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Wind Alert! 5-Mar-2019

News and information from The WindAction Group

facts, analysis, exposure of industrial wind energy's real impacts - www.windAction.org

Issue: 5-Mar-2019

WindAction EDITORIAL

Wind Turbine Noise: Real Impacts on Neighbors

The wind industry is heavily invested in a propaganda campaign aimed at convincing the public that wind turbine noise is safe at any distance. ...but the damage from turbines can no longer be ignored. There are enough turbines operating worldwide, and enough people impacted, for the public to recognize turbine... → MORE

Recent Articles

Board will decide fate of windmill farm

Opponents of a local wind farm won a major victory this week with the Erie County commissioners, but who wins the war on wind turbines will be decided in Columbus. The Erie County commissioners voted to deny the payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) requested by Apex Clean Energy for... → MORE

NextEra hit with proposed class action over Nebraska wind farm

Filed on Friday in West Palm Beach federal court, the lawsuit is seeking damages to be determined at trial for hundreds of residents nationwide who live within three miles of a NextEra wind turbine. → MORE

Wind-farm developer's suit against township's zoning rules to continue

Basically, EDP is challenging the validity of Murdock Township's zoning, arguing that the Douglas County wind regulations that have been in place for some time should supersede those of the township. Murdock Township responded to the lawsuit with motions asking the court to dismiss the EDP complaints, and Thursday, Judge... → MORE

California's San Bernardino County slams the brakes on big solar (and wind) projects

California's largest county has banned the construction of large solar and wind farms on more than 1 million acres of private land, bending to the will of residents who say they don’t want renewable energy projects industrializing their rural desert communities northeast of Los Angeles. → MORE

Missouri regulators signal readiness to OK Grain Belt Express transmission project

“We remain committed to defending property rights,” said Jennifer Gatrel, a spokeswoman for Block Grain Belt Express. Gatrel said there’s strong local government opposition to the project along the planned route and she believes many of the eight county commissions will refuse to sign off on needed assents allowing construction.  → MORE

Why renewables can’t save the planet

I think it’s natural that those of us who became active on climate change gravitated toward renewables. They seemed like a way to harmonize human society with the natural world. ...But it’s high time that those of us who appointed ourselves Earth’s guardians should take a second look at the... → MORE

Rural landowners air opposition to industrial wind farms

“When you give them a windmill, you give up rights on that land for the rest of your life,” Sandager said. “They can declare bankruptcy and you’re stuck with a pedestal and windmill that has no value. When you want to spray with an aerial or spray rig, you have... → MORE

Turbine shutdowns in polar vortex stoke Midwest debate

By the evening of Jan. 30, there was less than 550 MW on the MISO North grid, supplying just 2.5 percent of the region's power. The temperature, which had bottomed out an hour earlier, had fallen to minus 21 F with a minus 31 F wind chill. That dip in... → MORE

Danish wind turbine project facing stormy weather in Mexico

However, a project dubbed Eólica del Sur, Sydvind, which has been given the go-ahead involving the Danish firm Vestas, has been drawing fire from indigenous peoples in the Oaxaca region. The Mexican government is being accused of going ahead with the project and riding roughshod over the feelings of the... → MORE

Fishermen approve controversial compensation deal

Lanny Dellinger, chairman of the Fishermen’s Advisory Board (FAB), and Grover Fugate, executive director of the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), admitted that Vineyard Wind had the leverage in negotiations and that agreeing to a slightly improved compensation offer is better than no deal at all. → MORE

El Nino's taking the wind out of sales of U.S. power generators

Unusually still weather in the upper Midwest and Great Plains in late 2018 has already taken a bite out of earnings at NextEra Energy Inc. and Avangrid Inc., which both operate large wind farms. Other wind generators have yet to report fourth-quarter results, including Pattern Energy Group Inc., TerraForm Power... → MORE

Landowners testify in wind farm lease case

The complaint filed in Seneca County Common Pleas Court states that each defendant refused to allow Seneca Wind access to their properties and that Seneca Wind needs to access the properties to analyze, plan and construct the project and to provide key information to Ohio Power Siting Board as it... → MORE

Draft offshore wind energy rules put 30,000 megawatt wind power goal in limbo

The lease of an offshore wind power project can be cancelled if it is found to be “causing environmental damage to both flora and fauna beneath the sea and posing threat to human life and property while carrying out the activities under water and operation of the wind energy turbines... → MORE

Keeping their eye on the Sky: Residents bring questions and concerns to Q&A on wind farm project in Lee and Bureau counties

Area residents recently weighed in on the proposed project to decommission and repower the Big Sky Wind Farm in Lee and Bureau counties. The 240-megawatt wind farm was built in 2010 and went online in 2011 with 114 turbines stretching across roughly 14,000 acres, with 58 in southern Lee County... → MORE

Freedom wind lawsuit adjourned until April 30 in state Supreme Court

Freedom United is trying to force the Town Board to rescind its new wind law and resubmit it to the Cattaraugus County Planning Board along with a complete Environmental Assessment Form. The law was passed on a 3-2 vote. → MORE

Offshore wind farm continues to be delayed due to lack of federal policy, Senate Estimates hears

A proposal for Australia's first offshore wind farm in Victoria's east has been significantly delayed due to a lack of regulatory framework, but the Maritime Union of Australia is accusing the Government of having a "blind hatred" for renewable energy. → MORE

Reliance on gas, renewables comes with risks, says grid operator

Although there are benefits to the way the system's underlying resources are evolving, the emphasized energy sources are more dependent on external conditions, van Welie said, as natural gas must be delivered just in time for use, and solar and wind power are dependent on weather. → MORE

Local residents go public with Ball Hill Wind concerns

Between 50 and 60 members of the public turned out on Wednesday for the hearing in the Silver Creek Central School auditorium, and approximately a dozen voiced their concerns about health and safety impacts, alleged inappropriate actions of the Villenova Town Board and effectiveness of the proposed project. → MORE

Wind farm plan draws opposition

A company hoping to develop a wind farm in the southern portion of the county faced daunting challenges at Tuesday’s county commission meeting when a standing-room-only crowd turned out to speak in opposition to the proposed project — at least right now. → MORE

'Naive wind industry could destroy our way of life'

Clean power, green jobs, no emissions – the wind industry is used to being one of the good guys. But to Åsa Larsson-Blind, president of the Sami Council, it’s just the latest – and potentially most deadly – industrial threat to a fragile, ancient culture focused around reindeer herding up... → MORE

US wind suppliers in transport grab as bottleneck looms

Turbine suppliers must optimize forward delivery and boost driver and railcar availability to avoid profit-sapping bottlenecks in 2019-2020, Leila Garcia da Fonseca, Managing Consultant at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, told New Energy Update. → MORE

Kansas property owners lash out at wind farms in support of proposed restrictions

More than 50 observers packed the House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee hearing as property owners and others complained about the effect of wind farms and accused county officials of failing to stand up to large energy corporations. Those companies will have a chance to counter in a hearing scheduled... → MORE

Wind farm's visual impact a concern, Broome residents say

The first rumblings of discontent were expressed Tuesday when state regulators opened its first round of hearings on a 33-tower wind farm proposed for eastern Broome County. Landowners were wary of reassurances given by project representatives that the 124-megawatt project would have minimal effect on property values and blend into... → MORE

Lancaster County Board approves strictest distance rule in state for wind turbines, homes

Wind energy developers in Lancaster County will be required to place turbines at least 1 mile from any home that is not being paid to participate in the project. The 1-mile rule, the strictest in the state, will give homeowners some comfort and protect the quality of life in rural... → MORE

Wind energy supporters argue proposed bills raise red flags for future business in Oklahoma

Two controversial wind energy bills that could be heard this legislative session calls for stripping companies' tax incentives and making them pay a new tax. Critics say the bills raise red flags for future business in Oklahoma. → MORE

Wichita-area renewable energy production paused as officials push for regulations

What appears to be a plan to harvest clean energy in the Wichita area has been shut down — at least for the next 6 months — while county commissioners gather more information. But a bill introduced in the Kansas House might make the delay a moot point. → MORE

Government help for wind farm jeopardised by farmer - company claims

A company claims Government assistance for a €26m wind farm project is being jeopardised by a farmer's refusal to comply with an agreement he made to permit cabling work to be carried on his land, the Commercial Court heard. → MORE

Climate protection is paid for with destruction of nature

The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation makes an ecological absurdity of the energy transition that anyone can see: the protection of the world's climate destroys the native nature. → MORE

Attorney calls Invenergy's Alle-Catt Wind Farm application ‘slipshod’

Invenergy officials admit that without payment in lieu of taxes (P.I.L.O.T.) agreements, the $455 million wind project will not happen. Even with subsidies the turbines could not produce enough power to pay full property taxes and make a profit for a developer. They point to the P.I.L.O.T. payments and host... → MORE

Wind turbine to sit idle before likely removal … but project was never bonded

After sustaining damage from a fire last fall, the town’s second wind turbine is set to sit idle for the foreseeable future. Or it may be taken down by the operator, town manager Tony Marino told the select board this week. But the board also got unwelcome news when Marino... → MORE

Wind energy may be green, but the water in Chatham-Kent is brown

Residents realized their worst fears as the project began the construction phase last summer. Nineteen wells began to experience sediment problems, Jakubec says — nearly a third of the 64 wells that the group members had tested at their own expense. Bill Clarke, a hydrogeologist for Water Wells First who... → MORE

A planned wind farm is getting opposition from an unusual source: Environmentalists

Touted as cheap source of green energy, Palehua wind farm faces mounting opposition from Leeward community → MORE

Galloo wind farm opponents applaud withdrawal; supporters lament

A representation of what Galloo Island would look like if 400-foot wind towers had been built. The turbines on the island would have likely been about 600 feet tall, but the developer behind it has no intention of pursuing it further for the foreseeable future. Opposition leaders rejoiced when they... → MORE

Tippecanoe County updates ordinance to ban industrial wind farms

Commissioner Tom Murtaugh said an updated ordinance would put those worries to rest. "A change in the overall county ordinance that states that large wind systems will no longer be allowed in Tippecanoe County," he said. If passed landowners would still be able to put in wind turbines, it would just... → MORE

Wind turbines causing blowback from neighbors

A group of seven wind turbines in Johnston was just turned on in January, yet they’re already causing some blowback from neighbors across the city line in Cranston. "It's a little unnerving that all of a sudden, 519-foot structures can end up right near your home, and no one knows... → MORE

Ford County Board intends to protect property values around wind farms

The board’s five-member zoning committee drafted a proposed revision to the county’s ordinance regulating wind farms last Friday in order to protect the value of non-participating landowners’ property. Under the proposal, before a special-use permit is issued for a wind farm, the owner/operator of the wind farm must guarantee to... → MORE

Wind farms sue NPPD over termination of power purchase deal

The suit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court by Laredo Ridge Wind LLC, Broken Bow Wind LLC and Crofton Bluffs Wind LLC, and it seeks an injunction to stop NPPD from terminating the 20-year power purchase agreements. ...According to court documents, projected combined payments to the three wind farms... → MORE

Bankrupt California utility shedding more than $40 billion worth of green energy contracts

PG&E wants the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco to rule whether the company must honor $42 billion worth of contracts with about 350 different energy suppliers, mostly solar and wind plants. The court’s decision could have a major impact on California’s renewable energy industry and power makeup. → MORE

Clean energy grant reversal may leave industry cautious

A Jan. 7 Federal Claims Court decision sided with the Treasury Department and ordered a wind energy developer to pay back $5.63 million in grants in lieu of tax credits, an inflated amount that stemmed from the company’s advantageous tax planning.  → MORE

Recent Documents

Class Action Complaint: Kohmetscher v Nextera

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This class action complaint filed against Nextera Energy, Inc. was brought by individuals living in the vicinity of wind energy turbines erected by Nextera. A portion of the complaint is provided below. The full complaint can be accessed at the links on this page. → MORE

Audiologist Jerry Punch Phd public comments Seneca Wind

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Audiologist Dr. Jerry Punch, a professor emeritus in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, submitted comments in regard to a wind energy facility before the Ohio Power Siting Board. Dr. Punch's comments focus on the impacts of wind turbines noise on human health. A portion of his comments are... → MORE

USFWS to Hawaii: Risks to endangered species from wind

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This important letter to the Hawaii PUC warns that wind projects operating in the State are impacting endangered species. To address this situation, US FWS askes the PUC to delay approval of any new wind facility contracts until the proponents make the time to meet with the Service. A portion... → MORE

Recent Videos

A battle brews over whether to bring wind farm near Devil's River

Plans for a Chinese company to construct a new wind energy facility along the Devil's River, which runs over 90 miles from Sutton County Texas into the Rio Grande is running into opposition. → MORE

Sick since a wind park was installed

Video by the German Association for Noise Pollution Protection of Humans and Animals (Deutsche Schutz-Gemeinschaft Schall für Mensch und Tier - DSGS e.V.). English translation by NA-PAW.org — Subtitles by Friends-Against-Wind.org. “Unexplained medical emergencies and illness. As in the case of increased medical emergencies, accidents, and psychological symptoms with foehn (hot southerly... → MORE








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