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/24110 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:58:27 GMT The Government's renewable energy strategy is in tatters after a report exposing the true costs of generating electricity by wind power. An internal document from the National Grid, seen by the Sunday Express, says wind turbine energy will at times cost over 3,000 per cent more than conventional power. Industry experts say over-reliance on wind power could mean fuel poverty for consumers, as older power plants reach the end of their working lives while Britain's new generation of nuclear stations is still a long way off completion. http://www.windaction.org/articles/24110 http://www.windaction.org/articles/20557 Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:06:21 GMT Executives from Noble Environmental Power said that they can raise the $275 million the project costs but that they have been hampered by tumultuous financial markets, according to testimony filed Tuesday. The company asked the state Site Evaluation Committee to allow it to proceed on the condition it proves its financing plan before construction begins. ...An investment banker testifying for the state Tuesday wrote that he did not believe Granite Reliable nor Noble have a plan to finance the park. The company has not shown how it will find lenders and investors. http://www.windaction.org/articles/20557 http://www.windaction.org/articles/20030 Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:46:27 GMT Minnesota's wind-energy industry is about to get a turbo-charged boost from the $789 billion economic stimulus package ...An extension of the production tax credit to three years plus the addition of an investment tax credit will inject new life and urgency into projects that were starved for financing, tax experts said. And the Energy Office in the Minnesota Department of Commerce estimated the bill could inject about $220 million into Minnesota. http://www.windaction.org/articles/20030 http://www.windaction.org/articles/20005 Sat, 14 Feb 2009 18:19:11 GMT The Naples School Board voted last week to accept an agreement with First Wind that would give the district higher payments on any windmills the company may build within the district boundaries. ...At this point, Macaluso said First Wind has put the project on hold because of finance troubles. http://www.windaction.org/articles/20005 http://www.windaction.org/articles/19901 Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:18:20 GMT Hearings set for next month on a $275 million wind project for the North Country could be halted under a request filed by the counsel for the public. Peter C.L. Roth, a senior assistant attorney general for the state, filed the request to suspend the hearings, set to begin March 9, saying there was inadequate financial information to determine whether the Granite Reliable Power's proposed wind electric generation park will be viable. http://www.windaction.org/articles/19901 http://www.windaction.org/articles/19808 Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:23:41 GMT A study released on the eve of a national conference on green jobs says that emerging eco-friendly work must provide adequate pay and benefits -- or risk damaging efforts to restore the economy and strive for environmental sustainability. The study released yesterday, "High Road or Low Road? Job Quality in the New Green Economy." ..."One of the greatest risks is that, in our haste to create a large quantity of new green jobs, we pay too little attention to their quality," researchers said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/19808 http://www.windaction.org/articles/19151 Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:11:14 GMT The American Wind Energy Association claims it is wind power that creates the most jobs per kilowatt hour. One oft-cited statistic is that there are 27% more jobs per kilowatt-hour from wind than from coal, and 66% more from wind than from natural gas. ..."To the extent it's true, it illustrates these technologies aren't that efficient." http://www.windaction.org/articles/19151 http://www.windaction.org/articles/18692 Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:59:29 GMT If California expands its renewable power generation to be a third of electricity delivered in the state by 2020, it may cost $60 billion, the state's utility regulator said in a report issued on Thursday. It is more costly to make electricity with renewable power -- solar, wind, geothermal and other sources that emit no or low amounts of global-warming greenhouse gases -- than with natural gas, nuclear and coal power plants. ...On Tuesday, California voters overwhelmingly -- 65 percent of the vote -- rejected a statewide ballot measure that would have required 50 percent of power to be generated from renewables by 2025. http://www.windaction.org/articles/18692 http://www.windaction.org/articles/18721 Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:32:00 GMT On the campaign trail, Mr. Obama argued that spending $150 billion over the next decade to boost energy efficiency would help create five million jobs. ...Critics say analyzing only new green jobs misses half the story. "It's not looking at the other side of the coin: You are spending more money for your energy," says Anne Smith, a vice president at CRA International. ...gains in green jobs would be "more than offset" by job losses elsewhere in the economy. http://www.windaction.org/articles/18721 http://www.windaction.org/articles/18623 Sat, 01 Nov 2008 11:46:24 GMT The plan to erect wind turbines on the Burnside Mountain south of Shamokin has been stalled because of the sour economy. Penn Wind LLC is still actively pursuing the project, but the failure of some of the nation's largest financial institutions makes the market for the important tax-credit piece of financing for such a large project a tough one ...While Penn Wind is a small Sunbury-based company, it is affiliated with an international alternative energy giant in German renewable energy company Juwi GmbH. http://www.windaction.org/articles/18623 http://www.windaction.org/articles/18548 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:45:35 GMT Take Gamesa, the Spanish company that's one of the world's biggest manufacturers of wind turbines, with operations from China to Pennsylvania. Wednesday, Gamesa reported a three-fold increase in profits and a fat order book. And what happened? Shares fell by more than 20%, with another 6% slide today. That's because Gamesa also said it would temporarily halt production at some of its wind turbine factories. http://www.windaction.org/articles/18548 http://www.windaction.org/articles/18517 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:37:00 GMT Connecticut-based project developer Noble Environmental has sold both phases of its 159MW Noble Thumb wind farm to John Deere and has laid off an unspecified number of staff. The move appears to be part of a company effort to raise cash and reduce costs. New Energy Finance could not reach a current spokesperson for comment. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the sale of the Noble Thumb project on October 14, according to a commission document. The two companies first notified FERC of their intentions on August 27. http://www.windaction.org/articles/18517 http://www.windaction.org/articles/18246 Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:56:16 GMT Officials with the Maine Power Connection wrapped up a weeklong tour of Aroostook County on Thursday morning, addressing business leaders, legislators and community members about a proposal to build a new $625 million transmission line from central Maine to connect northern Maine to the New England electric grid. The project would bring wind turbine projects online and close a 25-mile gap between the Maine Public Service system lines in Houlton and the Maine Electric Power Co. ..."Northern Maine customers will be held harmless," he stressed. "Northern Maine delivery rates can't go up - that is our goal. If that doesn't happen, this project is a no-go." http://www.windaction.org/articles/18246 http://www.windaction.org/articles/16732 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:14:14 GMT The City Council Monday was asked by Assessor Frank E. Krakowski to approve a correction of the adjusted base proportions of the 2008-2009 assessment rolls because of a computer error that did not assign an assessed value to one of the eight new wind turbines off Route 5. ...Krakowski said the computer miscalculation had the effect of inflating the city's taxable value by more than $1 million. ...[First Ward Councilwoman Andrea] Haxton also complained the Steel Winds wind farm project was supposed to lowertaxes for ratepayers in the city. "With the windmills here, it's ridiculous that taxes have to change," Haxton said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/16732 http://www.windaction.org/articles/16390 Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:17:38 GMT Texas billionaire and wind energy developer Boone Pickens said at a hearing in Washington Tuesday that the U.S. is exporting about $700 billion a year to feed its oil addiction, as he joined the call from energy leaders to use nuclear, natural gas, coal, wind, biofuels and solar to wean the country off imported crude. According to the Department of Energy, an investment of $60 billion in new transmission capacity is needed between now and 2030 to enable wind power to supply 20% of U.S. electricity. http://www.windaction.org/articles/16390 http://www.windaction.org/articles/16179 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:00:50 GMT Consumers face years of rising gas and electricity bills as the UK heads towards an energy crunch, according to the chief executive of one of Britain's biggest power companies. Paul Golby, of E.ON UK, said it was time for the industry and Government to come clean about the extent of the UK's energy needs - and what it will mean for domestic prices. ...Mr Golby, who was launching E.ON's energy manifesto, said his call for an "honest debate" about Britain's energy future must include a recognition that new coal-fired generation "will play a significant role in restraining prices". He said: "Without coal, bridging the energy gap will mean allowing gas to dominate our energy mix and a second "dash for gas" is something we need to avoid." But new power stations must include carbon capture and storage technology. http://www.windaction.org/articles/16179 http://www.windaction.org/articles/16157 Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:16:33 GMT Colorado has lost out on a bid for a Vestas Wind Systems research center. Vestas, which opened a major blade-manufacturing plant earlier this year in Windsor, announced Monday it will locate the research facility in Houston. Colorado was the other finalist, according to Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. http://www.windaction.org/articles/16157 http://www.windaction.org/articles/15712 Wed, 07 May 2008 19:37:50 GMT Apparently hoping that a proposed agreement between the staff of the West Virginia Public Service Commission and Allegheny Energy would put a better face on the utility's proposed Trans-Allegheny Interstate Power Line project, the Hampshire County Commission received an e-mail request to reverse its opposition to the project. Commissioners Don Cookman, Steve Slonaker and Robert Hott, however, all agreed that would not happen. http://www.windaction.org/articles/15712 http://www.windaction.org/articles/15595 Thu, 01 May 2008 13:08:28 GMT Industry analyst Emerging Energy Research projects wind energy generation in the United States to grow nearly five-fold by 2015. But a Bay City company that built thousands of wind-turbine blades found the industry holds perils as well as promise. ...A variety of reasons caused the company to exit the business, President and CEO Robert Monroe said, and it's unlikely to resume making blades. "It was way too much of a boom-bust for us," Monroe recalled. "We were taking on people who had the savvy to make blades, we'd come up to speed and then all of the sudden we were laying people off. So it was very cyclical." ...And even if turbine makers decide to manufacture in Michigan, they may only be active for a limited time, Monroe believes. "So many people want to put up blades, but once Michigan is saturated, those jobs will go away," he said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/15595 http://www.windaction.org/articles/14840 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:18:02 GMT Offshore windfarms in Morecambe Bay may be producing green energy - but they are killing off traditional trawling fleets, experts say. And the problem could become more drastic for all inshore fishing unless the Government takes action, according to the North Western and North Wales Sea Fisheries Committee. The latest report of the committee highlights the plight of trawler fishing in the bay, and says that the local industry has been decimated by the proliferation of wind farms and gas storage facilities. When local vessels, mainly fishing out of Fleetwood, are sold on they are now very rarely replaced in the bay. http://www.windaction.org/articles/14840