Wind Power News: Victories
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.
Scottish Ministers block Perth firm Aviva’s ambitious renewables plan
One of Perth’s biggest employers has had plans for a £3 million wind turbine toppled by Scottish Ministers, just days after bosses unveiled a groundbreaking solar energy station in their car park. Financial services giant Aviva launched its sun-powered carport earlier this week as part of an ambitious bid to have its Fair City HQ powered almost entirely by renewable energy generated on-site. Aviva had planned to complement the new facility with an equally powerful 77-metre wind turbine. The company . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine plans blown out of water
Plans to designate an area of Galloway’s coastal waters as a possible site for wind turbines have been sunk. The Scottish Government had included an area south of Luce Bay in its draft sectoral marine plan as having wind energy potential. The zone was one of 16 “draft plan options” identified around the coast for a maritime renewables drive. But local fishing, marine leisure and community interests strongly objected to the Galloway bid in the public consultation. Negative impacts on . . . Complete story »
Lawsuit over Black Hawk County wind farm ends after project fails
WATERLOO – Local farmer Harold Youngblut dropped his appeal Friday asking the Iowa Supreme Court to block an expected wind energy project in Black Hawk County. The case was dropped after the special use permit for Washburn Wind Energy’s planned 35-turbine wind farm expired July 1. The company then pulled out of the project that month, said city planner Seth Hyberger. He said nobody wanted to invest in the $120 million project until litigation ended, making it difficult to secure initial . . . Complete story »
State of Wyoming declines to grant land lease for wind energy project
After heated deliberation, Wyoming regulators voted to deny a renewable energy company a lease to build a wind farm on state land in Albany County on Thursday, after members of the public expressed concern the development would compromise scenic viewsheds. ConnectGen is an independent energy firm based in Houston. The developer applied to lease 4,800 acres of state land to construct part of its 500 megawatt Rail Tie wind project. Approximately 20% of the entire 26,000 acre project would have . . . Complete story »
Controversial Green County wind farm scrapped
A controversial Green County wind farm – one of only a handful under development in Wisconsin – has been scrapped. EDF Renewables had planned to build 24 turbines in the town of Jefferson near the Illinois border. It would have been the sixth-largest in the state, with a capacity of 65 megawatts. Participating landowners received letters in September notifying them that the developer, EDF Renewables, was terminating its lease agreements. Sandi Briner, vice president of corporate communications for the developer, confirmed in . . . Complete story »
Doraville wind farm: Nichola Mallon rejects planning application
The biggest ever application for a wind farm in Northern Ireland has been turned down for planning. Doraville Wind Farm would have seen 33 turbines erected in the Sperrin Mountains outside Draperstown. It would have seen the turbines with a maximum wing tip height of between 136m and 149m along with associated buildings, equipment and access roads. The Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon announced on Monday that she was refusing the application. As a regionally significant development, first submitted in 2015, . . . Complete story »
Minister rejects application for NI’s largest wind farm
A proposal to create Northern Ireland’s largest wind farm on a site on the Sperrin Mountains has been rejected by the North’s infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon. The SDLP Minister made her decision following a four-day public inquiry last September and a refusal recommendation by the North’s Planning Appeals Commission. There were 2,160 representations received in relation to the application, of which 2,153 were objections. The Doraville Wind Farm proposal involved the erection of 33 wind turbines comprising 10 turbines with . . . Complete story »
Doraville: Plans for NI’s largest ever wind farm rejected
Planning permission has been denied for what would have been Northern Ireland’s biggest ever wind farm. Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon rejected the application for Doraville wind farm, which would have erected 33 turbines in the Sperrin Mountains near Draperstown. Ms Mallon said it had been “a finely balanced decision” weighing up the benefits against harm to an area of outstanding natural beauty. “I carefully considered both the findings of the independent public inquiry alongside the recommendations of my planning officials,” . . . Complete story »
Plans for major windfarm near Greencastle rejected
The Infrastructure Minister, Nichola Mallon, has recommended the refusal of what would have been Ireland’s biggest windfarm development at Doraville near Greencastle. It follows a Public Inquiry last year into the development which would have seen the erection of 33 wind turbines and associated infrastructure erected in a scenic area of the Sperrin Mountains. But in a statement released earlier, the Minister stated that the report by the Planning Appeals Commission indicated that the scale of the proposal and the . . . Complete story »
Eastern Kings council denies P.E.I. Energy Corporation’s application for wind farm expansion
EASTERN KINGS, P.E.I. – Going into the evening’s meeting, Danelle Elliott had no idea what her council’s final decision was going to be. “It was a big application for a small community like ours,” said the deputy mayor of Eastern Kings. “Honestly, it’s been very stressful and I’m glad it’s done.” The decision was whether or not to grant P.E.I. Energy Corporation (PEIEC) a special development permit to add seven turbines to its existing wind farm in the area. The province . . . Complete story »
