Wind Power News: Massachusetts
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.
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 »
Vineyard Wind downplays insurance risk
At a Friday morning project presentation hosted by the Cape Cod Technical Council, a Vineyard Wind executive downplayed the prospect vessel insurers will prohibit their policy holders from passage through the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm. In some places in Europe there has been “exclusion,” Vineyard Wind director of public affairs Nathaniel Mayo said, but for “far more dense” wind farms. He described Vineyard Wind 1 spacing one nautical mile by one nautical mile turbine spacing as different, the . . . Complete story »
Accountability cometh — if only partially — for now
Turbine Finale Fixed On Falmouth Town Manager The new employment agreement for Falmouth’s Town Manager begins this November. Any increases in the three year contract will be determined by Mr. Suso completing four identified goals set by Selectmen. One of the four goals the board set as priorities for Mr. Suso between now and November, his annual job performance review, is the taking down and disposal of the wind turbines. State Accountability Silence The State ‘sold’ Falmouth these wind turbines . . . Complete story »
RODA says it’s being ignored
With America’s first industrial scale offshore wind farm poised to receive final approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), fishermen continue to have reservations about potential impacts. Vineyard Wind 1, an 84-turbine wind farm to be situated in the Atlantic 15 miles south of Aquinnah, is expected to get that final approval – a record of decision – from BOEM within a month. Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), a coalition representing fishing interests, has taken issue with the project from . . . Complete story »
Wind and solar energy are costly and unreliable
My fellow citizens need to know what “Sherborn Power Choice” currently proposed by the Town means for our community. Electricity is the only commodity for which supply must be matched to demand every second. The way that the modern grid achieves this is by continually adjusting the power of the inputs to maintain grid energy within a very narrow tolerance. This is one of the great engineering achievements of our time. Gas, oil, coal, nuclear, biomass, and hydroelectric power can . . . Complete story »
Mariano says Massachusetts should ‘lead the way’ on offshore wind
House Speaker Ronald Mariano pledged to make the South Coast a “hub of wind energy for the region” as he pushed a $10 million plan to create jobs and make the Bay State a leader in the burgeoning industry. “The United States is on the cusp of an offshore wind energy revolution, and Massachusetts should lead the way,” Mariano said Thursday. Mariano pitched his vision of a wind-driven future during an address to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. He . . . Complete story »
House speaker vows to increase state’s investment in offshore wind energy
House Speaker Ronald Mariano knows Massachusetts is losing ground in the race with rival states for offshore wind-energy development, so he is pledging to pick up the pace of public investment for in the emerging industry. Mariano compared the effort that he would like to see for offshore wind to the hundreds of millions the Legislature has plowed into the life-sciences industry over the years. “Now, the Boston area is known the world over for its biopharmaceutical innovations,” he said. . . . Complete story »
Scituate Health Board chairman worried about town reaction if he shuts down turbine
SCITUATE – Nine years after Scituate residents started filing complaints about the wind turbine on Driftway, and one neighbor filed a lawsuit to compel the board of health to declare it a nuisance, the board could take it up again. Board Chairman Douglas Whyte said he was worried he would be “harassed” if the board of health decided to stop the turbine because it would cost the town. The turbine sits 650 feet from the nearest home and has been . . . Complete story »
Footprint presents alternate vision for redevelopment of vacant land
SALEM – There have been competing visions for the future of Salem Harbor Footprint’s nearly 40 acres of undeveloped land, and now the New Jersey-based company is offering a way to reconcile them. Officials with Footprint Power, which completed construction of a natural gas-firing plant in Salem in 2018, is suggesting a split in its undeveloped land. First, it’s proposing that 21 acres to the north of the plant support marine-industrial uses under current site restrictions, and 17 acres to the . . . Complete story »
Public-private proposal made to replace broken wind turbine
IPSWICH – A Rhode Island company has told the select board it can replace the broken wind turbine at the end of Town Farm Road. “Broken turbines are very obviously broken. It’s not something that looks good in town,” Hannah Morini said at Monday’s meeting (March 15). “But most importantly, they are safety hazards,” she added. Director of business development with Green Development LLC of Cranston, R.I., Morini said her company has 19 operating turbines. The firm generates more than 70 . . . Complete story »
