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Wind Power News: Tennessee
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.
Wind farm opponents continue to address county commission
For the third consecutive monthly Cumberland County Commission meeting a group of residents who are against a proposed wind farm in Crab Orchard on Millstone Mountain have addressed commissioners during the public comment period of the meeting. This month many expressed concern and frustration that microphones used for public comment were not working properly and said they were unable to hear the comments being made. They also expressed concerns about being unable to hear county attorney Randal Boston speak later . . . Complete story »
Solar and wind are insufficient
The Tennessee Valley Authority wants to give away a 90 percent complete nuclear power plant, so why aren’t the folks who are worried about global warming begging TVA to complete it? Nationally in 2015, 67 percent of our electricity was generated by fossil fuels. Maybe they think that, like computers that get twice as good every year, energy conversion devices will also get twice as efficient every year. We have no economical method of storing electricity. Nor will we build . . . Complete story »
Be careful what you dream of
Politicians along with the Chamber of Commerce leaders are constantly dreaming about finding ways to bring new business into Cumberland County. Many of them have turned out well and we give them credit where credit is due. But this most recent dream of the Crab Orchard Wind project is slowly turning into a nightmare for many Cumberland County residents – and the worst is yet to come. Tourism in Cumberland County increased this year to $112.29 million. You can’t find one . . . Complete story »
TVA urged to sign pact to buy Oklahoma wind at record low prices
TVA could help propel one of the biggest transfers of wind energy across America and get the best price to do so if it agrees within the next four months to buy the electricity generated from Oklahoma and Texas wind turbines and shipped to the Tennessee Valley on a new, $2.5 billion transmission line. Clean Line Energy Partners LLC, a Houston-based company formed to build high-voltage, long-distance transmission lines, is urging TVA to agree by the end of the year . . . Complete story »
Wind farm would further harm nature
A proposed wind farm won’t harm wildlife? Baloney. Ask the Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology people about mangled and dead birds. First of all, today’s construction methods kill, grind up and bury every living thing that can’t escape, like baby birds in their nests. Then there’s the permanent blight of ugly turbines ruining the landscape. Third is the ongoing destruction of vegetation that butchers living things. What might survive the slaughter machines is sprayed with deadly herbicides. . . . Complete story »
Would wind farm cut our electric costs here at home?
Should government policy be wrong (wind turbines are notoriously ineffective at generating substantial amounts of electricity), then West Cumbria will be blighted by a plethora of wind farms that will ruin the landscape, adversely affect tourism, harm our environment, and not do much to save the planet. But then as government policy is so rarely wrong, maybe we have nothing to worry about, and we should just keep our concerns to ourselves as our County Commissioners suggest? In the 10 . . . Complete story »
Opponents sue to block Clean Line project
LITTLE ROCK – Opponents of a planned transmission line across Arkansas and parts of Oklahoma and Tennessee said Friday they have filed a federal lawsuit objecting to the U.S. Department of Energy’s participation in the project. Golden Bridge and Downwind, two organizations representing landowners who oppose the Plains & Eastern Clean Line project, said they filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Little Rock. The suit was not available on the court’s website Monday evening, and the groups did not . . . Complete story »
Tennessee wildlife officials oppose wind farm
An editorial by Tennessee Wildlife Federation executive Mike Butler strongly opposes a proposed wind farm atop the Cumberland Plateau. The editorial, posted on the TWF website, claims the wind farm would be devastating to the environment and to wildlife. The 23 giant turbines, each towering 600 feet high and with huge blades hundreds of feet long, would be visible for miles. The wind farm would impact not only the 1,800 acres of land on which it is built, but visually . . . Complete story »
Crab Orchard Wind Farm — are we considering ALL the costs?
Recently, Sen. Lamar Alexander took to the floor of the United States Senate to discuss an important issue: a proposed wind farm that would be located in Cumberland County if approved. He was joined in opposition by Rep. Diane Black, who wrote to several federal agencies voicing her concerns. Watch Sen. Alexander’s presentation below. So why are they so vocal in their opposition to a seemingly well-intended project? “Clean energy” like wind power must be a positive thing for the environment, right? . . . Complete story »
Increase energy research by ending the wind subsidy
The U.S. does many things well, but one thing we do better than any other country is innovation through basic research. Matter of fact, it’s hard to think of an important technological advancement since World War II that has not involved at least some form of government-sponsored research. To solve our energy and climate challenges, the federal government should double funding for basic energy research, and the way to pay for it is by ending the wasteful Big Wind subsidy . . . Complete story »
