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/36709 Thu, 06 Dec 2012 13:24:51 GMT Tina Sapp works at Nino's Bakery right on Main St. and said she watched it all happen. She said she immediately feared for her own safety. "As soon as it fell, we were like, 'What if it rolls this way?' That's all we kept thinking," she said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/36709 http://www.windaction.org/articles/27373 Wed, 19 May 2010 11:39:07 GMT Wind turbines placed near emergency communication towers could disrupt exchanges, resulting in dropped 911 calls and other problems, supervisor Dave Korinek said Tuesday ...Korinek authored a resolution urging the Wisconsin Wind Siting Council to consider disruptions to emergency communications. http://www.windaction.org/articles/27373 http://www.windaction.org/articles/26742 Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:33:05 GMT Safety was the main theme of a meeting Thursday for landowners involved in the Bent Tree Wind Farm project. For instance, even though some work will be done on landowners' private property, they aren't allowed on the construction site. If they call ahead and ask they may be allowed to see some parts. "This is your land and we respect that," said Bent Tree construction manager Tim Shugart. http://www.windaction.org/articles/26742 http://www.windaction.org/articles/25877 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:28:15 GMT Opponents of a proposed wind farm in southern Brown County are urging county officials to consider whether the project might interfere with emergency radio communications. A committee of the Brown County Board is scheduled Tuesday to discuss a Chicago-based developer's plan to erect 100 wind turbines in the towns of Morrison, Holland, Wrightstown and Glenmore. http://www.windaction.org/articles/25877 http://www.windaction.org/articles/20689 Sat, 11 Apr 2009 06:26:35 GMT Butler Ridge, a new energy wind farm in east-central Dodge County, is interfering with the Weather Surveillance Doppler Radar at the Sullivan office in eastern Jefferson County, said Marc Ravinsky, senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Sullivan. Visual noise from the 36 wind turbines could mask or distort severe weather taking place in the same area, Ravinsky said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/20689 http://www.windaction.org/articles/17803 Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:05:02 GMT Although the 400-foot turbines can sometimes delay air medical rescues, emergency personnel are trained to cope artfully with such situations, said Claire Rayford, spokesperson for Flight for Life ...The pilot decides what is safe and makes a decision based on many different factors at the time of the incident, Rayford said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/17803 http://www.windaction.org/articles/17416 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:57:43 GMT It's a plan, not everyone is thrilled about. On a stretch of land, just southwest of Fond du Lac, Curt Kindschuh lives near a windmill farm. It's an area where Flight for Life and Theda Star say landing could be extremely tough, and that's why pilots are being told to avoid it, even if there's an emergency. http://www.windaction.org/articles/17416 http://www.windaction.org/articles/17410 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:35:03 GMT The modern windmills may create clean energy but they are a clear and present danger to air ambulances. Milwaukee-based Flight for Life has notified first responders in Fond du Lac County that air ambulances will not land near the windmill clusters here. "They are up in the air," said Flight for Life's Claire Rayford. "We have to be aware of them. Depending on how high they are, they may not be lit." http://www.windaction.org/articles/17410 http://www.windaction.org/articles/13078 Sat, 08 Dec 2007 16:56:56 GMT We found there are no set regulations for the air medical industry in regards to wind turbines other than they're treated like any other obstacle such as cell phone towers, electrical lines, cranes, etc. in that they are "avoided" in flight. This means you typically don't fly directly over them at low altitudes and don't fly in close proximity. The FAA and the DOT had no specific recommendations, but are concerned about placement near private airports that aren't governed by their agencies. There is also some concern in counties where the plan is to place scattered wind turbines as opposed to a linear placement as you see more in the western part of the state. In a linear placement, the location of the towers is somewhat more predictable, although often only the towers on the parameters of the line are required to be lit. http://www.windaction.org/articles/13078 http://www.windaction.org/articles/11861 Wed, 19 Sep 2007 05:19:18 GMT Supervisors voted 20-1 to approve an amendment requiring that information be posted on each large wind energy system so that the owner can be contacted in the event of a noise complaint. The placard must provide a telephone number for law enforcement or officials to call to investigate a noise complaint, sound level measurement, or administration of this ordinance, the amendment said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/11861 http://www.windaction.org/articles/11655 Wed, 05 Sep 2007 18:24:03 GMT Commercial wind turbines could cause emergency communications systems to fail, leaving communities in the area at risk, according to a Clay Banks Windmill Planning Committee and Southern Door Fire Board member. ...Although wind energy systems do not appear to disrupt the current generation of analog type communication systems, the impact on digital voice communications systems remains unknown, Doug Weimer told the committee at its regular meeting Aug. 31. The impact of wind energy systems on digital communications systems is difficult to document because only a few of those systems are now being used. http://www.windaction.org/articles/11655 http://www.windaction.org/articles/9768 Thu, 24 May 2007 18:29:52 GMT A steel cylinder weighing more than a herd of elephants tumbled off a truck here Thursday and snarled traffic all day, prompting state officials to halt all such future shipments. Bound for a wind farm in Iowa, the 55-foot section of windmill fell onto the road shortly before 10 a.m. as startled onlookers watched in the center of the village's downtown business district. The colossal cargo came to a rest at Main St. and Appleton Ave., both state highways, where it blocked traffic throughout the day until about 9:25 p.m. and left downtown merchants cut off from their customers. http://www.windaction.org/articles/9768 http://www.windaction.org/articles/5429 Fri, 29 Sep 2006 11:41:16 GMT MILWAUKEE (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration has given approval to two Wisconsin wind power projects that were stalled by concerns that the turbines may interfere with military radar. Permits have been issued for the Forward Wind Energy Center in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties and the Butler Ridge wind farm in Dodge County, said Bruce Beard, the FAA manager in Texas responsible for the office that issues permits. "The (permits) are through. We are absolutely through with them, and they have got clearance to start building them," Beard said Friday. http://www.windaction.org/articles/5429 http://www.windaction.org/articles/5259 Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:54:02 GMT BROWNSVILLE -- It isn't over until it's over. Horicon Marsh Systems Advocates vows to continue fighting the approved $250 million wind farm planned for construction near the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge. In a recent development, Invenergy Wind LLC agrees with statements in a letter that 36 members of Congress sent to President George W. Bush and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairman James L. Connaughton concerning wind energy and the Department of Defense study, said Neil Palmer, public affairs consultant for the Chicago-based developer. "We are very pleased to see the congressional delegation taking these positions and that three of them are from Wisconsin," he said. "While we have apparently been cleared on this issue in regard to the Forward project we feel that it's important that the DOD complete the study and if there are issues that it provide a description of how to address them." http://www.windaction.org/articles/5259 http://www.windaction.org/articles/5202 Tue, 19 Sep 2006 16:27:51 GMT BROWNSVILLE - Invenergy Wind LLC will re-evaluate its entire $250 million project after the Federal Aviation Administration recently issued hazard determination permits for 80 of its 133 turbine sites, according to Neil Palmer, public affairs consultant for the Chicago-based developer. He said Invenergy Wind plans to obtain pricing updates on turbines, equipment and construction as well as establish a schedule after nearly a year-long delay while the Department of Defense studied the effect wind turbines would have on military radar. "Once we get through that we'll have a better definition of when we'll start building but we don't know that today," Palmer said. He said the DOD, which doesn't have the authority to issue permits for wind turbines, asked the FAA to grant them until the DOD concludes its study. http://www.windaction.org/articles/5202 http://www.windaction.org/articles/5155 Sun, 17 Sep 2006 11:42:54 GMT Two Wisconsin wind power projects that were stalled by concerns that rotating turbines would interfere with military radar have received the go-ahead from the Federal Aviation Administration. Among them is one of the largest wind farms on the drawing board in Wisconsin: the Forward Wind Energy Center in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties. The Forward project, being developed by Invenergy of Chicago, was moving toward construction this year when it ran into a roadblock of opposition. Permits have been issued for both the Forward project, a 133-turbine development near the Horicon Marsh, as well as the Butler Ridge wind farm in Dodge County, said Bruce Beard, the FAA manager in Texas responsible for the office that issues permits. http://www.windaction.org/articles/5155 http://www.windaction.org/articles/3588 Fri, 23 Jun 2006 11:43:16 GMT Some of an estimated $1 billion in Wisconsin wind energy projects that have been stalled for months because of fears that they could interfere with military radar might be allowed to move ahead soon. http://www.windaction.org/articles/3588 http://www.windaction.org/articles/3536 Tue, 20 Jun 2006 10:14:07 GMT WASHINGTON — Lawmakers from Minnesota and Wisconsin are urging the federal government to quickly resolve delays on wind energy projects caused by a Department of Defense study of whether wind turbines interfere with military radar. http://www.windaction.org/articles/3536 http://www.windaction.org/articles/2189 Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:06:37 GMT BROWNSVILLE, Wis. (AP) - A permit for a proposed wind farm in Horicon is on hold while the federal government studies how the facility could affect a radar used by the Air Force. http://www.windaction.org/articles/2189 http://www.windaction.org/articles/2170 Thu, 23 Mar 2006 17:48:01 GMT Wildlife groups that want to block construction of a wind power project near the Horicon Marsh and its refuge for migratory birds have found a new and unusual ally: the U.S. Air Force. http://www.windaction.org/articles/2170