Wind Power News: Press releases
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.
Sens. Cruz, Cornyn, Rep. Hurd Highlight National Security Concerns with Chinese Investment in Val Verde Project
HOUSTON, Texas – U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and John Cornyn (R-Texas), along with Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), today sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin detailing their concerns about reports that the primary investor in a wind farm near Laughlin Air Force Base (AFB) in Val Verde County has connections to the Chinese Communist Party, potentially undermining American national security. In the letter, they wrote: “There is concern that a project with ties to the Chinese Communist . . . Complete story »
Renewable Energy and Human Rights benchmark
Nearly half the companies benchmarked (7/16) scored below 10%, with three quarters (12/16) scoring below 40%. The average score was just 22%, indicating that, as a whole, the industry has a long way to go to demonstrate its respect for the human rights of communities and workers in their operations and supply chains. Complete story »
Stanford researchers model interactions between wind farm developers and landowners
Wind farms are large, highly technical projects but their development often relies on personal decisions made by individual landowners and small communities. Recognizing the power of the human element in wind farm planning, Stanford University researchers have devised a model that considers how interactions between developers and landowners affect the success and cost of wind farms. “I’ve been doing work on the costs of wind farms for about 10 years and I’ve found that the soft costs – basically the . . . Complete story »
Wind farms in the Black Sea coast region could have a negative impact on bat populations in large parts of Eastern Europe
The Via Pontica, an important migration route for birds in Eastern Europe, runs along the Black Sea coast of Romania and Bulgaria. Bats also use this route. In this region, numerous wind farms have been installed in recent years because of good wind conditions, but there has been little implementation of the legally required measures for the protection of bats. A Romanian research team cooperated with the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in Berlin to demonstrate that . . . Complete story »
BLM releases Mesa Wind Repower Project for public comment
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. –The Bureau of Land Management Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office released for public comment a draft Environmental Assessment on the Mesa Wind Repower Project, located on public lands 11 miles northwest of the City of Palm Springs. The release of the EA begins a 30-day public comment period that closes on June 19. Brookfield Renewables proposes to repower the existing 30-megawatt (MW) wind project, which was built in 1983. The repowering of the Mesa Wind project would . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine noise affects dream sleep and perceived sleep restoration
Wind turbine noise (WTN) influences people’s perception of the restorative effects of sleep, and also has a small but significant effect on dream sleep, otherwise known as REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, a study at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows. A night of WTN resulted in delayed and shortened REM sleep. Knowledge of how sleep is affected by WTN has been limited to date. Research involving physiological study of its impact using polysomnography, the top-ranking method of sleep recording, . . . Complete story »
Governor Northam Signs Clean Energy Legislation
RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam is accelerating Virginia’s transition to clean energy by signing the Virginia Clean Economy Act and by amending the Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act that requires Virginia to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. “These new clean energy laws propel Virginia to leadership among the states in fighting climate change,” said Governor Northam. “They advance environmental justice and help create clean energy jobs. In Virginia, we are proving that a clean environment and a strong economy . . . Complete story »
BCCR Press Statement re NY Siting Board Meeting on Wind Turbines
County Concerned Residents (BCCR) spokesperson Anne Lawrence has called on the New York Siting Board at their meeting today (Thursday, April 9) to urge Governor Cuomo to apply the same rule for locating Industrial Wind Turbines in Broome County as he did for the residents of Long Island. He promised the affluent communities in that part of the State that these huge behemoths would be no closer than 30 miles from their homes. The people of Broome County deserve no . . . Complete story »
NYSERDA must reveal secret study, judge rules
Ruling in favor of the Empire Center, a state Supreme Court judge in Albany has ordered the Cuomo administration’s energy and environmental agencies to release a supposedly incomplete “comprehensive study” of how to meet the governor’s aggressive renewable energy goals. The decision handed down by Justice Peter A. Lynch late last week was greeted as “a big victory for transparency and accountability in government” by the Empire Center’s executive director, Tim Hoefer. “Time and time again, we have seen agencies . . . Complete story »
Press Release: Towns of Somerset and Yates Oppose Governor Cuomo’s Renewable Energy Power Grab
The Town of Somerset (Niagara County) and the Town of Yates (Orleans County) are adamantly opposed to Governor Cuomo’s attempt – under the guise of a last-minute amendment to the state budget process referred to as Article 23 – to accelerate renewable energy development at the expense of our towns, our citizens and our environment. Towns, citizens, environmental groups, developers and state agencies have operated for almost a decade under Article 10 (the current siting law), so one wonders what . . . Complete story »
