WindAction EDITORIAL (5 Oct) USA - The US Treasury estimates the PTC will cost taxpayers $40.12 billion in the period from 2018–2027, making it, by far, the most expensive energy subsidy under current tax law. ...After billions in public hand-outs, the wind industry has never been able to stand on its own and there’s no reason... → MORE Recent Articles (5 Oct) Iowa | Wisconsin - The proposed 345-kilovolt line would run between Dubuque, Iowa, and a substation in Middleton along one of two routes that the utilities say would deliver low-cost wind energy from Iowa to population centers where the power is needed. → MORE (5 Oct) New York - A group of residents from the town Henderson and a couple from the town of Hounsfield expressed their opposition of a possible payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreement for the Galloo Island Wind project to the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency Thursday. → MORE (5 Oct) USA - While wind energy is widely celebrated as environmentally friendly, the researchers concluded that a dramatic, all-out expansion in the number of turbines could warm the country even more than climate change from burning coal and other fossil fuels, because of the way the spinning blades disturb the layers of warm... → MORE (5 Oct) Australia - The Victorian Government has changed the rules around the testing of wind turbine noise at all new wind farm developments. The new regulations follow an unsatisfactory independent audit of wind turbines at the Lal Lal Wind Farm, which is under construction near Ballarat. → MORE (5 Oct) Iowa - Bauercamper found the wind companies in contempt of court earlier this year and ordered the turbines to cease energy production by July 2 and be removed at the turbine developers’ cost by Dec. 9. The turbines have stopped spinning. → MORE (5 Oct) Maine - The controversial commission held its first meeting Thursday ...The Maine Wind Energy Advisory Commission is charged with examining the potential economic impact of commercial wind power development on tourism in western and coastal Maine as well as recommending changes to the state’s existing permitting system for wind power projects. → MORE (4 Oct) USA | Wyoming - Eagle deaths at a wind farm south of Glenrock are estimated to be low, just five golden eagles and one bald eagle over five years, according to a draft environmental assessment recently released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A persistent frustration from those who oppose wind in Wyoming → MORE (4 Oct) Indiana - Among the changes, amendments would limit construction of turbines on land zoned Industrial III; increase the setbacks from property lines; regulate the height, noise level, vibration, shadow flicker and glare from night lights of towers; and require bond amounts for site abandonment and the decommissioning of tower sites. → MORE (4 Oct) Massachusetts - Barnstable and Vineyard Wind officials have signed a host community agreement that includes $16 million in payments to the town in return for the offshore wind energy developer landing a high-voltage electric power transmission cable at William H. Covell Memorial Beach rather than via a disputed route through Lewis Bay... → MORE (4 Oct) Iowa - While members of the Adair County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance Wednesday morning related to where wind turbines could be located, discussion on the topic is expected to continue during their next meeting where they will discuss creating a even more comprehensive ordinance. → MORE (3 Oct) Ohio - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in cooperation with other federal agencies, on Tuesday, Oct. 2, released a final environmental assessment of the project that includes what the agency calls a Finding of No Significant Impact, or FONSI. "This is the most significant single approval Icebreaker Wind has received to... → MORE (3 Oct) New York - Four years after announcing plans to build a major wind power development near Lake Ontario, Apex Clean Energy this week unveiled its map of 47 turbine locations: 39 in Somerset and eight in adjoining Yates. Each would be 591 feet tall. → MORE (3 Oct) Vermont - The Dairy Air Wind project, a single 2.2 megawatt turbine to be installed at a dairy farm in the state’s far northeast corner, won a state contract in July 2016 to supply renewable power to the New England power grid. Since then, the landscape for wind development has shifted significantly,... → MORE (2 Oct) Massachusetts - The proximity of the men’s grant areas means their oysters, which total about 3,250,000, could be smothered by sand and silt that’s stirred up when Vineyard Wind lays the cable, the letter contends. Although Vineyard Wind officials have met with the shellfishermen multiple times and proposed solutions that include installing... → MORE (1 Oct) Massachusetts - A September report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch indicated that the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management would approve projects like Vineyard Wind in a timely manner, Beane said. The report said timing of permitting affects whether offshore wind developers can take advantage of federal investment tax credits that... → MORE (1 Oct) New York - American Bird Conservancy has major concerns about Apex’s plan to build the Lighthouse Wind energy project in Niagara and Orleans counties. The project proposes to place dozens of industrial wind turbines along the south shore of Lake Ontario, extending 4.5 miles from the shore along a 12-mile stretch of shoreline. → MORE (1 Oct) New York - Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello told The Post-Journal it is heartbreaking to hear the horror stories from residents experiencing the problems, especially listening stories about how children are being affected. “When you are hearing stories about 4-year-old children having issues, you know they’re not making it up. (The wind farms)... → MORE (30 Sep) Ohio - NEW RIEGEL, Ohio — We are led to believe that the fictional Madge and Gladys types could be sitting at the regionally-famous local café here, discussing Seneca County politics. → MORE (28 Sep) Michigan - Mike Dault said he’s generally in favor of green energy, but after doing some research about projects like the Summit Lake Wind Project, he finds most communities have regretted their construction. “How much have you researched it?” he asked the commission. “Don’t believe the salesman.” → MORE (28 Sep) Michigan - "These are nearly 500 foot tall towers, that's taller than the statue of liberty they are very large," says Rick Sible, a resident against the wind farm project. Many residents say they have health concerns when it comes to the turbines, some worried about the shadow flickers they would make,... → MORE (27 Sep) New York - The South Fork commercial fishing industry remains opposed to Deepwater Wind’s proposed offshore wind farm, and now several hundred Wainscott residents have opened another hostile front, this one specific to the Rhode Island company’s preferred cable-landing site, the ocean beach at the end of Beach Lane in their hamlet. → MORE (27 Sep) UK - There are 7,100 onshore wind turbines in Britain, and just under 2,000 off shore. Corbyn’s plan, unveiled in a briefing note at Labour’s Party Conference, is to double the number of turbines on land. He also intends to add a further 12,000 offshore turbines ...The country will be carpeted with... → MORE (26 Sep) Michigan - Consumers says that from May 2017 to May 2018 it received 398 interconnection requests for 1,800 MW of generation, with projects ranging from .15 MW to 20 MW. The average cost of these projects is $98.40 per megawatt-hour over a 20-year contract, which is “substantially higher” than the company’s contracts... → MORE (26 Sep) UK - I’ve argued that the company getting the go-ahead should be conditional on them undertaking a risk assessment, sharing that with the climbing community and then agreeing a risk management plan.” A spokeswoman from Glenmore Lodge, Scotland’s National Outdoor Training Centre said the area is “utilised by both teaching groups and... → MORE (26 Sep) Texas - About 40 attended the forum at the Brownwood High School auditorium, and several went forward, at the invitation of moderator and Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes, to give opinions — mostly against — on wind energy. May landowner Joe Guidry was an exception, saying those opposed to wind farms “have a... → MORE (25 Sep) Indiana - It limits the ban to commercial wind energy convergence systems, while allowing landowners to build noncommercial and micro wind turbines in certain circumstances, specifying rules depending on the structure’s size. At the same time, the changes also attempt to provide more legal justification for banning commercial wind farms, such as... → MORE (24 Sep) Texas - The lawsuit filed by the appraisal district asks the judge “cancel and set aside the decision of the appraisal review board” and that “an order be entered fixing, in accordance with the law, the market value of the (wind farm), as required by law.” → MORE (24 Sep) Texas - Conflicts between energy producers and conservationists are nothing new in Texas, but a recent fight in Val Verde County centers around wind farms and whether they belong in one of the wildest natural areas left in the state. Members of the Devils River Conservancy, whose group includes landowners with property... → MORE (22 Sep) Nebraska - For the fifth consecutive monthly meeting, the Madison County Joint Planning Commission had people sitting in the hall and standing on Thursday. While Thursday’s meeting featured a long agenda, the majority of people who spoke discussed wind energy regulations. → MORE (22 Sep) Massachusetts - Funfar’s lawyer James Rosenblum argued that Wind 2 is the same make and model as Wind 1, and neither was ever issued a special permit from the zoning board. The lack of a special permit had never been legally challenged in court for Wind 2, as it had for Wind... → MORE (22 Sep) Kansas - Apex representatives have said they have not determined how many wind turbines could be installed, or where the sites would be. Elsworth said the company has planned sites for 121 turbines on an application to the Federal Aviation Administration. → MORE (22 Sep) Arizona - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opened a criminal investigation into the deaths at Red Horse II Wind Farm before referring the matter to the U.S. Justice Department, said Aislinn Maestas, a spokeswoman for the wildlife service. → MORE (21 Sep) Oklahoma - The Special Aeronautics Commission met about this issue on Sept. 11. A representative from the Attorney General's office was there and they discussed filing civil action to try and stop NextEra from continuing construction of the wind farm. They voted to take action. → MORE (21 Sep) Minnesota - The Freeborn project marks the first "contested case" over a wind farm before the PUC, prompting the appointment of an administrative law judge to sort out the facts and make recommendations. The judge's ruling isn't binding on the PUC, but such recommendations often carry weight with the commission. ...Invenergy filed... → MORE (21 Sep) New Jersey - LONG BRANCH – Offshore windmills may be the future of energy here, but they're presently a source of agitation to commercial fishermen. → MORE (21 Sep) Ontario - The Green Energy and Green Economy Act, which the Ford government announced Thursday it would officially cancel, was one of the most monumental government follies of our time. It was a hydra-headed monster of regulations and fiat that bludgeoned Ontario’s rural communities, stripped Ontario’s municipalities of every right to the... → MORE (20 Sep) Colorado - Xcel is employing creative accounting to make the CEP look affordable, which is why it didn’t pass the smell test with my most business- and energy-savvy colleagues in 2017. Flaws in the company’s analysis became apparent during CEP hearings, thanks to diligent watchdog work by third parties and ratepayer advocates.... → MORE (19 Sep) Texas - A company is asking Brown County land owners to lease their property for a wind farm. While a handful of land owners have signed on already, the issue has caused division among neighbors in Brown County. → MORE (17 Sep) New Jersey - Today, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) unanimously approved an order opening an application window for 1.1 GW of offshore wind capacity. According to the NJBPU, this represents the nation’s largest single-state solicitation of offshore wind to date. → MORE (12 Sep) New York - In the coming years, ratepayers across the state will see their electric bills increase by at least 76 cents a month to finance $2.1 billion of offshore wind development in New York. And that's on top of the roughly $2 per month increase in electric bills needed to finance a... → MORE (11 Sep) New York - Deepwater, all the attendees agreed, has been putting out misinformation and selling the town and the public a bill of goods. “It’s all about money,” said Brady, the Executor Director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association and a vociferous critic. She believes the wind generators will harm the fish... → MORE Recent Documents (14 May) Minnesota - Freeborn Wind proposed to construct an up to 84 MW wind energy facility and associated facilities in Freeborn County, Minnesota. The Project is part of an up to 200 MW wind project in Freeborn County, Minnesota, and Worth County, Iowa. In this final order of recommendation, the Administrative Law Judge concluded that Freeborn Wind... → MORE (2 Mar 2013) Germany - This paper examines the impacts of wind turbines on property values. The researchers look at distance and other factors, including visual effect and shadow flicker. The results found that property values were reduced particularly for properties within 1.5 kilometers of the turbines. The abstract and portions of the conclusion are... → MORE
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