Wind Power News: Complaints
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.
Wind turbines generate more cash when switched off and Scots customers shouldering £650m blame
Wind turbines generate more cash when they’re switched OFF than when they’re working – with customers shouldering nearly £650 million in payments over a decade. So-called ‘constraint payments’, a sort of compensation, have been paid to energy firms in charge of wind farms, when demand for electricity falls or winds are too strong for turbines to operate. These costs are added to consumers’ electricity bills. Most of the payments – totalling £649m since 2009 – have been levied to Scottish . . . Complete story »
Liens help resolve wind farm disputes
It reads as a cautionary tale. Or someone with an agenda. In a December letter to a newspaper in Gainesville, Texas, Don Vogel wrote about a proposed wind farm in Texas that, if approved, would be developed by the same company that owns the Prairie Queen Wind Farm in northern Allen County. “Like waking from a bad dream … the decent folk of the farming community near Iola were shaken by news of legal action,” Vogel wrote. “A mechanics lien . . . Complete story »
Co-Op City residents happy turbine collapsed, taking out ugly billboard
Some Co-Op City residents are looking on the bright side of a frightening turbine collapse – it’ll finally remove an eyesore they’ve complained about for years. The towering turbine damaged an electronic billboard when it toppled Monday, prompting the city Department of Buildings to order its removal. Co-Op City residents had complained the sign shined into their apartments at night. They were also steamed about the turbine that sat atop a 195-foot “monopole,” which they’d criticized as unsafe – and ugly. . . . Complete story »
Bronx residents want answers after wind turbine collapse
BAYCHESTER, the Bronx – A wind turbine fell because of windy conditions and, miraculously, no one was hurt, but many in the Bronx are asking why was there a wind turbine way up high in the sky in the first place. Reggie Connell grew up in Baychester. He and friend Bob Williams couldn’t understand how the city Department of Buildings ever approved a permit for a wind turbine on a 200-foot pole. “Shoddy work,” Connell said. “There are lots of kids . . . Complete story »
Leitrim locals tell of ‘monster’ wind turbines torment
The “monster” wind turbine towers menacingly over the village, each of its vast white blades alone will be two-and-a-half times the length of a wing on a Boeing 747. These structures are almost twice the size of the Statue of Liberty and completely dwarf the church, people and tractors below. The scale model of the proposed Croagh Wind Farm sitting in the middle of artist Adrienne Diamond’s conservatory makes for dramatic viewing. It shows what the picturesque North Leitrim village . . . Complete story »
Chronicle: The Osborn Wind Project
About an hour north of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, you’ll find some of the highest wind speeds in the state in communities around the town of Osborn in DeKalb County. Plan a visit and listen in Osborn. You’ll hear the high winds. You’ll hear cars on the street. You’ll hear farmers in their fields, and you’ll hear heated discussions on an issue that split family members from loved ones and pit neighbors against neighbors. Those high winds, and the project . . . Complete story »
Wind farm developer sues county
The county moved to kill a wind farm project years after agreeing to support it by “fast-tracking” a zoning ordinance and changing the rules for building permits and tax incentives, the project’s developers claim in a federal lawsuit. Sugar Creek Wind, LLC accuses the county and the board of commissioners of violating the agreements it signed in 2013 to develop an approximately 250-megawatt farm in Madison and Sugar Creek townships. The suit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court . . . Complete story »
County faces suit from wind farm company
The Paper of Montgomery County has learned that a lawsuit has been filed against it by a wind energy company. “The county received the suit (Wednesday),” County Commissioner John Frey told The Paper Thursday morning. “Our attorney has the document and is going over it. The earliest we can meet is Monday so I think we’ll have an executive session then.” The suit, according to sources, was filed Tuesday by Sugar Creek Wind LLC. Akuo Energy USA and Stewardship Wind . . . Complete story »
“Je n’ai jamais entendu ça de ma vie” : sous les éoliennes, son quotidien est impossible
[“I had never heard such noise before”: Under the wind turbines, normal life is impossible (translate article to English)] TÉMOIGNAGE – Nausées, insomnies, maux de tête… Il arrive que ces symptômes se développent chez des riverains partageant leur quotidien avec un parc éolien. Au-delà des nuisances sonores provoquées par le mouvement de leurs pales, les infrasons qu’elles dégagent sont également pointés du doigt. Hubert, habitant d’un village d’Auvergne, raconte à LCI comment ce bruit inaudible lui a rendu la vie impossible. . . . Complete story »
The Germans fighting wind farms close to their homes
When Rudi Frischmuth stands on his balcony, he overlooks a vast field, a forest shimmering in fall colors – and three wind turbines peeking behind a row of pine trees. The wind farm, situated about 560 meters (620 yards) from his house, has troubled him since it was built in 1998. It all started with the noise. The turbines in the small municipality of Langerwehe in western Germany are barely perceptible if they spin slowly. But when strong winds push the . . . Complete story »
