http://www.windaction.org/ facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts en-us Windaction hourly 1 http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.windaction.org/articles/4208 Wed, 02 Aug 2006 10:45:51 GMT Nearly completed Wild Horse Wind Project 1.8 MW turbines sit in the hills east of Ellensburg, Wash., on July 12. http://www.windaction.org/articles/4208 http://www.windaction.org/articles/4193 Tue, 01 Aug 2006 12:05:46 GMT Wind plant near the Oregon-Washington border http://www.windaction.org/articles/4193 http://www.windaction.org/articles/3527 Mon, 19 Jun 2006 14:12:45 GMT Workers atop a generating unit near Bickleton, Klickitat County, wait to guide rotors into place 262 feet above the ground. Once assembled, the final structure is 357 feet tall. http://www.windaction.org/articles/3527 http://www.windaction.org/articles/3419 Wed, 14 Jun 2006 08:10:05 GMT http://www.windaction.org/articles/3419 http://www.windaction.org/articles/2348 Mon, 03 Apr 2006 11:32:00 GMT Eastern Washington is home to five operating wind farms so far, including this one near Walla Walla. http://www.windaction.org/articles/2348 http://www.windaction.org/articles/1182 Thu, 05 Jan 2006 14:20:03 GMT http://www.windaction.org/articles/1182 http://www.windaction.org/articles/6632 Sat, 01 Oct 2005 00:00:00 GMT Workers at the Hopkins Ridge Wind Farm, near Dayton in Columbia County, assemble turbines in October 2005. Hopkins Ridge, owned by Puget Sound Energy, has been generating electricity for customers since November 2005. http://www.windaction.org/articles/6632 http://www.windaction.org/articles/38098 Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:46:26 GMT The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) this week released a new proposal to share the "oversupply costs" that pile up when there is not enough demand for all the electricity produced by hydroelectric dams and wind-power producers. During these oversupply periods, when wind-power producers may be asked to shut down, the plan would compensate them for lost revenue, according to Doug Johnson, a BPA spokesman. http://www.windaction.org/articles/38098 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37881 Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:04:53 GMT A retired Western Washington University professor testified to a Republican-controlled state Senate committee Tuesday that climate change stopped in 1998 and that human-caused greenhouse gases are not responsible for fluctuations in the Earth's temperatures or melting polar ice caps. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37881 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37300 Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:43:56 GMT Gov. Jay Inslee is trying to lure a struggling Massachusetts wind-power company to Washington state. In one of his first initiatives as governor, Inslee sent a handwritten note and spoke by phone with the chief executive of AMSC, a Devens, Mass.-based firm. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37300 http://www.windaction.org/articles/36325 Tue, 16 Oct 2012 18:41:41 GMT Nationally, wind energy producers face competition from falling natural gas prices. Plus, it's unclear whether a much-relied-upon federal tax credit for wind energy producers will be renewed. ...Regionally, transmission lines are at capacity in some places. Markets are getting tougher. Also, wind farm operators complain that property taxes have risen steeply under a new state formula. http://www.windaction.org/articles/36325 http://www.windaction.org/articles/16588 Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:57:18 GMT A new campaign to change the state Energy Independence Act was launched Thursday in the Mid-Columbia to prevent rising electricity rates to pay for unneeded renewable energy. Mid-Columbia state legislators, chambers of commerce, ports, business organizations, cities and public utility districts are backing the effort to prevent or delay increased electricity rates. http://www.windaction.org/articles/16588 http://www.windaction.org/articles/36089 Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:53:09 GMT Portland-based Friends of the Columbia Gorge is charging the county with "failing to protect its critical areas and resource lands in violation of state law." The land, while unzoned, had been protected until Skamania lifted a development and forest work moratorium on Aug. 21. http://www.windaction.org/articles/36089 http://www.windaction.org/articles/34872 Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:14:46 GMT The agency, which manages much of the power grid in the Northwest, confirmed it issued the orders during the early morning hours of Sunday and Monday, when demand is low. The action rekindles a dispute from last year, when the agency curtailed wind turbines because the water from a large mountain snowpack. http://www.windaction.org/articles/34872 http://www.windaction.org/articles/34849 Sat, 28 Apr 2012 19:55:42 GMT enXco could conduct minor site preparation in the late fall, but it appears unlikely that the project will get off the ground this year. In addition to providing notice, enXco still needs to submit a number of plans for EFSEC approval before construction can proceed. http://www.windaction.org/articles/34849 http://www.windaction.org/articles/34776 Tue, 10 Apr 2012 23:36:57 GMT In early March, Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire approved the proposed Whistling Ridge wind power project to be sited near White Salmon on land owned by SDS Lumber and Broughton Lumber, paving the way for 35 turbines standing more than 400 feet tall. http://www.windaction.org/articles/34776 http://www.windaction.org/articles/34502 Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:13:41 GMT Jason Spadaro, president of SDS Lumber, said he appreciates the governor's approval, but that the reduced size of the project means it is not economically viable at this time. A smaller project will need higher power prices to be viable, he said, and the project will be on hold but not permanently shelved. http://www.windaction.org/articles/34502 http://www.windaction.org/articles/33940 Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:41:00 GMT Jason Spadaro, president of SDS Lumber says the earlier recommendation to scale back the project was based on subjective judgements of its visual impacts, and would ultimately make it economically unviable. "It's not viable in today's environment or any time in the foreseeable future," Spadaro said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/33940 http://www.windaction.org/articles/33939 Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:35:52 GMT The intense scrutiny and interest surrounding Whistling Ridge set a new bar for the EFSEC process, said council manager Al Wright. The application piled up many thousands of pages of record as well-represented players watched closely and weighed in every step of the way. It took longer than any other EFSEC process. http://www.windaction.org/articles/33939 http://www.windaction.org/articles/33908 Sun, 25 Dec 2011 17:08:48 GMT Wright stressed that the council’s vote is only a recommendation. The project’s fate ultimately rests with Gov. Chris Gregoire, who will have 60 days to make her decision once EFSEC gives its final recommendation. http://www.windaction.org/articles/33908