WindAction EDITORIAL  (18 Jul) California - As California considers a 100% renewable-energy mandate, the state’s legislators should be asking what happens to California’s energy profile when the sun doesn’t shine and the winds don’t blow. → MORE Recent Articles (18 Jul) Ontario - Rumours of some kind of looming shutdown or closing at Siemens, one of four green energy plants lured to Ontario under a controversial multibillion-dollar provincial deal with Korean industrial giant Samsung, began a few weeks ago and intensified during the weekend. → MORE (16 Jul) Maryland - A wind energy developer is seeking judicial review of the Maryland Public Service Commission’s decision denying its request to construct a 17-turbine wind farm atop Dan’s Mountain. → MORE (16 Jul) UK - A survey carried out on behalf of the John Muir Trust (JMT) found that 55% of respondents were “less likely” to venture into areas of the countryside industrialised by giant turbines, electricity pylons and super-quarries. ...The poll has rekindled calls for Scottish ministers to increase protection for wild and scenic... → MORE (15 Jul) North Carolina - Cooper has until July 30 to consider the proposal, along with 110 other bills lawmakers left him before leaving Raleigh....Lawmakers "haven't made it easy with the addition of this wind moratorium," Cooper told reporters last week, "because you're essentially trying to pit renewables against each other. → MORE (14 Jul) Maryland - "We want them to be moved back to the horizon, so we don't see the towers. I really believe people come to Ocean City because they want to look out into the ocean, the undisturbed natural state of the ocean, and this will dramatically change that." -- Ocean City Mayor Rick... → MORE (14 Jul) Indiana - A meeting has yet to be scheduled for the committee this summer, but when they do meet, they are charged with specifically studying the construction of wind power devices in Indiana, along with the health effects, public safety implications, issues of property valuation, policies defining conflicts of interest and issues... → MORE (14 Jul) Massachusetts - “It’s just such a tremendous relief to me and it’s still taken these past couple of days to sink in,” said Barry A. Funfar, a plaintiff in the case that ultimately led the board of selectmen to drop legal proceedings. Mr. Funfar is one of several neighbors who argued that the... → MORE (13 Jul) Maryland - Starting in 2020 Maryland’s electricity consumers will be paying higher electric bills in order to subsidize two wind projects to be developed off the Ocean City waterfront. Over the lives of these projects the subsidies will total more than $2 billion. Despite this exorbitant cost the projects will deliver no... → MORE (12 Jul) New York - The ban on industrial wind turbine projects within 40 miles of airfields and military air bases (as addressed in Sen. Robert Ortt’s priority bill) would have freed the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station and its 3,000 employees from a critical base assessment criterion of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission... → MORE (11 Jul) Ireland - A couple has launched a High Court challenge over a decision to grant planning permission for a windfarm development close to their Cork home. → MORE (11 Jul) Denmark - The statistics from Denmark's statistics are scary: In 2016, Danish households paid an average of 17,700 DKK (2,714 US$) in so-called "green" taxes or a total of 47 billion. kr. (7 billion US$) → MORE (11 Jul) Virginia - "The all-in number is $300 million, and that includes some of the money that has been spent to date by Dominion on research and development," said David Botkins, a Dominion spokesman. ...The deal calls for Dong to build two 6 MW wind turbines 27 miles offshore of Virginia Beach. → MORE  (8 Jul) UK - Mr Javid agreed with the planning inspector that the area which fell under application A, on land in Rossendale, was valued for its "openness and tranquillity". The 115m wind turbines would have had a "significant adverse effect" on the landscape and views, he ruled. The final ruling can be accessed by... → MORE (6 Jul) Europe - More research will be required to determine safe set back distances from wind turbines, a leading scientist said in Tullamore last week. Dr Mariana Alves-Pereira was speaking to the Tribune after addressing a seminar on the effects of the turbines on animal and human health. → MORE (5 Jul) Iowa - But MidAmerican told the board the project would be economically feasible only if it's allowed to retain 100 percent of the PTCs. The IRS allows wind farm owners to requalify for the PTC for an additional 10 years under the 80/20 rule that requires no more than one-fifth of the fair... → MORE (5 Jul) New York - Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties are doing their part with the denial of PILOT tax breaks for wind facilities. That will mean that a significant local subsidy will go away. Now it’s time for citizens, business organizations and local politicians at the state level to get it together to oppose... → MORE (5 Jul) Australia - The question of whether wind turbines are physically capable of producing the adverse reactions claimed is unresolved. However, it is now scientifically demonstrated by Swedish researchers that amplitude-modulated low-frequency wind turbine noise can directly cause sleep disturbance, even in young fit people taking part in its research study. → MORE (30 Jun) Ontario - Acchione said the province is wasting the power through a practice called “curtailment.” It means that when the province’s hydro generators produce power consumers don’t need, and it can’t be exported, they have to dump it. ...“The numbers...show that Ontario’s cleanest source of power is literally going down the drain... → MORE (30 Jun) USA | Ohio - For the second time since 2014, the Ohio Air National Guard has backed away from its plans to erect a commercial-scale, $1.5 million wind turbine at Camp Perry — a decision that the region’s biggest birding organization hopes will put an end to five years of contentious litigation and send... → MORE (29 Jun) New York - Albany isn’t letting anything stand in the way of its overly aggressive renewable energy plan, and upstate families are paying for it. → MORE (28 Jun) Wyoming - The long-term need for greener electricity and our timeless winds are why our great-grandchildren may never experience many of our beautiful Wyoming vistas as the indigenous peoples and pioneers did and the way we do now. More likely, they will see an industrialized landscape — one scarred by thousands of bird-smashing... → MORE (28 Jun) Ohio - NexGen estimates the cost of repair at $250,000. Earlier this month, the company said it would need a 10-year extension to the contract set to expire in 2020 to make a repair project financially feasible. Conneaut is presently in the seventh year of the original 10-year contract. → MORE (28 Jun) Ohio - CLEVELAND --- Ohio lawmakers are not going to allow electric utilities to seek rate increases solely to buttress sagging credit ratings, as requested by one state utility → MORE  (27 Jun) Michigan - A 160-foot (50-meter) wind turbine blade broke in rural mid-Michigan, leaving it dangling above a field. The turbine is one of 75 GE 1.6-megawatt turbines located in Tuscola, Bay and Saginaw counties, Michigan. The project began commercial operation in 2012 → MORE (23 Jun) Illinois - When Eswood Elementary in Lindenwood, IL, got a wind turbine in 2012, it was supposed to cover its energy costs. Instead, its caused a whirlwind of problems. ...Since its installation, the turbine hasn't produced any electricity. → MORE (22 Jun) California - But CAISO concedes that curtailments and “negative pricing” is likely to happen even more often in the future as solar power production continues to grow, unless action is taken to better manage the excess electricity. Arizona’s largest utility, Arizona Public Service, is one of the biggest beneficiaries of California’s largesse because... → MORE (20 Jun) Maryland - The Maryland Public Service Commission has sided with a public utility law judge’s order denying a wind-power developer’s request to construct a 17-turbine wind farm on Dan’s Mountain, effectively killing the project. → MORE (20 Jun) USA | Texas - "Maintaining the ability to train Naval Aviators (sic) requires a safe operating environment with adequate airspace ... and supporting infrastructure such as outlying landing fields and weapons ranges," said Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy James Balocki. "Continued development may eventually overcome our ability to operationally adapt or consider feasible... → MORE (14 Jun) Hawaii - The proposed offshore wind farm projects in Hawaii will have to overcome various regulatory hurdles, construction challenges and public scrutiny, if they come at all. → MORE (14 Jun) Maine - The wind turbine was purchased and installed by Entegrity Wind Systems in February 2008 for about $200,000. A contract with Entegrity Wind guaranteed the turbine would produce about 90,000 kilowatt hours a year ...The wind turbine has never come close to generating amount of energy promised, and Entegrity Wind went... → MORE (14 Jun) Illinois - Lake Land College has removed two wind turbines after they suffered enough damage to render them inoperable. "The situation with the two 100 kW wind turbines is a snapshot of renewable energy in the United States in 2017," said Joseph Tillman, the division chair and Lake Land College's renewable energy instructor... → MORE (14 Jun) Nebraska - News reports indicate wind turbines collapse regularly in the U.S. and elsewhere. One county in eastern Michigan had two topple in one week last year. ...Ethan Thorp, 27, of Steele City, went out to see the downed wind turbine near Diller ...he's grateful the tower and turbine came down in... → MORE  (14 Jun) USA | Iowa - Besides taking exception to the procedural tack chosen by MidAmerican, the tech companies said the commission should decide the prudence of the proposed investment instead of doing it when the utility fields its next rate case, which will be at least a decade. ..."The board must thoroughly consider the proposal in... → MORE (10 Jun) Tennessee - The controversial wind turbine project planned for eastern Cumberland County has been suspended by the developer. Apex Clean Energy announced the decision Friday afternoon. → MORE (8 Jun) Ontario - In several records, staff noted that wind turbine noise exceeded regulations: ““Staff have attended at the complainants homes on multiple occasions … noise measurements were obtained…subjective observations were made by Provincial Officers…the conclusion of the POs were that the noise emissions from the wind turbines were causing an adverse effect... → MORE (8 Jun) Texas - Officials with Southern Company, which owns the turbine, said it started around 5:30 p.m. at the company's Salt Fork Wind Facility. → MORE (22 May) UK - Wildlife experts claim that the noise generated by wind turbines can affect the sonar whales use to navigate, steering them off course. There are several commercial wind farms off East Anglia including Gunfleet Sands, which has 48 turbines. → MORE (17 May) South Dakota - The Hughes County Commission made the right decision on Monday when it put a six-month moratorium on wind-farm development. → MORE (12 May) USA | Michigan - To be sure, these results haven’t been reported by mainstream media. But then, the fact that rural communities from Maine to California are rejecting Big Wind doesn’t fit the popular media’s narrative that wind energy is “green.” → MORE (11 May) Maryland - The PSC decision comes just a week after the Mayor and Council fired off another strongly worded letter to the regulatory agency expressing a desire to have the offshore turbines sited at least 26 miles off the coast, or a distance determined to far enough out to have a zero... → MORE (11 May) Vermont - Editor’s note: This commentary is Mark Whitworth, who is president of Energize Vermont, a statewide organization that supports sustainable energy development that protects our environment and respects our communities. → MORE (8 May) Germany - Representatives of the wind power sector have complained of a lack of acceptance for this form of energy production in Thuringia. The four dialogue forums, organized by the state government in 2016, were too little to reduce reservations about projects, said Michael Heinrich of plant engineer Enercon on Monday at... → MORE (2 May) USA | Michigan | Oklahoma | Ontario | Missouri - The world’s biggest wind-turbine company has filed lawsuits against five rural governments because they stand between it and millions in tax subsidies. → MORE (1 May) USA - If the plaintiffs are deemed to have standing and clear other threshold hurdles, the court is likely to apply these principles to address their claim that NEPA requires BOEM to consider multiple ocean areas before leasing any area to a potential wind farm developer. → MORE Recent Documents  (21 Jun) Massachusetts - In this important ruling issued by Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Cornelius J. Moriarty II, the court ordered that the decision of the Falmouth MA Zoning Board of Appeals be affirmed to the extent that the operation of Wind 1 and Wind 2 constitute a nuisance and that the Town of... → MORE  (12 Apr) California | USA - For wind proponents who insist that wildlife can co-exist around operating wind turbines, this study explains how the behavior of animals resident within a wind project site changed their behavior and avoided the project area. In particular, the researchers identified the loss of habitat due to the access roads and... → MORE  (23 Feb) - This important paper models the mortality risk of migratory bats due to wind turbine installations. The abstract and introduction of the paper are provided on this page. The full paper can be accessed from the links on this page. → MORE Recent Pictures  (13 Jun) Nebraska - One of the 44 GE 1.7 MW turbines sited at NextEra's Steele Flats wind facility suffered a catastrophic collapse. The 74.8-megawatt wind plant located in Jefferson and Gage Counties, Nebraska was placed in service in October 2013. → MORE  (8 Jun) Texas - There was another fire at an operating wind plant in Texas. The turbine was part of the 174 MW Salt Fork Wind project, located in Donley and Gray Counties, east of Amarillo. The 87 Vestas V100 (2.0 MW) wind turbines was installed by EDF Renewables and placed into service in December... → MORE Recent Videos (9 Jun) Iowa - This 2.5 MW Clipper model C-96 turbine, part of NextEra's Endeavor I Wind Energy Center, burned for hours before this video was taken. The video shows the turbine's massive blade fall to the ground after first standing on its end before collapsing into a trail of black smoke and flames. The Endeavor I facility... → MORE (24 Apr) Oklahoma - Oklahoma's Former Governor, Frank Keating, explains in this 60-second advertisement how he made a mistake in passing a law that helped fund the wind industry in his state and handed the bill to the state's taxpayers. → MORE
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