Updated: 2010-04-30 02:14:07
A look at how alternative energy systems are permitted by the state:
When the Vermont Public Service Board permits the installation of alternative energy systems, the review process is relatively simple.
Applicants fill out a form explaining the location, size and specifics of their proposed system. Anyone proposing a photovoltaic project on pedestals – such as the solar trackers that have recently been installed at Yestermorrow and the Kingsbury Farm – must notify all abutters and the town in which they are . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 22:08:19
This report on the Interior Dept. approval of Cape Wind features energy expert Robert Bryce and excerpts from a 2005 interview with Cliff Carroll of Windstop.org.
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:46:14
About 250 opponents of wind turbines blasted the Dalton McGuinty government over its decision to override municipalities in locating the electricity generators.
The protest Wednesday outside Queen’s Park coincided with a Conservative MPP’s motion in the Ontario legislature for a moratorium on wind turbines until possible health effects are studied.
Premier Dalton McGuinty said he doesn’t believe it’s reasonable to delay the implementation of the green energy source.
“Wind turbines have been up and running for decades in dozens if not hundreds of . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:46:13
RUMNEY — There was a large turnout for an informational meeting at the Russell Elementary School last Thursday night, as Rumney residents gathered to learn more about the proposed Wind Farm on Tenney Mountain and Fletcher Ridge in Groton.
Many in attendance at the three-hour meeting said they supported renewable energy, including wind power, in general but had questions and concerns about the Groton project. They had many questions about the likely positive and negative impacts on the surrounding community.
Several residents . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:46:12
FAYETTEVILLE — The endangered Ozark big-eared bat may be endangering the future of wind power for electric generation in Washington County, officials said.
Feasibility studies will be required to determine the impact of wind turbines on the bats, according to Juliet Richey, director of the Washington County Planning Department.
“It’s not a complete dealkiller, but … it’ll be a hindrance,” Richey told justices of the peace at a meeting Monday of the County Services Committee of the Washington County Quorum Court.
. . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:46:10
A company is due to lock horns with a community group after submitting new plans for wind turbines – larger than one previously given the go-ahead two years ago.
West Coast Energy has applied to Cornwall Council for permission to build three wind turbines on land at Morwenstow, Bude.
However, protesters say the new turbines, which are 10 metres taller than those previously agreed, will have an adverse impact on tourism, wildlife and the aesthetics of the area.
It will be the second . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:46:09
With Cape Wind sailing forward, whatever happened to the proposal for a wind project in Buzzards Bay?
The proposal isn’t dead in the water, but in light of restrictions of the Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan, the project is on hold.
The plan initially called for wind turbines in three places on Buzzards Bay — off Dartmouth, off Fairhaven and off the Elizabeth Islands. The turbines’ distance from the shore would have varied by location, likely ranging 1 to 7 miles, according to . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:46:07
Opponents of a proposed Ottawa-area wind farm travelled to Queen’s Park on Wednesday in an attempt to shut down the project.
Gary Chandler, chairman of the North Gower Wind Action group, delivered a petition with 408 signatures of residents opposed to a plan to put 10 massive turbines in the southern Ottawa community.
Chandler joined a broader anti-wind power demonstration at Queen’s Park, where protesters asked the provincial government to stop new turbines pending a study on possible negative health effects.
“We’re concerned . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:46:06
New Jersey’s plans for large offshore wind farms may be delayed into the next decade as new federal permitting rules will require seven to nine years to scrutinize the environmental impact and engineering feasibility, the state’s largest energy company said Wednesday.
The criteria developed by the federal Minerals Management Service earlier this year could jeopardize a project to build hundreds of turbines 20 miles off the coast of Atlantic City, executives at Public Service Enterprise Group said.
“It would not be good . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:46:05
Even before US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced approval of Cape Wind yesterday, foes of the nation’s first offshore wind farm vowed to take the matter to court.
But legal specialists say that it is highly unlikely that legal challenges would ultimately succeed, given precedents set by previous federal court rulings and the extraordinary regulatory hurdles that the project has cleared over the past decade.
At most, litigation could delay completion of the 130 turbines in Nantucket Sound for a couple of . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:46:03
Furious Cape Wind foes are far from giving up.
Yesterday, after U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved the controversial offshore wind energy project, critics blasted the decision.
“The fight is far from over, said Audra Parker, executive director of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. “It will ultimately be decided in a court – and based on facts, not politics.”
Salazar’s decision capped nine years of local, state and federal review.
During that time, Cape Wind opposition grew to include one state and two . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:46:02
U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar yesterday approved the Cape Wind project even though he and other officials don’t have a clue how much it will cost consumers – though they know there’s going to be a big upfront hit for taxpayers and electric customers alike.
The problem is that only Cape Wind Associates, the proposed developer of the giant wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod, knows the true price tag for the renewable-energy project – and Cape Wind Associates . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:46:01
The Moorabool Shire Mayor, Pat Toohey, says people want to know more about the approvals process for wind farms.
The shire is holding a special meeting in Ballan tonight about the wind farms proposed in the region.
About 20 people have registered to present their concerns at the meeting.
Councillor Toohey says people are worried they will not have their concerns heard by the Victorian Government.
“Well the most important part of establishing wind energy throughout our community is that our people, our communities, . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:45:59
A wave of community energy projects in the Western Isles are under threat after Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) warned they may not get connected into the grid.
Scotland’s community energy development charity says this means that millions of pounds of much needed cash will be lost to the Western Isles.
They are urging Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) to back down and immediately to connect the local schemes to the electricity network.
Community Energy Scotland has written to SSE’s boss, Ian Marchant, . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:45:58
The prospect of renewable energy transforming the fortunes of island communities has been dealt a devastating blow after it emerged seven community projects in the Western Isles will not be connected to the National Grid for several years, if at all.
Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) has reversed a decision to offer a grid connection to Storas Uibhist, the community owner of most of South Uist, Benbecula and Eriskay.
Last month the electricity giant made Storas Uibhist a written offer of a . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:45:57
Lake County is considering new rules governing the siting and operation of wind energy facilities in unincorporated areas.
The proposed amendments to Lake County’s Unified Development ordinance contain provisions allowing for the permitting of wind energy facilities in unincorporated areas but also spell out regulations pertaining to height of wind turbines, noise, and environmental impacts.
David Husemoller, senior planner for the Lake County Planning, Building and Development Department, said the new regulations seek to accommodate applications for wind energy facilities but also . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:45:55
The Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) has filed a petition with a small state agency asking that private lands on Steens Mountain be declared a “protected area.” The designation would stop the wind energy projects planned on those properties before they get started.
ONDA filed a petition with the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) to stop the wind energy projects planned for those lands. The agenda says ONDA asks the council “to enter a rulemaking to amend the current definition . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:45:54
A 65-metre tall wind turbine could be built on the edge of Yatton as part of a village company’s expansion plan.
Smart Systems wants to build the renewable energy generator at its site off Arnold’s Way.
The generator is needed to provide extra electricity for a new 15,000sq m architectural aluminium manufacturing plant.
Permission for the business to grow was granted by North Somerset Council in 2007, but the details of the turbine were not included at the time.
The company is awaiting confirmation . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:45:52
Days after the federal government shelved its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme until the end of 2012, the Daylesford community is going it alone.
Hepburn Wind has signed the major contract to build Australia’s first community-owned wind farm at Leonards Hill.
Construction of the two-turbine wind farm is scheduled to begin in October.
Hepburn Wind chairman Simon Holmes a Court said Daylesford was not waiting for renewable energy targets and its project had strong community support.
“We’ve moved past the dream and hopes – this . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:45:51
CLAYTON — Proposed wind zoning amendments, which called for stricter regulations on wind development in the town, were rejected by the Town Council Wednesday night with two “no” votes — by Supervisor Justin A. Taylor and Councilman Donald I. Turcotte.
By rejecting the proposed changes, which were based on the Clayton Wind Committee’s recommendations calling for expanded setbacks and a stricter cap on noise levels, the town is keeping its current law — which includes setbacks of 1,250 feet from residences . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:45:50
CAPE COD — Wednesday’s approval for Cape Wind may grab the headlines but it’s far from the finish line in the view of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound.
“This is one piece of the puzzle but not the whole puzzle,” declared alliance CEO Audra Parker.
The next piece could be a court order.
“We will be seeking an injunction very shortly,” Parker said. “Cape Wind is prohibited from any construction until the FAA issues a final decision.”
The Federal Aviation Administration will make . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:45:48
Controversial plans to build 18 wind turbines which will tower more than 360ft over the north-east skyline are expected to receive the backing of councillors next week.
Swedish energy firm Vattenfall wants to erect the windfarm at Clashindarroch Forest, four miles from the boundary with the Cairngorms National Park on land between Huntly and Rhynie.
Engineering and management group AMEC, which sold its wind energy division to Vattenfall, twice tried and failed to build a windfarm at the site after the . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:45:47
BARNSTABLE — Federal lawsuits may be on the horizon for Cape Wind, but the Nantucket Sound wind farm scored a victory this week in one local court case.
A Barnstable Superior Court judge Tuesday dismissed claims filed by the town of Barnstable and the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound that the state secretary of energy and environmental affairs acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in granting a certificate of approval to Cape Wind Associates.
The town and the Alliance argued that the secretary of . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:45:45
BOSTON – After nearly a decade of debate that divided the Cape and Islands, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm yesterday, heralding it as the start of a new era in national energy policy and a precursor to the spread of turbines along the East Coast.
“Cape Wind will be the United States’ first offshore wind farm,” Salazar said in a room crowded with reporters and officials at the Statehouse in Boston.
Renewable energy advocates praised . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 13:45:43
The Liberal government has shot down an opposition motion to place an immediate moratorium on wind turbines until their health effects are further studied.
Nearly 250 people descended on Queen’s Park Wednesday to protest the presence of the turbines near residential areas. They claim the turbines cause low-frequency noise and have sickened nearly 106 Ontario residents, causing a variety of health ailments ranging from hypertension to sleeplessness and nosebleeds in children.
People are suffering and their concerns are being dismissed, Dr. Robert . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 05:43:35
Protest speech – demonstration 22 April, 2010, at 12:00 in Copenhagen
“No one above The Parliament. And no one next to The Parliament”. This I was told by my history teacher who was also headmaster and politically active.
He could talk for hours about the Constitution of June 5, 1849, and about the transition from absolute monarchy to a democracy, where smallholders, fishermen, farmers, workers, and business managers came in from the fields and other working places to debate and make political . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 05:43:33
CONCORD – The state has accepted an application to operate a 48-megawatt wind park in Groton and now has nine months to decide whether to approve it.
On Monday, Thomas B. Getz, presiding officer and vice chair of the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee, wrote that a comprehensive review has found the application by Iberdrola Renewables Inc. is complete and will proceed to public and adversarial hearings. None have yet been scheduled.
The Spanish company operates a 24-megawatt wind park in Lempster.
It . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 05:43:31
We all have opinions based on a certain level of information or personal experience. When we do not have enough personal knowledge or experience, we trust in the opinions of others that we respect or deem more knowledgeable. This is the foundation of marketing.
When it comes to the kind of cars we drive or the kind of cola we drink, being persuaded by public relations firms is harmless enough — often we are not even aware of the mechanisms employed . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 05:43:30
Premier Dalton McGuinty is dismissing requests from protesters to delay the introduction of more industrial wind turbines to generate electricity.
About 100 people from dozens of small communities gathered on the front lawn of the provincial legislature on Wednesday, asking the province to impose a moratorium on new wind turbines until possible impacts on human health have been studied.
But McGuinty says wind turbines have been used for decades to generate electricity without any serious health implications, so he won’t agree to . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 05:43:28
FORT MADISON — On the day President Obama stopped at Siemens and touted advancements in wind energy, a hard truth came to light on the other side of town. Wind energy is not cheaper. At least that is what Tom Aller of Alliant Energy/Interstate Power and Light told a crowd at St. Mary’s Parish Center in Fort Madison.
The Iowa Utilities Board held a meeting for the public to ask questions and discuss a proposed 11.7 percent increase in electric rates.
Aller . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 05:43:27
A company that makes and repairs wind turbine blades said Wednesday it is laying off about one-third of the work force at its plant in the eastern South Dakota town of Howard.
Knight & Carver Wind Group Inc. is laying off 16 of the Howard plant’s 55 workers this week, and the firm might temporarily close the plant in about a month, said Gary Kanaby, a company vice president in San Diego.
The company, which has operated in Howard for about three . . .
Updated: 2010-04-29 05:43:25
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday approved the nation’s first offshore wind farm, signing off on a project that has split Cape Cod over the last nine years.
The 130 turbines are to be located several miles from the Massachusetts shore in the iconic waters of Nantucket Sound.
“I am approving the Cape Wind project,” Salazar told reporters in Boston. “This will be the first of many projects up and down the coast.”
The location of the wind farm has stirred heated . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:27
BOSTON – US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm today, a move proponents herald as a giant leap forward and opponents decry as a dangerous misstep.
His approval is the culmination of nearly a decade of review by local, state and federal agencies of the plan to build 130 wind turbines on Horseshoe Shoal in the Sound.
The so-called “record of decision” to approve a lease for the plan by Cape Wind Associates, LLC opens the door . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:26
Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar today will approve the controversial, long-delayed Cape Wind project, which would construct 130 wind turbines along Horseshoe Shoal on Nantucket Sound, sources told the Herald.
Gov. Deval Patrick, a strong clean-energy proponent who favors the project, and a large contingent of state officials will be at his side for the announcement at the State House. Patrick and the governors of five other East Coast states recently sent Salazar a letter in favor of the project.
But Sen. Scott . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:24
The Golden Valley Electric Association announced plans Tuesday at its annual meeting to pursue the Eva Creek wind project, a $93 million effort to generate about 24 megawatts of power near Healy.
“After almost a decade of planning, study and research we finally think that we have a project that makes economic sense,” said Brian Newton, the GVEA president and CEO.
He said the final decision on the project is to be made in the next few months. It would be . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:23
Weather’s whims — and the ability to predict them — have become another hot button in the electric power industry’s debates over the future of wind generation in the United States.
Wind generators now deliver about 2 percent of the nation’s electric power. That could grow to 20 percent in 15 or 20 years, according to government studies — but not without a substantial improvement in the speed and quality of weather and wind forecasting, experts agree.
None of the current computer . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:21
City councillors are chastising the Ontario government for passing a Green Energy Act with clauses that take away from municipalities the ability to decide whether to allow certain energy facilities or where to locate them.
“Municipal governments are being left out of the decision- making process, and the very fact that we’re excluded is inappropriate,” Coun. Marguerite Ceschi-Smith told city councillors this week.
She got 10-1 support on a resolution imploring the Dalton McGuinty government to give municipalities a chance to review . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:19
The leader of the Residents Against Tay Turbines (RATTs) group today said members were learning “on the hoof” as they fight renewable energy proposals for Dundee docks.
Bob Adam readily admitted he had almost no knowledge of turbines or biomass fuel plants until the campaign to stop two such developments at the harbour got under way.
The group is determined to stop Forth Energy’s plan to erect two huge wind turbines at Stannergate and has also stated its objections to a proposed . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:18
BOSTON — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar was headed to Boston on Wednesday to make a noon announcement on whether the Cape Wind project, the nation’s first offshore wind farm, off the coast of Cape Cod, will go forward.
Massachusetts state and federal officials said they were hopeful that Mr. Salazar would approve the project, which has been stalled for more than nine years. No decision has been made public, but the officials suggested that it was unlikely that Mr. . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:16
LOWVILLE — Nearly a month after the Maple Ridge Wind Farm regained Empire Zone certification, local taxing jurisdictions are still awaiting the balance of last year’s annual payment.
And the municipalities plan to resume legal action against Flat Rock Windpower, the company under which Maple Ridge was developed, if the $6.7 million isn’t released soon.
“They’ve demonstrated a level of arrogance that I’ve not seen in commercial transactions dealing with taxing jurisdictions,” Lewis County Attorney Richard J. Graham said. “They are behaving . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:15
Numerous citizens voiced support and opposition Tuesday night for the proposed Pleasant Valley Wind Project, mostly being planned in north-central Mower County.
Members of the Mower County Planning Commission took public comment but did not vote on six requests for conditional use permits from RES Americas for three substations and three transmission-line routes for the project.
RES, of Minneapolis, is proposing to build and operate a 300-megawatt wind farm in southern and northern Mower counties, from just north of Interstate 90 going . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:13
About 40 local wind farm opponents planned to be among some 400 people rallying today at Queen’s Park to stall wind turbine development in Ontario until health questions are answered.
The 7:30 a.m. bus from Chatsworth and other Grey County stops is the second trip to Toronto for Lorrie Gillis and other Wind Concerns Ontario affiliates to support a Conservative motion raising concerns about health and wind turbines.
The Ontario Progressive Conservative caucus was to introduce a motion today seeking a moratorium . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:12
Building a mountainside wind farm in Blaenau Gwent would ruin the character of an area which has “been raped by the energy industry in the past”, a public inquiry heard yesterday.
Pennant Wind Energy Ventures Ltd applied for permission to build four 328-foot high turbines on Mynydd James between Cwmtillery and Blaina, but Blaenau Gwent threw out the application in January last year.
The developers, who are working on the project with Eco2 Ltd, appealed against the decision prompting a planning inspectorate . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:11
Plans for a windfarm overlooking a north-east town have been rejected by councillors over fears for the safety of passing aircraft.
The proposal for 12 turbines at Meikle Carewe near Stonehaven was thrown out by councillors who said the developer had failed to tie up loose ends since the original application nearly 10 years ago.
Glasgow-based RES Developments wants to build the 230ft structures on a ridge-line which objectors fear would spoil the view from Stonehaven War Memorial.
The plans split councillors at . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:09
The Armow Wind Farm in the Municipality of Kincardine, has yet to receive a power contract, but it has already drawn criticism from the neighbours.
About 25 people, part of Central Bruce-Grey Wind Concerns Ontario, gathered in front of the Armow Women’s Institute Hall, in the former Kincardine Township, Tuesday evening (April 20), offering information to people heading into a public open house for the proposed Acciona wind farm in the Armow area.
“The people gathered here today are neighbours, landowners and . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:08
Only days away from making a historic decision on the Cape Wind project in Massachusetts, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar earlier this week was palling around with executives from another Boston wind firm at the center of a controversy over the hiring of one of its key managers.
Salazar, who is expected to make a decision this week on the Cape Wind project, was in Utah inspecting a separate wind farm built by Boston’s First Wind.
Executives at First Wind gave Salazar . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:06
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s wind energy industry got a major boost Tuesday when directors of the Southwest Power Pool approved nearly $500 million worth of high-voltage transmission lines and equipment statewide as priority projects.
Proposed 345-kilovolt transmission lines in western and southern Oklahoma are part of $1.14 billion in new priority projects approved by Southwest Power Pool’s board of directors and members committee. The Southwest Power Pool oversees power transmission projects in eight states.
The new transmission lines are only the beginning . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:04
TORONTO – Tim Hudak and the Ontario PC caucus will introduce a motion in the Ontario Legislature today calling on the McGuinty government restore planning authority to Ontario municipalities so that no industrial wind farm can be imposed on a community that does not want one.
Dalton McGuinty’s so-called ‘Green Energy Act’ allows the Toronto-based energy bureaucrats at the Ontario Power Authority to arbitrarily place industrial wind farms anywhere in Ontario regardless of the views of the democratically elected local governments.
Municipalities . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:03
Anti-windfarm campaigners have hit out at proposals for more turbines off the North Wales coast following an exhibition of plans in Llandudno.
As reported in the Pioneer last week, the new development is being proposed by energy group Centrica who have released plans which site the windfarm nine miles off the coast of Anglesey in the Irish Sea.
The plans were shown in Llandudno last week, with campaigners against windfarms condemning them as disastrous for the area.
Mike Pritchard, secretary for Save Our . . .
Updated: 2010-04-28 17:32:02
The ex-Kingstonians planning to erect 60 to 90 wind turbines west of Wolfe Island in the waters of Lake Ontario have pegged the price of the project at $1.5 billion.
Ian and Nancy Baines were in town this week to meet with Kingston Economic Development Corporation officials to begin preparing for what they describe as the largest energy renewable project in Canada.
“I’m here … to look at what the possibilities are to get materials, labour, expertise, as much as possible from . . .
Updated: 2010-04-08 12:21:45
This year’s Federal budget is wildly over the top in its claims to be stimulating the economy. And in the renewable energy sector, the only Federal program of note has lost its funding. There will be less jobs building renewable energy facilities in the future.
The Government has had the EcoEnergy for Renewable Power [...]
