Wind Power News: General News
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Wind energy resources declining in northern hemisphere: study
A widespread decrease in surface winds has led to a rapid decline of wind energy resources in the northern hemisphere in recent years, according to a recent study led by Chinese researchers. Wind power is one of the most important renewable energy sources, but it is a fairly unstable natural resource. Previous studies have focused on the assessment of wind energy reserves. However, little research has been done on how wind energy resources evolve over time. Researchers from the Institute . . . Complete story »
Vineyard Wind draft report released
While local community members still need to comb through the details, a federal analysis of Vineyard Wind’s $2 billion construction and operations plans that is to be officially released in draft form on Friday is expected to keep the project moving forward. “The company remains squarely on track to place equipment orders and start construction in 2019,” said Erich Stephens, Vineyard Wind’ chief development officer. The company needs to begin construction of its 800-megawatt wind farm next year because 2019 . . . Complete story »
Wind energy supporters brace for a fight in the Texas capitol
Renewable energy supporters are bracing for a fight in the next legislative session. Help state lawmakers give to solar and wind companies must be renewed when lawmakers return to Austin in January. The state allows local cities and counties to make agreements with energy companies; governments will collect less in property taxes in exchange for business investments and jobs in a certain community. They’re known as Chapter 312 and Chapter 313 agreements and representatives from many renewable energy companies say . . . Complete story »
Moyne Shire votes against more wind farms
Moyne Shire Council has voted to oppose any more wind farms in the shire until the state government adopts recommendations to avoid having multiple wind farms in one location. The vote was passed at a rowdy meeting at Mortlake where councillors faced repeated interjections from a packed public gallery wanting the council to adopt another motion by Cr Ken Doukas that called for the council to make an outright statement of opposition to any more wind farms in the shire. . . . Complete story »
It takes power to make power: Temporary power keeps wind turbines spinning
As the fourth largest source of power in North America, wind energy continues to be an essential part of the renewable energy story. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Vision report expects wind energy to supply 10 percent of the United States power needs by 2020, 20 percent by 2030 and 35 percent by 2050. To keep up with the ambitious growth trajectory, the size of wind turbines is also growing. So, engineers are turning to more powerful temporary generators . . . Complete story »
Wind farms can act like apex predators in ecosystems, study finds
The impact of wind farms on flying species has been well documented, with turbines reducing the number of birds and bats in an area and disrupting migration routes. But a new study finds that the impacts of turbines are more far-reaching than previously thought, acting almost like a new apex predator in an ecosystem. Ecologists from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore looked at how wind farms in India’s Western Ghats, which have been operating for 16 to 20 . . . Complete story »
Wind turbines acting as ‘apex predators’ by driving down bird numbers, study finds
Wind turbines can act as top predators in ecosystems by driving down populations of birds and triggering knock-on effects across food chains, according to a new study. Scientists found that predatory raptor birds were four times rarer in parts of an Indian mountain range covered in wind turbines, suggesting they were avoiding the structures. The same areas saw an explosion in numbers the raptors’ prey, fan-throated lizards, which also became more confident and less scared of humans due to the . . . Complete story »
Wind farm ‘predator’ effect hits ecosystems: study
Wind farms act as a top “predator” in some ecosystems, harming birds at the top of the food chain and triggering a knock-on effect overlooked by green energy advocates, scientists said Monday. Wind is the fastest-growing renewable energy sector, supplying around four percent of global electricity demand. Close to 17 million hectares—an area roughly the size of Tunisia—is currently used for generating wind energy worldwide, and researchers warned that developers had “greatly underestimated” the impact the technology has on wildlife. . . . Complete story »
Wind farms: where kites stay away, lizards play
On the Western Ghats, biologists have discovered that wind farms reduce the abundance of predatory birds and increase lizard populations, triggering a cascade of changes in the food chain whose long-term consequences remain unclear. A study by ecologists from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, has revealed that predatory birds such as buzzards, hawks and kites avoid areas around wind turbines and allow lizard populations there to thrive. The scientists found that the population densities of the most common lizard . . . Complete story »
New enemy of birds of prey: wind farms
There’s a new super-predator in Maharashtra’s Chalkewadi plateau. With their constantly-whirring blades, wind turbines have decreased birds of prey here, finds a study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution on November 5. It also proves, for the first time, that the ramifications of wind farms run much deeper across the food chain: superb fan-throated lizards – small, colourful reptiles that the birds prey on – increased in number and showed altered behaviour, physiology and even less-flamboyant body colours. Wind farms . . . Complete story »
