| Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Wind Power News: Puerto Rico
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational mission 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. The original articles, links to which are provided, may have additional links and photos and other media that were not included here.
New York assists with Puerto Rico power grid rebuild plan
The Punta Lima wind farm was significantly damaged, losing approximately half the turbine blades and sustaining vertical post damage, the report said. The Santa Isabel wind farm was "seemingly intact." Wind farm repair costs are estimated at $25 million and solar farm repairs at $40 million, which could take approximately nine to 12 months. The cost to deploy microgrids is estimated at a little more than $1 billion and solar installations are recommended for new construction at a cost of $315 million. The report did not include information on how the grid restoration and modernization efforts might be funded and Governor Cuomo's office did not respond to a request for comment. Complete story »
NEXRAD radar, wind turbines, solar farms destroyed in Puerto Rico
On Sept. 24, four days after Category 4 Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico, I retweeted this post by the NWS in San Juan, Puerto Rico, showing the damage to their NEXRAD radar. I’ve seen radar domes crushed before by straight-line thunderstorm winds, but never one completely destroyed. You can only see parts of the shell of the dome’s bottom and the horn (there’s supposed to be a dish around the horn inside the dome as shown by the . . . Complete story »
“Victoria para Culebra” cancelación del parque eólico
El alcalde de Culebra, Iván Solís, catalogó como una victoria para su municipio el anuncio del próximo retiro del proyecto que contemplaba el establecimiento de un parque eólico en los terrenos de la Playa Flamenco, foco turístico y económico de esa isla municipio. “Estamos sumamente contentos porque se logró el objetivo del pueblo. Este era un proyecto que había que evaluarlo en su totalidad. Pero tenía el potencial de dañar el ambiente y el paisaje”, dijo el alcalde, en entrevista . . . Complete story »
Flamenco wind farm a no-go
The developer behind a five-turbine wind farm on a Caribbean island outcrop pertaining to Puerto Rico has scrapped the project following sustained opposition from local residents. Punta Flamenco Windfarm Inc. has officially withdrawn the application from government regulators, according to an announcement from governor Alejandro García Padilla. The development had received resistance from locals and conservationists due to its proximity to a nature reserve and Flamenco beach (pictured) on Culebra island, a tourism hotspot. The island is located some 27 . . . Complete story »
Windmar: incompatible con orden AGP
En entredicho. Así ha quedado la construcción del polémico parque eólico de Windmar Renewable Energy en el sector Ventanas y Verraco de Guayanilla, tras la firma de una orden ejecutiva que impulsa el monumental Bosque Modelo de Puerto Rico. A juicio de José Sáez Cintrón, presidente de la Coalición Pro Bosque Seco Ventanas-Verraco (CPBSVV), los preparativos para la instalación de 23 monumentales turbinas en el sector ya ha provocado impactos adversos y merecido querellas por serias violaciones ambientales, realidades que . . . Complete story »
Concerns about wind energy proposal
“Don Quijote felt he needed to defend himself from giants. I need to protect my family from these giants that are being installed in a densely populated area. Not only are they feet away from [our] homes but they are in fertile grounds used for agriculture,” wrote Puerto Rican blogger Raúl Colón on a post titled “Don Quijote, “Molinos”, Health Risks, & Santa Isabel” [es] this past May. A resident of Santa Isabel, a southern coastal municipality in Puerto Rico, . . . Complete story »
Más presión por defender la agricultura
[More pressure to protect agriculture – Anxiety persists for the six detained for protesting construction of a wind energy facility on agricultural land in Santa Isabel.] El desasosiego que viven los seis detenidos por protestar contra la construcción de un parque eólico en suelo agrícola santaisabelino persiste. No obstante, al concluir ayer la segunda sesión de la Vista Judicial en Alzada, el abogado defensor Martín González Vázquez aseguró haber probado siete puntos ante Fiscalía y la jueza Gladys González Segarra. Entre . . . Complete story »
Ocurre masacre ambiental en Guayanilla
[Environmental massacre occurring in Guayanilla – About 20,000 trees have been felled in Punta Ventana y Verraco area of Guayanilla to make way for Windmar Renewable’s wind energy facility. The action has occurred without intervention from the Department of Natural Resources or reporting from nation media. José Sáez Cintrón, spokesman for the Coalición Pro Bosque Seco, and Miguel Calas Mora, the biologist in charge of the nature reserve, confirmed that the damage caused by heavy equipment to the east of the . . . Complete story »
Cleaner energy sources prove divisive
As Puerto Rico seeks to lower soaring utility rates while simultaneously shifting toward cleaner energy sources, it faces grassroots opposition to two major projects even though at least one is 100-percent renewable. Objections to the projects – a natural gas pipeline and wind installation – revolve mostly around their locations, underlining the complex interests involved in actually implementing changes to the island’s power grid. The pipeline would start on the island’s south coast, head northwards through the central mountain range . . . Complete story »
Wind farms are a problem for Puerto Rico
Mucho se ha hablado de las “bondades” de la generación de energía mediante turbinas eólicas o molinos de viento. Hemos visto cómo los funcionarios del gobierno, el Secretario del Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales, Javier Galán Kerkadó, y el Secretario del Departamento de Agricultura, Javier Rivera Aquino, defienden y promueven estos proyectos con total desconocimiento del tema. Basandose en la supuesta “Emergencia Energética” y la “Política Pública” del gobierno dirigida (supuestamente) a bajar el costo de la energía eléctrica. . . . Complete story »
