Wind Power News: Louisiana
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.
Wind farms could one day power New Orleans, but high cost, other issues cause for concern
For years, solar power has been the rallying cry of New Orleans City Council members aiming to chart a more sustainable energy future for New Orleans. Its advocates have long said that solar panels – which now adorn a smattering of city rooftops and will soon populate a 200-acre site in New Orleans East – are cheaper and better suited to the coastal city than the giant windmills that create energy in other parts of the U.S. But other renewable energy advocates, . . . Complete story »
La.’s wind projects are thwarted, while Texas steams ahead
Texas is the nation’s leader in commercial wind power, while Louisiana remains on the sidelines. Harnessing the wind has taken off in the last decade. But the Pelican State’s wind speeds, regulatory framework, abundant natural gas, and opposition from farmers and others, along with the industry’s technical obstacles, have kept projects from launching. Ironically, companies in Louisiana, however, provide expertise and equipment to wind installations in other states. Natural gas-fueled 60 percent of Louisiana’s electricity last year, according to the . . . Complete story »
La. dodges bullet on Wind Catcher
If we needed any reminder why Texas outpaces Louisiana in so many ways, witness how the Lone Star State last week mooted a bad decision by the Louisiana Public Service Commission made in part by northwest Louisiana’s Foster Campbell. In June, the PSC gave a green light to the Windcatcher Project. This would have spent $4.5 billion to build a wind farm and transmission line to provide power for Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Even though it would not have . . . Complete story »
Blowin’ in the wind
With its recent support from the Louisiana Public Service Commission, it would appear as if Wind Catcher Energy Connection, a program facilitated by Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), will gain all the necessary approvals to move forward. However, it also could mean higher electric rates in Minden, at least initially. Wind Catcher Energy Connection is a major wind farm and a dedicated power line that will bring energy to AEP/SWEPCO customers in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. To pay for . . . Complete story »
Louisiana utility regulators approve wind farm project
State utility regulators Wednesday allowed a northwest Louisiana electric company to purchase part of the nation’s largest wind-power project. The $4.5 billion “Wind Catcher” project in the Oklahoma panhandle began construction last December and is expected to start generating electricity in 2020. The Louisiana Public Service Commission allowed the Shreveport-based Southwestern Electric Power Co., better known as SWEPCO, to increase customers’ monthly bills to pay for a portion of the wind farm’s power. SWEPCO’s share will be 1,400 megawatts, enough . . . Complete story »
Wind turbines in SW Louisiana? Wind company reaches out to Jeff Davis residents
A company by the name of Vestas Wind Systems has approached a number of residents in Jeff Davis parish in regards to possibly installing industrial wind turbines in the parish. A sales agent, for the company has reached out to numerous residents in the community soliciting land owners for site placement of at least 100 wind turbines within the Hathaway area. Kevin Melton, a resident of Hathaway, says he learned of the situation after the company recently reached out to . . . Complete story »
Don’t let New York drive energy policy for Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas
Not content with fouling up its own energy policy, New York – with some of the country’s highest electricity rates – wants to foul up Arkansas’s, Louisiana’s, and Oklahoma’s, too. New York state’s government-employee pension fund, run by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, owns a $100 million stake in American Electric Power (AEP), which provides electricity in the three other states mentioned above, our states. What the federal government wisely chooses not to do, activist shareholders like DiNapoli are trying to do instead. DiNapoli . . . Complete story »
SWEPCO’s Wind Catcher is not necessary
The so-called Wind Catcher project might be better named the “Flak Catcher” for all the controversy it has stirred, although unfortunately that seems to have made little impression on Louisiana regulators. Based in the Oklahoma panhandle, a cluster of 800 wind turbines would capture as much as 2 gigawatts of power and send it through transmission lines to Tulsa and points beyond – although the inefficiency of wind power likely means received output never will come close to reaching this . . . Complete story »
A utility wants to build America’s largest wind farm—and get customers to pay for it
On the gusty Oklahoma Panhandle, a fight is escalating over a $4.5 billion wind power project that stands to reshape the way Americans pay for clean energy. Across 300,000 acres (121,206 hectares) utility giant American Electric Power Co. is trying to pull off something no other company has attempted at this scale: It wants to build the nation’s largest wind farm – and it wants up-front guarantees from regulators that customers will pay the bill. The plan calls for tapping a . . . Complete story »
Rice farmers concerned with possible wind farms in Acadia Parish
Acadia Parish – You could see wind turbines in Acadia Parish in the next few years. A project is in the works to install the turbines in rural parts of Acadia Parish between Crowley and Eunice along LA 13. The work is expected to be completed by 2019, but the project is not without controversy. Some rice farmers say it could negatively affect their crops. For the Leonards family of Crowley, rice farming is their livelihood. Donald and John Leonards . . . Complete story »
