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/14583 Sun, 09 Mar 2008 21:04:02 GMT State and regional regulators acknowledge the hurdles - especially in northern New Hampshire - but don't have ready solutions. A bill before the New Hampshire Senate would have the state be ready to act if no regional solution is forthcoming. ISO New England, which manages power for the region, is considering changing rules so more of the costs of transmission upgrades could be shared regionally. But as things stand now, backers of projects generally must pay for upgrades needed to connect them to the system. "None of this is a real speedy process," acknowledges Michael Harrington, senior regional policy adviser for the state Public Utilities Commission. http://www.windaction.org/articles/14583 http://www.windaction.org/articles/14478 Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:37:42 GMT "Although the wind turbines currently operating in the wind resource area do adversely impact our radar coverage, we believe opportunities will soon arise both to improve overall radar performance and to work with enXco to mitigate that impact," the Lichte letter read. Neither the Air Force nor enXco could say whether that mitigation effort will include a gift to Travis of up to $1 million that was offered by enXco at a Feb. 21 Solano County Planning Commission meeting. That money was offered to improve the radar system anyway Travis chose. http://www.windaction.org/articles/14478 http://www.windaction.org/articles/14271 Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:36:44 GMT The world faces a doubling of energy demand by 2050 but renewable sources are still too expensive and will take decades to make a big impact, Royal Dutch Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer said on Thursday. ..."Renewables are still too expensive. They will come, I'm not self-serving, I'm not defensive but it will take a very long time" either to achieve the technological breakthroughs required or to build many more nuclear power stations, van der Veer said. "You see that we have a lot of tensions. The world demands more energy," he added. "Renewables may come to a solution but it will take decades before it is big." http://www.windaction.org/articles/14271 http://www.windaction.org/articles/13421 Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:54:05 GMT Plans to build the country's biggest wind turbine off the Northumberland coast are set to be approved by councillors. If approved the project will see seven new turbines on the north site of the River Blyth to replace the existing Blyth Harbour wind farm. Six of the turbines will tower 125m from base to blade tip while the seventh, planned for the Battleship Wharf site at Cambois, would measure a total of 163m in height - the country's biggest to date. ...Blyth Valley Borough Council has already said it will not object to the project. The turbines will be more than three times bigger than the current structures and much more powerful. http://www.windaction.org/articles/13421 http://www.windaction.org/articles/12993 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 22:27:17 GMT report into the handling of a planning application to build Lincolnshire's biggest wind farm has been released. Planners at East Lindsey District Council made a catalogue of errors in dealing with the 20-turbine wind farm at Conisholme. It was first refused and then later approved by East Lindsey District planners in 2005. http://www.windaction.org/articles/12993 http://www.windaction.org/articles/12938 Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:26:45 GMT Consumers Energy plans to develop as many as eight windmill farms in Michigan, officials say. The move is part of the utility's Balanced Energy Initiative, which aims in part to double the amount of renewable energy the company generates from 5 percent to 10 percent by 2015. ...''We need to add 3 million megawatt hours per year ... to go to 10 percent by 2015,'' Rasher said. For the wind farms, Consumers is looking at installing large turbines that generate up to 2.5 megawatts each. Each wind development will generate up to 100 megawatts. But Rasher said the wind farms can only be expected to generate power about 25 percent of the time. That's why Consumers also is planning to build an 800-megawatt coal-fired plant at its Karn-Weadock complex in Bay County's Hampton Township. ''We need some other resource that's dispatchable,'' Rasher said. ''You can't put all your eggs in one basket.'' http://www.windaction.org/articles/12938 http://www.windaction.org/articles/11824 Tue, 18 Sep 2007 02:03:20 GMT If, as Jon Grisham predicts, energy costs rise in the coming years, adding the turbine will save the family money. That's all assuming the family stays in the house for another couple of decades. "Technology that cost about $60,000 10 years ago costs about [$15,000] to $18,000 all of a sudden," he said. "It's worth a home equity loan for the investment." http://www.windaction.org/articles/11824 http://www.windaction.org/articles/11525 Thu, 23 Aug 2007 11:15:14 GMT Wind and environmental studies will be conducted to determine if two 120-metre dormant smokestacks in Coniston can be retrofitted with wind-powered generation systems. The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. is investing $100,000 in the studies to be done at the former Inco Ltd. smelter in Coniston. The studies will explore the potential for renewable energy production in Greater Sudbury, said Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci, who announced the funding. Environmentally sustainable energy production is essential to making the North an attractive place to live, work and do business, said the Sudbury MPP, who chairs the NOHFC. Funding is being provided through the fund's Renewable Energy Program as part of the Ontario government's Northern Prosperity Plan. The plan aims to strengthen the North, listen to and serve northerners better, help the North compete globally and provide opportunities for northern residents. http://www.windaction.org/articles/11525 http://www.windaction.org/articles/11061 Tue, 31 Jul 2007 10:06:32 GMT A discussion was held in the Common Council Chamber at City Hall Monday that could make the City of Oswego the first place in America with a design of electric-generating wind turbines only seen in Belgium. Bruce Cranston, representing the New England Windpower Corporation (NEWC), presented preliminary details on the scheme that is more efficient and affordable than the traditional wind turbines common in wind farms across the world. Instead of a large fan-like device, which once moved by the wind generates electricity, the new design resembles a tube with up to ten fans inside of it. http://www.windaction.org/articles/11061 http://www.windaction.org/articles/10389 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:42:44 GMT An Auckland power supply company is trialling tiny wind turbines that can fit on the rooftops of homes or businesses, allowing them to generate their own power. Vector is testing 10 micro wind turbines in Wellington and Auckland in a bid to find new sources of renewable energy, before deciding future options. http://www.windaction.org/articles/10389 http://www.windaction.org/articles/9935 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 10:24:42 GMT -A Massachusetts company has perfected a way to measure wind speed by sending a digital chirp into the sky - lowering development costs and improving power predictions to make the siting of wind farms easier. Second Wind Inc. is introducing the Triton® sonic wind profiler, a device designed to address the limitations of sodar technology for identifying wind farm locations. The product was introduced today at North America's premiere trade event for the wind energy industry, WINDPOWER 2007 in Los Angeles. http://www.windaction.org/articles/9935 http://www.windaction.org/articles/9517 Sat, 12 May 2007 11:51:05 GMT Plans have been drawn up to upgrade the North-East's first wind farm with bigger and more powerful turbines. The Great Eppleton site near Hetton-le-Hole was installed by Amec Wind 10 years ago and is one of the few sites to use two-bladed turbines. These are now considered to be an ageing technology and one of the site's four turbines has been reduced to one blade. http://www.windaction.org/articles/9517 http://www.windaction.org/articles/8305 Thu, 08 Mar 2007 11:15:35 GMT Louisville-area family business is considering the Riverport industrial complex for a proposed $75 million ethanol plant that could produce 50 million gallons of the gasoline supplement a year. For the People LLC, of Corydon, Ind., unveiled the proposed design Tuesday night to Riverport tenants and some of its potential residential neighbors near the site at 8300 Cane Run Road. The meeting was part of the requirements for obtaining planning and zoning approval for the project. The plant would use 60-foot wind turbines, solar panels and a geothermal system to limit outside energy demands. The company projects 60 full-time jobs with an annual payroll of $2 million. http://www.windaction.org/articles/8305 http://www.windaction.org/articles/8269 Tue, 06 Mar 2007 12:02:43 GMT With more people showing interest in energy efficiency -- particularly renewable energy -- wind turbines are popping up to supply electricity to homes, businesses and even communities. But unlike the options of purchasing a hybrid car or installing solar panels, wind energy is not viable for everyone. http://www.windaction.org/articles/8269 http://www.windaction.org/articles/8267 Tue, 06 Mar 2007 11:53:31 GMT PUTTING a wind turbine on the roof of your house - like Tory leader David Cameron - is a waste of time, according to experts. The turbines, which cost at least £1,500, are next to useless in cities because there's not enough wind to make them work. Dr Luke Myers, of the Sustainable Energy Group, said: "Putting them in places where there's no wind is a fool's errand really. "No one wants to spend £1,500 on a turbine which doesn't work." Wind speeds at house roof level in a city like London, where Cameron lives, are only around 4.6 metres a second. But turbines sold by stores such as B&Q are designed to work at 12.5 metres a second. Brain Mark, on the Department of Trade and Industry Renewables Advisory Board, said the benefits had been "oversold" by green campaigners. He added: "It would be wonderful - if it worked." Home solar roof panels used to heat water are often a better bet and recoup costs in 10 years. http://www.windaction.org/articles/8267 http://www.windaction.org/articles/6344 Tue, 14 Nov 2006 12:43:08 GMT Countries must expand the range and availability of alternative sources of energy to reduce global dependence on oil and to help meet growing energy demand, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman says. Bodman said oil and other hydrocarbons alone cannot meet rising demand, much of it coming from fast growing economies in Asia......The energy secretary said the U.S. government has been supporting development of renewable sources such as solar, wind, nuclear and ethanol as well as new technologies such as zero-emission coal plants and hydrogen fuel cells. The U.S. goal is to identify technologies with the greatest marketplace potential in the near future and push them more quickly to market, he said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/6344 http://www.windaction.org/articles/6312 Mon, 13 Nov 2006 12:29:00 GMT Home wind turbines have become the must-have home improvement among people eager to help save the planet and flaunt their green credentials. Dubbed ‘the ultimate green fashion statement’, are selling in their thousands amid claims they can cut household electricity bills by 30 per cent. But now environmental campaigners say the windmills are not quite what they claim to be - and may actually do more harm than good. As well as being noisy and unsightly, they barely produce enough electricity to power a hairdryer in many houses. http://www.windaction.org/articles/6312 http://www.windaction.org/articles/6159 Sun, 05 Nov 2006 13:23:53 GMT HIGHLANDS and Islands Enterprise is planning to turn an entire island such as Islay or Mull into a testing ground for environmental technology. Willie Roe, HIE's chairman, said the development agency would attempt to slash carbon consumption on a selected island by more than half in order to demonstrate the latest green technology. Click to learn more... Under the scheme, which should start next year, renewable energy, efficient heating systems and environmentally friendly transport would be combined on a scale which has yet to be tried in the UK. http://www.windaction.org/articles/6159 http://www.windaction.org/articles/6106 Thu, 02 Nov 2006 12:39:26 GMT John Richey of Chico is concerned about global warming and thinks that anything people can do to help the cause is worthwhile. With that in mind, Richey attended a meeting about wind turbines in Jacksboro on Monday night. The speakers at the meeting – held before a packed house in the Jacksboro High School auditorium – were generally opposed to wind turbines. http://www.windaction.org/articles/6106 http://www.windaction.org/articles/6061 Mon, 30 Oct 2006 01:17:42 GMT Energy Minister Francis Logan has announced plans to build three state-of-the-art, cyclone-proof wind turbines at Coral Bay at a cost of $9.6 million. The 275kw turbines are expected to supply 40 per cent of Coral Bay's energy needs by the end of 2007, and will involve new technologies developed in Western Australia. "The power system will use Verve Energy's technologically advanced control systems and low-load diesel generators which maximise the use of wind energy," he said. "It will also involve the use of wind turbines that can be lowered in the event of a cyclone. http://www.windaction.org/articles/6061