facilities in Wyoming and New Mexico, according to a statement from the Justice Department. The MBTA prohibits killing, capturing or transporting protected migratory bird species without a permit. . . . Complete story »
