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Wind Power News: Blogs
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort 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.
Ganging up on rural communities – through legislation: Victorian planning provisions
The Victorian Government and the Wind Industry have got together to gang up on Rural Communities through legislation. The Victorian Government and the Wind Industry know that Rural Communities will suffer at the hands of wind farms. So, to prevent legal backlash, they have colluded to legislate against them. Wind Energy Amendments – Victorian Legislation Amendment VC261 (gazetted 4 April 2024) expands the operation of the existing Development Facilitation Program (DFP) planning provisions that fast-track the assessment of significant economic . . . Complete story »
Biodiversity hotspot and birder’s dream no more: Kaban windpower facility repelling birds
Once a biodiversity hotspot and birder’s dream, the construction of the Kaban wind farm appears to have repelled a large number of bird species. We’ve been going through the 2023 Annual Compliance Report for Kaban wind farm in FNQ, just published. The number of bird species surveyed on the site since 2018 has dropped markedly. The sheer number of bird species observed in 2018 was huge: 85 species! But by 2023, 1 year after Kaban wind farm became operational, the . . . Complete story »
Iowa farmer regrets signing wind turbine lease after both turbines on her land burned to the ground
A couple of hours before the final BOS vote on the WECS on Wednesday, May 29, we received an email from a concerned lady in Iowa who has – well, had – two wind turbines on their farm and asked us to share their story. One turbine is still there, but it’s a non-functional burned out husk as of May 13. The other one also burned a year ago. Her name and exact location are being withheld because more than . . . Complete story »
Wind turbines can jam weather radar
By now, I’m sure you’re all aware of the devastating tornado that tore through Adams County yesterday, destroying multiple wind turbines, carrying blades and other turbine debris hundreds of feet into the air, and causing at least one turbine to catch fire and burn. Witnesses have stated turbine blades and debris were strewn across a large area. The real tragedy, of course, was that multiple people in Greenfield lost their lives in this tornado. I’m sure all of you will . . . Complete story »
Windbaggery: The wind energy sector’s days are numbered
“Reason, I sacrifice you to the evening breeze.” – Aimé Césaire To be an effective podcast guest requires a few basic tactics. First, it is important to let the host get their full question asked before beginning to answer yourself. In normal conversation, it is not uncommon to understand where a friend is going and to get there before they do, but in a podcast setting it can be off-putting. It is also advisable to directly address the host’s questions . . . Complete story »
UK Govt rejects request to share whale stranding data, fuelling suspicions over offshore wind farms
While recent statistics from other countries are in the public domain, the UK’s delay in publishing data has increased speculation that the government might be hiding another sharp increase in cetacean strandings, and it’s fuelling further suspicions of a link between wind farms and the demise of marine life. Five-fold increase in UK cetacean strandings The 2018 tally of 1000+ cetaceans stranded on UK beaches, compares with an annual reported average of around 200 or less over a period of . . . Complete story »
New guidelines on environmental impact assessments for offshore wind projects released
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has published the ‘Key environmental factors for offshore windfarm environmental impact assessment under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999’ (Guidance Document). There are 13 key impacts to be assessed by offshore wind proponents. The Guidance Document identifies 13 key impacts typically associated with offshore wind projects which should be considered when undertaking EIA. As the guidance is intended to apply nationally, not all of the impacts may . . . Complete story »
Offshore wind may not reduce CO₂ emissions
There is a common assumption that offshore wind electricity generation greatly reduces CO2 emissions. In fact this is the primary justification for the horrendous cost and adverse impact of these offshore megaprojects. As with many green assumptions, this may well be false. First, given the way power generation actually works the reduction in fossil fuel emissions may not be all that great. In fact offshore wind could actually increase fossil fuel emissions. This is explained below. Let’s take New Jersey . . . Complete story »
Wind farms in all the wrong places – The desecration of nature in pursuit of ‘green’ energy
July 16th, 2023 – Lewis, Western Isles: The terrible sight of 55 Pilot whales washed up dead and dying on a remote Scottish beach caused a deep sense of sadness that resonated around the world. July 20th, 2023: A Minke whale is found dead on the very same stretch of sand. It’s clearly no coincidence that the whales perished in the same location, but what was the cause? Although theories abound as to why these great mammals stranded, there is . . . Complete story »
The energy transition isn’t
Despite $4.1 trillion spent on wind and solar, they aren’t even keeping pace with the growth in hydrocarbons. We are inundated with claims about the “energy transition.” In February, E&E News, reporting on the State of the Union speech said, “President Joe Biden laid out his vision for the energy transition Tuesday night.” In March, a reporter for Politico declared “The U.S. energy transition is well underway.” Also in March, during a speech at the CERAWeek conference in Houston, Energy . . . Complete story »
