Wind Power News: Pennsylvania
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.
Hegins to hear wind farm developer appeal
The Hegins Township Zoning Hearing Board has scheduled a meeting to hear an appeal by wind farm developer Clean Air Generation LLC. The public meeting will be 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, at the Hegins Area Ambulance Association building, 352 Gap St., in Valley View. CAG, of Waverly, had filed a zoning permit application for 40 wind turbines to be constructed on leased Rausch Creek land, known as “Anthracite Ridge.” Allan Swab, township zoning officer, denied the permit application, and . . . Complete story »
Drastic loss of bird population deeply troubling
As you drive across the Midwest and over the flat, southern deserts, you will see huge wind farms stretching farther than the eyes can see. Builders want to put wind farms on major bird migration routes, such as here along the Great Lakes. Increasing thousands of giant windmills with blades spinning hundreds of miles per hour destroy a great number of birds, as well as bats. It was estimated that in 2012, wind turbines destroyed 573,000 birds. The number of wind turbines has increased considerably since that time. Have we forgotten about the fuss over wind turbines killing bald eagles, one of our national symbols? Complete story »
Schuylkill County meets first deadline
On Sept. 4, the Schuylkill County Commissioners adopted a resolution declaring portions of the county zoning ordinance to be “substantively invalid.” When the ordinance was last revised in 2010, business ventures such as natural gas compression stations, growing and dispensing facilities for medical marijuana and wind turbines didn’t exist locally. Once the county took that action, a clock started ticking. The commissioners had 30 days to make specific findings regarding the declared invalidity of the ordinance, and 180 days (from . . . Complete story »
Commissioners outline defects in zoning ordinance, prepare changes
POTTSVILLE – Schuylkill County’s zoning ordinance fails to provide for natural gas compressor stations and growing, processing and dispensing medical marijuana and does not adequately provide for wind turbines, the commissioners decided Wednesday in outlining why that law must be changed. The commissioners declared the zoning ordinance substantively invalid in connection with those topics only and started the process to amend it to ensure its legality. “We have 180 days to enact a curative amendment,” assistant county solicitor Glenn Roth said. . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine expert returns to zoning hearing
Tuesday’s hearing on the proposed Broad Mountain Power wind turbines atop Broad Mountain in Packer Township before Packer’s Zoning Hearing Board was lightly attended, with about 50 residents present in the Weatherly Area Middle School cafeteria. The subject this night was wind turbines, and the speaker was University of Colorado professor Roark Lanning, who is also assistant vice president of renewable energy at WSP USA in Boulder, Colorado. Lanning was an early participant in these hearings, and his testimony was . . . Complete story »
Schuylkill public comment on wind energy
Proponents of wind energy spoke during the public comment portion of the Schuylkill County Commissioners meeting Wednesday. Earlier this month, the commissioners took the step of declaring the county’s current zoning ordinance as “substantially invalid with respect to the use of property for the establishment and operation” of certain business ventures. The board made the move in response to residents’ concerns about a potential wind turbine project in the Tower City area, specifically in Porter and Hegins townships. In 2010, . . . Complete story »
Simulations of turbines shown at Packer zoning meeting
Hearings before the Packer Township Zoning Hearing Board about the proposed windmill farm atop Broad Mountain resumed on Sept. 18. This hearing was about the modeling of how the turbines would look based upon the balloon flights that occurred July 26. Visual modeling expert Curt Westergard, president of Digital Design & Imaging Service and Air Photos Live of Falls Church, Virginia, spoke of his experience, his company’s experience and the modeling program through a series of questions, and then was . . . Complete story »
Hearing scheduled for water quality permit
The state Department of Environmental Protection will hold a hearing on the NPDES Water Quality Permit for the Broad Mountain Wind Power Project in Nesquehoning and Packer Twp. on Oct. 21. The hearing will be held in the cafeteria of Weatherly Elementary/Middle School, 602 Sixth St., Weatherly, from 6 to 9 p.m. Representatives from DEP’s Waterways and Wetlands Program and Broad Mountain Power LLC, the developer, will be in attendance. The 80-megawatt Broad Mountain Wind Project, estimated at $145 million . . . Complete story »
FAA: Broad Mountain turbines no issue for planes
A Federal Aviation Administration study shows 656-foot-tall wind turbines planned for the top of Broad Mountain will not negatively affect aircraft flying around them – as long as they have red lights on top of them. However, another aviation expert said one of two small private airports in the township would be affected by the windmills. Algonquin/Liberty Power wants to build 26 windmills – 21 of them 656 feet high and five 452 feet high – on a 4,000-acre tract atop Broad Mountain . . . Complete story »
Look to Germany as a warning
Proponents of “clean energy” in the United States often cite Germany’s wind industry as a model for the renewable energy industry. Recent statistics from Germany tell a different story. The expansion of wind power in Germany fell by more than 80 percent in 2019 in response to growing public resistance and multiple lawsuits filed against the industry by conservation groups and local communities protesting the visual pollution, environmental impacts and health hazards of siting turbines close to residential areas. The . . . Complete story »
