Updated: 2013-01-11 15:24:37
CAPE VINCENT — Town officials got together Thursday afternoon to identify issues that need to be addressed during the state Article X siting process for the proposed Cape Vincent Wind Farm. Town Councilman Clifford P. Schneider said developer BP Wind Energy, in its correspondence with the town government, talks about its proposed project almost as if a wind farm in Cape Vincent is “inevitable.” “This is not a done deal,” Mr. Schneider said. “And it’s not inevitable.” Town councilmen, planners . . .
Updated: 2013-01-11 14:13:13
OREGON – It’s no longer just a whisper: A Spain-based company is withdrawing its plans for a wind farm in Ogle County. Gamesa USA had planned the Whispering Prairie wind farm for Ogle, Winnebago and Stephenson counties. But in November, the company informed landowners that it was terminating the lease options for wind turbines. The company said it found the wind project wasn’t commercially viable. It’s one of a number of proposed projects in Ogle County that have fallen by . . .
Updated: 2013-01-11 14:13:11
MONTPELIER — A rare shakeup in Senate committee assignments Thursday bounced Sen. Virginia Lyons out as chairwoman of the Natural Resources and Energy Committee she has led for many years, and put in her place a leading proponent of a statewide moratorium on wind development. Sen. Robert Hartwell, D-Bennington, was appointed to chair the committee. The move sets up a standoff between the House and Senate over wind and renewable power in general, though those who made the decision claimed . . .
Updated: 2013-01-11 14:13:06
TRAVERSE CITY — The state’s oldest commercial, utility-owned windmill is showing its age. The wind turbine constructed in 1996 by Traverse City Light & Power on M-72 in Elmwood Township hasn’t worked properly for over four months. The turbine initially broke down Aug. 28. It took four months to find and obtain a replacement part at a cost of almost $38,000. Workers installed the new part on Jan. 4, and two days later it broke down again. Utility workers had . . .
Updated: 2013-01-11 14:13:01
It’s widely acknowledged that renewable energy has tangible environmental and economic benefits. Always progressive, Ann Arbor is making steps toward a clean-energy future with the recent installation of solar panels on University of Michigan property on Plymouth Road and the planned installation of two wind turbines in partnership with Ann Arbor Public Schools. However, community members feel as though they were not consulted and are understandably upset. While it’s indisputable that renewable energy is beneficial in the long-term for the . . .
Updated: 2013-01-11 14:12:40
Campaigners are celebrating after plans for a new wind farm were refused after four years of objections. Plans for the Bishopwood Wind Farm in Selby would have included seven turbines, each standing 125m tall, on land near Thorpe Willoughby and Hambleton. But the application was rejected by Selby District Council’s planning committee at a meeting last week. The reasons for the unsuccessful planning application were listed as lack of information supplied by the wind farm developers Prowind and noise concerns. . . .
Updated: 2013-01-11 14:12:07
When We Energies began operating Wisconsin’s largest wind energy farm in Columbia County a little more than a year ago, Louis Caracci anticipated certain challenges — lightning strikes, high-altitude repairs and complaints from the neighbors about noise from the turbines. He didn’t anticipate a We Energies repair truck sustaining $1,400 in damage after being gored, twice, by a bull. Caracci, operations supervisor for We Energies, said no one was hurt when the raging bull charged the repair truck, but the . . .
Updated: 2013-01-11 14:12:04
A village community is up in arms after a company applied to build a wind farm 600 metres from homes. WilloWind Energy want to build eight 126 metre high turbines at Corwar Mains Farm, 5km south east of Barrhill. The planning application, which includes over 100 documents, has been presented to South Ayrshire Council and is currently being reviewed. But the proposal has sparked outrage. Hundreds of online objections have been submitted and dozens of letters sent in to the . . .
Updated: 2013-01-11 14:12:01
The savings exclude the capital costs of the project, which was built without city funds.
The $587,000 project received the bulk of its funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and $100,000 each from We Energies and the statewide Focus on Energy program.
Updated: 2013-01-11 14:11:23
Energy giants Scottish Power will press ahead with plans for a controversial £64 million windfarm in the shadow of a beauty spot. Tweet The firm says it has reduced the scale of the project at Dyfnant Forest near Lake Vyrnwy which it has been working on since 2008 and says it will stage public information days next month to outline its fresh plans. But Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies today described the plans as ‘disastrous’ for the region. Scottish Power said . . .
Updated: 2013-01-11 14:11:20
Another wind farm application near Barrhill has caused outrage among residents who could see turbines built only a few hundred metres from their homes. In addition to the nearly 90 turbines already operating in the countryside around Barrhill, and the additional 99 planned, Corwar wind farm will comprise eight turbines located 6km east of the village. After community consultation in October the application was received by South Ayrshire Council last month. And residents say they are horrified by the intrusion . . .
Updated: 2013-01-11 14:11:00
POWELL TOWNSHIP — A wind turbine project in Marquette County is up in the air. Tom Baldwin, the owner of the Granot Loma farm in Powell Township, built a turbine on his property. He wants to utilize alternative energy and eliminate his $20,000 yearly electric bill. Baldwin is also looking to sell the excess electricity generated back to his power company, Alger-Delta Electric. But after three years of construction, the turbine isn’t spinning yet. It needs to be connected to . . .
Updated: 2013-01-11 14:10:31
BETHANY – A question-and-answer meeting quickly deteriorated Thursday night as more than 230 area residents opposed to a proposed wind farm in their community chanted, blew whistles and shouted down a panel of experts assembled to answer their questions. “We don’t want you here” and “Go home,” they repeatedly yelled as the meeting got under way in the gymnasium of Rolling Hills Public School. The Snowy Ridge project, a five-turbine wind farm east of Hwy. 35 north of Hwy. 7A, . . .
Updated: 2013-01-11 14:10:25
The consortium behind controversial plans for a wind farm off the coast of Aberdeen – branded a “monstrous eyesore” by tycoon Donald Trump – has submitted a planning application for the onshore works connected to the development, it was revealed today. The American billionaire has repeatedly threatened to pull the plug on his £750 million golf resort development at the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire because of the plans for the 11-turbine offshore sceheme, spearheaded by Swedish electricity company Vattenfall. The . . .
Updated: 2013-01-11 14:10:22
The county council’s environment chief has welcomed Government intervention calling for local views on wind farms to be taken more seriously. Planning Minister Nick Boles is reported to have made the appeal to Energy Minister John Hayes in a private letter opposing plans for more onshore and offshore wind turbines. In October 2012 Staffordshire County Council established its position that large scale wind farm applications should be refused unless they can demonstrate real benefits to people living in the areas . . .
Updated: 2013-01-11 14:10:19
The people behind the redevelopment of the former Royal Navy armaments depot at Broughton Moor fear that a proposed wind turbine at Dearham could jeopardise their plans. Energy firm Infinergy wants to put up a 250ft turbine at West House Farm, which it says would generate up to 500kW of electricity. But Story Homes and Derwent Forest Development Consortium have objected on the grounds that the turbine could harm the proposed development of the Derwent Forest site. Their objection, sent . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:17:16
A Hubertus developer has submitted a formal application to build a wind farm in the Town of Sherman, nearly six months after the project was first unveiled to the public. The application was filed with town leaders last month and made available to the public within the past week, according to town officials. The developer, EEW Services LLC, hopes to begin construction this year on the Windy Acres Wind Farm on 400 acres east of state Highway 57, west of . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:17:14
Six Nations residents are shocked NextEra Energy Canada has removed an eagles nest and cut down the tree that held it over the weekend. NextEra cut down the tree to construct a road access for their Summerhaven wind turbine project. Ministry of Natural Resources gave the company approval to remove the nest Dec., 31 but neither the MNR or NextEra informed Six Nations of the move. The MNR permit held a proviso that the tree had to be removed by . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:16:57
Spanish utility giant Iberdrola Renewables still plans on “going ahead with Tule Wind” in McCain Valley near Boulevard despite a string of financial setbacks, Paul Copleman, media relations spokesman at Iberdrola USA, told ECM. Iberdrola, the world’s largest operator of wind farms, sold off $1.1 billion in assets in 2012 to reduce its staggering 32 million euros of debt as the company’s Standard and Poors Rating teetered just above junk bond status. Assets sold included 32 wind farms in France . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:16:53
HAMMOND — Spanish energy company Iberdrola Renewables is saying “Adios!” to its proposed Stone Church wind project. The company has withdrawn from its leases with landowners and will remove test towers it has in the town. “We are removing the meteorological towers and no longer developing the project,” said company spokesman Paul N. Copleman. “It’s not to say that we don’t believe it would one day be a good site for a wind farm, but we won’t be pursuing it.” . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:16:49
The state of Massachusetts should restore links of the testimony, given by the public for public record, on the state government web site. The public, quite easily, could speculate that disappearance of public records would be an obstacle to government transparency.
As a matter of context, the listening session in 2009 was designed, in part, to ‘re-test the water’ for re-marketing the two Vestas V82 industrial wind turbines owned by the state’s agency advocating renewable energy – the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC). Better known today as the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MCEC).
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:16:45
The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is concerned that a proposed wind farm development near Letterkenny could disturb a population of red grouse on the site. Donegal County Council is seeking further information on an application to build a large wind farm outside Letterkenny. The council has requested more information from the applicants on the application by GDNG Renewables Ltd to build 16 wind turbines at a height of 152 metres and with a rotor blade length of . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:16:21
An action group has been set up to fight plans to build a wind turbine near two Banburyshire villages. Stop Middleton Cheney Windfarm has been set up after an application to build a 55m turbine on land between Middleton Cheney and Chacombe was submitted to South Northamptonshire Council. The deadline for objections to the development is Thursday, January 17 and members of the group are urging people to show their opposition. Clive Nichols lives in Chacombe, near the proposed turbine, . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:16:11
Hundreds have spoken out against the decision while the story has made headlines across the province and beyond. Barrett finds it interesting that the MNR upgraded the status of bald eagles from a species-at-risk to a species of special concern several weeks ago. The upgrade, Barrett says, conveniently coincides with the pending arrival of more than 180 turbines in Haldimand County.
Barrett added that the nest’s removal represents a stunning admission that industrial wind turbines are hazardous to wildlife.
“Very clearly, wind turbines kill eagles,” Barrett said. “Why else would they remove the nest?”
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:16:07
West Lincoln residents opposed to industrial wind turbines in their community may get from council what they have long been asking for. At a rescheduled council meeting Wednesday night at South Lincoln High School, after a dozen residents spoke out against the project, Ald. Alexander Micallef announced he would be bringing a motion to council’s next meeting regarding industrial wind turbines. “It’s come to my attention that other municipalities have taken bold actions,” said Micallef, citing Wainfleet’s passing of a . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:16:02
Villagers who attended a public meeting about plans for a new wind turbine have voted overwhelmingly to oppose the planning application. The proposals for the site at Cherry Tree Farm, off Blind Lane in Lyng, near Dereham, would see a single turbine constructed, with a maximum height of 77m. Lyng parish clerk Peter Dilloway said 57 people went to the parish council meeting on Wednesday night for the 90-minute discussion about the proposals. He said they raised a number of . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:15:22
IPSWICH/BELSTEAD: The row over proposals to build huge new wind turbines to the south of the town has taken a new turn. The company promoting the bid has now said two turbines should be built – one on borough council-owned land at Thorington Hall and the other on privately-owned land on the other side of rail line at Pannington Hall Farm. Partnerships for Renewables (PfR) has published a new newsletter that it is distributing to local residents outlining its proposals . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:15:20
The row over a proposed wind turbine in a village near Truro has escalated. Backers of the community turbine in Ladock have now put in a planning application, but opponents said their research showed it was unwanted. The Low Carbon Ladock co-operative and Green Trust Community Interest Company have put forward plans for the installation of the 76m turbine in Ladock. They had previously carried out a survey of parish residents showing 56 per cent of 308 people who responded . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:15:17
This hasn’t been a great month so far for wind turbine fans in the United Kingdom. First, a report released just before New Years found that many wind turbines’ effective lifespans are much shorter than expected. And this week, a respected British ecologist is slamming the wind industry, saying that wind power is “devastating populations of rare birds and bats across the world, driving some to the point of extinction.” In an essay that’s getting some serious traction in environmentalist . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:15:13
In the 60s I was professionally involved in the design of wind turbines for electricity generation. Even then it was clear that they could never be an economical source of energy for the Grid. It is always inefficient to convert low-level energy into high-level energy. Our applications were confined to pipelines in remote desert areas. I have consequently taken a peripheral interest in their development and application ever since, regarding their only good feature being that, unlike nuclear power plants . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:15:10
ANTRIM — An alternative energy company and the Harris Center for Conservation Education have agreed to conservation measures on the site of a proposed wind farm. Under a recent agreement, Antrim Wind Energy LLC will permanently conserve about 120 acres of land near the summit of Willard Mountain, according to a news release from the wind company. A subsidiary of Portsmouth-based Eolian Renewable Energy, Antrim Wind is proposing a 30-megawatt wind farm on about 1,850 acres of private land near . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:15:07
If our studies conclude that this high-priced, intermittent power is worth the environmental destruction and social upheaval it is causing, then a three-year time-out will not mean the end of the world. If, on the other hand, our studies show this particular tool is the wrong one for Vermont, then our time will have been well spent.
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:15:05
FAIRHAVEN — Windwise attorney Ann DeNardis said Monday the group won’t appeal a judge’s decision on the siting of one of the wind turbines. A judge ruled a few weeks ago in the town’s favor. “The plaintiffs have opted not to appeal,” Ms. DeNardis said Monday after attending a Board of Health meeting with members of Windwise. She added, “At this time we will pursue other avenues.” Ms. DeNardis said they were not ready to make their plans public yet. . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:15:00
A scheme to build a wind turbine in Northamptonshire has been refused. The plan to build the 78-metre wide turbine at Wormslade Farm, Kelmarsh, went before Daventry Council’s planning committee on Wednesday night and was rejected by councillors. A scheme to build a six-turbine wind farm nearby at Haselbech, near the site of the battle of Naseby, was refused permission by councillors in 2011. But energy firm E.ON appealed and a planning inspector granted permission. ‘Entirely unsuitable’ In a report . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:14:58
Everywhere around the country, wind energy developers are dusting off plans for wind farms following the one-year renewal of a federal tax credit as part of the “fiscal cliff” bill. Last year Kansas saw the most wind farm construction of any state in the nation, more than 1,000 megawatts of capacity. But by early fall, the industry, expecting the expiration of the tax credit on Jan. 1, had put the brakes on projects and laid off workers. With the tax . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 20:14:52
A 101m wind turbine near Aylesbury has been recommended for rejection by council officers – as opponents plan to hover a helicopter high in the Bucks skies. Aylesbury Vale District Council’s development control committee will vote on the plan next week, but the case officer says it should be turned down because of the visual impact it would have on the area. But before this happens, opponents have paid nearly £1,000 for a helicopter to hover 101m above the ground . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 13:15:38
The Brown County Board of Health is considering drafting a low-frequency noise ordinance amid complaints of health problems for residents living near the Shirley Wind Farm in southern Brown County. Testing was conducted in December to find if low-frequency noise generated by wind turbines at the site in Glenmore was responsible for the residents’ health complaints. Scientists did not find a correlation but recommended further testing at the site. The Board of Health wants to hire Rick James, an acoustician, . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 13:15:36
Iberdrola Renewables has confirmed that the meteorological test towers have been disabled and the company will no longer pursue developing the Stone Church industrial wind farm in Hammond, a project the company has been courting for the past several years. Clayton’s proposed Horse Creek Wind Farm will not be affected. The project could have up to 48 turbines, near Route 12, south of the village of Clayton. The company informed the town last fall that it intends to seek project . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 13:15:33
Scituate — Members of the wind turbine steering committee continue to discuss and debate the primary focus of a study to determine if the turbine is responsible for adverse health effects being experienced by residents living nearby. Formed by the Scituate Board of Health to address issues relating to the wind turbine, the steering committee is comprised of Michael Vazza of the board of health, Director of Public Health, Jennifer Sullivan, Gordon Deane, president of Palmer Capital Corporation, the manager . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 13:15:27
GOLDSBORO, N.C. – Governor McCrory has vowed to protect the military’s interests against the effects of a proposed wind farm in the East. For more than two years, a clean energy company in Chicago has been trying to build an 11,000 acre wind farm, consisting of 49 turbines, in Beaufort County north of U.S. 264 between Washington and Pantego. The company, Invenergy, says the turbines could generate 80 megawatts of power, which is enough electricity to power 15,000 homes. But . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 13:15:22
Families in a rural hamlet were celebrating a job well done yesterday after securing an overwhelming victory in their fight against plans to build a wind farm near their homes. Campaigners in 14-home Fenrother, near Morpeth, Northumberland, said they are relieved and delighted after county councillors unanimously rejected the bid by Energiekontor UK for five turbines – each 126 metres tall – on nearby farmland. A local action group set up more than a year ago to oppose the scheme . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 13:14:58
They kept back Saxon invaders 1,500 years ago and now the 21st century inhabitants of a tiny hamlet are braced to repel a wind turbine. Residents of Maesbury in the Mendip parish of Croscombe have reacted with dismay to the proposal for a small quarry off the Old Frome Road once grazed by a solitary cow. The single turbine, more than 300 feet high, would dominate the landscape and limestone ridge line for 20 miles around. Plans include an electrical . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 13:14:56
The proposed Green Point Wind Farm near Piccaninni Ponds will not go ahead after developers withdrew their application for the controversial project this week. Wind Prospect has notified Grant District Council of its decision to withdraw the application, citing economic reasons for the move. “Wind Prospect is no longer proceeding with the development and construction of the Green Point Wind Farm and would like to advise the council that we are withdrawing the development application for this project,” the company’s . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 13:14:53
EL RENO – Canadian County held a public hearing on the question of whether to establish a county planning commission for the purpose of bringing in orderly, coordinated physical development throughout the unincorporated portions of the county in accordance with present and future needs. County officials are considering forming a planning commission after residents in the Piedmont area voiced their concerns regarding the Kingfisher Wind Farm, which is making its way east towards the city limits. The hearing was held . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 13:14:51
Ontario’s opposition Tories have intensified demands for a halt to wind farms after the release of government documents showing bureaucrats repeatedly raised concerns about noise from turbines. “I think the taxpayers of Ontario deserve to know the truth,” Lisa Thompson, MPP for Huron-Bruce and PC deputy critic for green energy, said Wednesday. “It goes to show there is uncertainty everywhere with regards to the impacts of industrial wind turbines. Let’s hit the pause button and let’s do proper studies based . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 13:14:25
Selby District Council’s planning committee have refused permission to ‘Prowind’ who had plans to build a wind farm near Bishopwood. One of the reasons given was because additional information that SDC had requested, was not supplied by Prowind. Permission was being sought for the erection of 7 turbines on land close to Scalm Park, north of Hambleton and Thorpe Willoughby. The turbines would have stood 125 metres tall and would have been capable of generating 17.5 megawatts — enough to . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 13:14:22
Wind farm protestors have raised fears that TV signal reception in the Belford area could be badly hit if proposals for up to 25 turbines on the outskirts of the village get the green light. Research carried out by Middleton Burn Action Group (MBAG) has found that wind turbines at Middleton Burn and Belford Burn could interfere with TV signals being transmitted from the Chatton mast. Kerry Noble, MBAG vice chairman, said: “The BBC have a website where wind farm . . .
Updated: 2013-01-10 13:14:20
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management took public reaction to offshore wind energy coming to our area in a meeting tonight in Wilmington. There was a packed room of people talking turbines. While some supported the idea, others were not fans. Two of the three potential sites the bureau has identified on the North Carolina coast are in our area. One seven miles and one 13 miles south of Wilmington. The economic impact of wind energy was a major topic . . .
