Wind Power News: Letters
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.
Letter to Environment for the Americas
We are pleased to announce that the 2023 World Migratory Bird Day campaign will focus on the topic of water and its importance for migratory birds. Water is fundamental to life on our planet. The vast majority of migratory birds rely on aquatic ecosystems during their life cycles. Inland and coastal wetlands, rivers, lakes, streams, marshes, and ponds are all vital for feeding, drinking, or nesting, and also as places to rest and refuel during their long journeys. Unfortunately, aquatic . . . Complete story »
Climate is less an energy problem than an ecological problem
As an environmental journalist, I am watching the Shaftsbury Solar discussion with great interest. One concern is that the discussion is often framed as people who care about climate change (those favoring solar projects) vs. those more worried about their own assets (e.g., natural vistas) when the reality is more complex. It must be said: We are not going to solar panel our way out of the climate crisis. Somehow climate change has been defined as an energy problem – a . . . Complete story »
Wind farm utility causing onshore problems
New England has regional noise/vibration problems since the Block Island Wind Farm started. Indeed, one could note, regional wind turbines no longer typify “green energy.” In addition to air storage batteries being secretly installed on Beavertail in Jamestown to facilitate retention of unpredictable wind power, the regional power grid has been secretly raised to a higher power level to capture more irregular wind power for investors. However, that higher grid power has caused widespread environmental pressure, including water and sewer . . . Complete story »
“Nej till ny vindkraft i Hultsfred ligger fast”
[The impact on the environment, people and animals is unclear, the power generation lacks the stability and security of supply we need for a safe electricity supply and a reasonable price, ownership is often short-term and the responsibility and the cost of restoration at the end of the service life risk ultimately falls on the municipality and its inhabitants.] Den inställning som från början främst grundade sig i de signaler vi fick från de berörda människor vi möter i olika . . . Complete story »
Closing coal-fired power stations was a disaster
In October National Grid warned of possible power cuts in the coming winter. How is this possible in the world’s sixth-largest economy, in a country which pioneered every form of electricity generation through its innovating engineers and entrepreneurs? I’ll tell you why. It was because of (EC) Directive 2001/80/EC taken up by Ed Miliband and his 2008 Climate Change Act to enact in law CO₂ reduction which sealed the fate of the coal-fired power stations which provided abundant 365-day electricity . . . Complete story »
Time for a reality check on wind power
David Naylor (Post letters, October 17) needs a reality check if he thinks his “majestic” wind turbines can power the huge 68 million population of the UK and its 38 million vehicles. As I write, at 11.40am on October 18, the National Grid website, Gridwatch.co.uk tells us that thousands of UK wind turbines, on both land and sea, are only collectively generating 940MW, whilst the UK is using 35,190MW on a mild autumn day – with very few electric cars! . . . Complete story »
Wind farm ‘beauty’ is in eyes of few beholders
To the Editor: I feel compelled to respond to the Oct. 5 Commentary titled “Turbines: A Welcome Sight Off Long Beach Island Coast.” Until reading the commentary, I did not realize how much the “beauty” of our shoreline could be enhanced by placing 357 1,000-plus-foot-tall windmills beginning just 9 miles offshore. That surprising sentiment puts the writer in an exceedingly small minority. Only the developer of a utility, or those aligned with one, could speak so glowingly of a large utility . . . Complete story »
Starmer’s green utopia could cost the earth
Sir Keir Starmer in his keynote address to the Labour Party Conference clearly revelled at the prospect of “a fairer, greener future” which conjured up images of an earthly paradise not unlike Shangri-La. He confidently predicted that he will become the next Prime Minister in 2025 and among his many gilded promises he stated that within just five years the number of land-based wind turbines will have doubled to 17,500. This was one of many declarations that won a standing . . . Complete story »
Renewables are devouring planet
Sir, – Watching recent letters toing and froing in our Press and Journal, perhaps a sobering reality check for the deluded Greens, rushing to “save the planet”, is long overdue? A small, ever-so-green, 100MW wind farm needs 30,000 tons of iron ore; 50,000 tons of concrete and 900 tons of non-recyclable plastic. For the same power from an ever-so-green solar farm you need to increase that by 150%. An electric car battery weighs half a ton; making just one requires . . . Complete story »
Claims made by environmentalists about the so-called virtues of large-scale wind and solar farms simply demonstrate engineering and technical ignorance, compounded by a serious misunderstanding of how the electricity generating industry functions
It is an irrefutable fact that due to the variability of the weather wind and solar cannot, and will never, ensure security of supply for UK electrical energy, which requires in the order of 346 TWh per annum (2019 figure). They are also all at sea about fracking and have fallen for all the misleading propaganda, as any geologist worth his salt will confirm. Fracking has turned the US economy around and it could do the same for the UK. . . . Complete story »
