www.windaction.orgfacts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impactsWindactionhttp://www.windaction.org/articles/c47+112?theme=atomXarayar2006-06-12T02:16:27ZIDA speeds up Galloo wind farm deal.234122009-10-02T20:41:13Z2009-10-02T20:41:13ZTo meet a developer's request for speed, the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency will begin laying out a property tax relief program for the proposed Galloo Island Wind Farm.
While the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement will follow the formula developed for a uniform tax-exempt policy, JCIDA will not seek approval of the uniform policy now. That would require all affected taxing jurisdictions from the four proposed wind projects to sign on, which officials believe would take too long.
MATL stimulus negotiations in works.218562009-07-01T15:55:24Z2009-07-01T15:55:24ZA Canadian energy company and an arm of the U.S. Energy Department are working on a deal to complete financing for a proposed Montana-Alberta power line that would span 214 miles and carry power from the region's emerging wind industry, officials said Tuesday.
Germany's $143 billion wind farms jeopardized by tight funding .214262009-06-03T02:02:31Z2009-06-03T02:02:31ZAs much as 100 billion euros ($143 billion) in planned investments in German offshore wind farms are at risk as developers struggle to get funding, jeopardizing the deepest emissions cuts in the European Union.
Bochum's municipal utility expects its first wind park to be delayed by up to two years, Managing Director Bernd Wilmert said. HEAG Suedhessische Energie AG, a regional energy supplier known as HSE, had to go to twice as many banks as it would have needed last year to finance a 1.3 billion-euro North Sea wind farm, Chief Executive Officer Albert Filbert said.
Supervisors ask for $1.5 million in stimulus money to pay for wind energy consultants.203612009-03-05T16:19:41Z2009-03-05T16:19:41ZHighland County supervisors agreed Tuesday they could use some help getting the proposed industrial wind energy utility here off the ground ...Toward that end, supervisor David Blanchard suggested the county ask for $1.5 million in stimulus package money to pay for consultants who could assist.
The 39-megawatt facility planned by Highland New Wind Development LLC has state and local permits to build and operate the plant, but there are strict conditions attached to each.
Attorney questions wind farm financing .201742009-02-25T23:40:18Z2009-02-25T23:40:18ZAfter a week that smoothed the path for a proposed Coos County wind farm, a state attorney is asking for closer scrutiny of its financing.
Peter Roth, a senior assistant attorney general, has asked the state Site Evaluation Committee to suspend hearings to license the construction of 33 wind turbines along forested ridgelines. He said Granite Reliable Power has not shown it can pay for the $275 million project, a claim rebutted by an attorney for the company.
Making Juhl the little wind farm that could.200942009-02-21T14:44:11Z2009-02-21T14:44:11ZThe wind-energy boom has been seeded by federal and state tax credits that generally are most beneficial for wealthy investors, partnerships and corporations who might have unrelated income to offset. The federal stimulus bill appears to allow the tax benefits to be claimed by such a taxable pool, increasing profits and dividends to a lot of smaller owners, said Lee Schafer, director of investment banking at Northland.
Naples to get $860K in wind farm deal.200052009-02-14T18:19:11Z2009-02-14T18:19:11ZThe 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. California study shows high cost of renewable power.186922008-11-07T17:59:29Z2008-11-07T17:59:29ZIf 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.
Spain probes wind, solar power subsidy claims.185622008-10-27T20:55:25Z2008-10-27T20:55:25ZAn Industry Ministry official said the energy watchdog would check how many wind and solar power plants were installed in time to receive full subsidies before official aid was cut.
"There are some signs that there may be fraud in the installation and functioning of wind and solar parks," the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
Wind-tower builder asking DCOA for more money.185492008-10-27T03:32:46Z2008-10-27T03:32:46ZHigher than expected construction costs has a wind-tower manufacturing company asking for more money -- $700,000, to be exact -- from the city of Abilene's economic development arm.
According to Development Corporation of Abilene records, Tower Tech Systems, Inc., now estimate construction and equipment costs will reach $27 million, or about $7 million more as was estimated in DCOA's original assistance package.Clerk: don't give away the (wind) farm .181272008-09-26T03:06:56Z2008-09-26T03:06:56ZOfficials in Sullivan County agree a wind farm would be a positive addition, but they don't agree on how much they should do to accommodate the company that would bring it there.
The county commission wants to create an enhanced enterprise zone to give Tradewind Energy the tax incentives they say they need. County Clerk Mike Hepler and Assessor Karen LaFever say the enhanced enterprise zone would leave the county short changed.
"To sell out too cheap is not representing the public interest, it's representing the private interest. I was elected to represent the public interest," Hepler says.
Local law will allow tax on alternative energy systems.181242008-09-25T23:09:18Z2008-09-25T23:09:18ZCattaraugus County has retained its ability to tax alternative energy systems - including wind farms, solar energy systems and on-farm methane digesters - with a 16-2 vote for passage of a local law Tuesday.
The law applies to facilities within the county, including as many as four potential wind farm projects under consideration, and effectively disarms a state tax code provision exempting these energy sources from taxes. ...The vote came after residents and elected officials from the towns of Freedom, Machias and Farmersville stated their opposition in a 45-minute public hearing. Most said they were told the IDA's payment-in-lieu-of- taxes (PILOT) agreements will unfairly take a share of the wind farms' monetary payments.
Tuscola man drops wind farm lawsuit, says he plans to refile.171542008-08-01T12:18:25Z2008-08-01T12:18:25ZA lawsuit brought against the Taylor County Commissioners Court in April for granting what the plaintiff claims are illegal tax abatements to wind farms in the county was dropped Thursday with little fanfare.
Tuscola resident Dale Rankin, an opponent of wind energy, filed the lawsuit in April alleging that wind energy equipment is not eligible for tax abatements under the state tax code.
Rankin said he decided to "nonsuit," or essentially drop, the lawsuit because of what he called "procedural issues."
However, he said he plans to refile the lawsuit.
State money major factor in windmill plan in Green Tree.171412008-07-31T03:05:07Z2008-07-31T03:05:07ZThe borough has applied for two Department of Environmental Protection grants, each for $168,000, to fund a proposed $173,000 windmill and solar electric system. The borough would pay $5,000 toward the overall cost.
Borough Manager Dave Montz said if one or both grants are awarded, the total amount will not exceed $168,000.
Council President Mark Sampogna said, however, he is unsure if council will approve the project, even if funding is secured.
The height of proposed installation, 100-feet to 120-feet, could have a negative impact on the appearance of the park, he said.
Umholtz shows his opposition to wind farm.168552008-07-15T23:37:05Z2008-07-15T23:37:05ZTazewell County State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz is threatening legal action against the county itself if it ignores his advice and expands an enterprise zone to include a proposed wind farm.
Umholtz sent a letter Tuesday to County Board members, saying he opposes expanding the zone to include the Rail Splitter Wind Farm near the Tazewell and Logan county line, saying it would violate state statute.
"Let me make myself perfectly clear," Umholtz said in the letter. "The proposed expansion of the enterprise zone does not meet the statutory requirements and should not be approved by the County Board."
FPL asks state to keep audit of green energy program secret.162332008-06-06T10:42:22Z2008-06-06T10:42:22ZThe commission's probe of the program began in September when it asked FPL for documents and explanations of how it has spent about $10 million collected from the program's 38,000 subscribers. Again and again, FPL filed requests to keep its records confidential, saying they contain "proprietary business information" and "contractual vendor data."
But FPL records not under seal show that out-of-state renewable energy companies benefited more from the Sunshine Energy Program than did Florida companies.
"I think it's disappointing for FPL customers who fully expected and assumed they were putting their hard-earned money into developing renewable energy in Florida," said Holly Binns, field director of the nonprofit environmental group Environment Florida. "This is one example of why voluntary green energy programs aren't sufficient to develop a renewable energy economy here."
Schools go to court over windfarm deal.159152008-05-18T09:39:57Z2008-05-18T09:39:57ZA disagreement over the terms of a tax deal for a windfarm development in Prattsburgh will apparently have to be settled in court.
The Steuben County Industrial Development Agency refused to change the terms of a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement Thursday for a 36-turbine project by First Wind, formerly known as UPC.
Attorneys for the Prattsburgh and Naples school districts requested a renegotiation, claiming the company should be paying hundreds of thousands of dollars more in taxes. The tax agreement involves First Wind paying a fixed amount to the school districts, the town of Prattsburgh and the county over a 20-year period.
SCIDA refuses to alter windfarm agreement.158882008-05-16T19:16:18Z2008-05-16T19:16:18ZA disagreement over the terms of a tax deal for a windfarm development in Prattsburgh will apparently have to be settled in court.
The Steuben County Industrial Development Agency refused to change the terms of a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement Thursday for a 36-turbine project by First Wind, formerly known as UPC.
Attorneys for the Prattsburgh and Naples school districts requested a renegotiation claiming the company should be paying hundreds of thousands of dollars more in taxes. ...The Prattsburgh school district is being shorted about $1 million, school attorneys claim.
Wind farms sprout in western New York.156472008-05-04T02:51:34Z2008-05-04T02:51:34ZAside from Wyoming County, there are 62 other wind energy projects proposed across the state, according to the New York Independent System Operator. They include plans by Massachusetts-based First Wind (UPC Wind) for two projects in Ontario County and one in Genesee County; a 120-megawatt wind farm in Orleans County by Airtricity Inc. of Ireland; and a 75-megawatt wind farm in Genesee County by Tonawanda Creek Wind LLC. ...Fanning all this wind farm activity is the federal government's renewable energy production tax credit of about 2 cents per kilowatt-hour, said Thomas Drennen, a professor of economics and environmental studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva.
Germany falls behind in wind turbine installations.154312008-04-22T10:46:22Z2008-04-22T10:46:22ZGermany was replaced by the United States as the world's No.1 market for newly installed wind turbines last year due to falling subsidies, the German wind energy federation BWE said on Tuesday.
While new installation of wind turbines worldwide rose about 31 percent overall to 20,076 megawatt (MW), new installations in Germany slumped 25 percent to 1,667 MW last year, the association said in a statement.