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/1104 Thu, 01 Sep 2005 04:00:00 GMT http://www.windaction.org/articles/1104 http://www.windaction.org/articles/24076 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:28:53 GMT A Patrick administration proposal that critics say would strip local control from the siting of wind turbines is still awaiting action on Beacon Hill. And some West County town officials say revisions in the legislation don't go far enough in addressing their concerns. The Hawley Planning Board wrote this week to Gov. Deval Patrick and area legislators opposing the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act. http://www.windaction.org/articles/24076 http://www.windaction.org/articles/23923 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:09:01 GMT With more than a third of the major wind-energy projects in Massachusetts stalled by lawsuits or permit appeals, the Patrick administration has proposed a landmark bill that would streamline the state’s appeals process and make it possible to win approval of such projects much more quickly. Massachusetts now generates less than 1 percent of the nation’s wind energy, about 9 megawatts ...Without a change in the permitting process the state will not meet Governor Deval Patrick’s goal of producing 2,000 megawatts of wind power, enough for 800,000 homes, by 2020. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23923 http://www.windaction.org/articles/23902 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:21:52 GMT To municipal wind power advocates, net metering is the Holy Grail. ...Net metering provisions virtually double what municipalities are currently paid for the power they generate through renewable energy. It also allowed the towns to get credits at the wholesale rate for their power ...But some Cape municipal and county officials are worried that wind turbines that are still in the planning stages will not get the benefits of net metering because of a cap the state Legislature imposed on the total amount of power that could be generated under the program. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23902 http://www.windaction.org/articles/23864 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:59:05 GMT The delegation, which includes representatives of every Island board of selectmen, the Dukes County Commission, Martha's Vineyard Commission and the Wampanoag tribe, has been trying without success for almost three weeks to get a meeting with the governor. Instead, the governor's office offered them time with the chief architect of the plan, the Secretary of the Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Ian Bowles. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23864 http://www.windaction.org/articles/23834 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:24:01 GMT Two utility-scale wind projects on hold in Berkshire County, with a combined 45 megawatts of capacity, would expand wind generated electricity in the state by about 500 percent and power the equivalent of 15,000 homes, according to local and state officials. But both are tied up in litigation filed by local property owners, and one of the projects has been delayed for more than five years. A bill pending in the Legislature might cut the time needed for permitting, eliminating much of the litigation-generated delays. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23834 http://www.windaction.org/articles/23845 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:59:37 GMT State energy and environmental officials assured Islanders that their voices will be heard and their concerns considered as the state's draft Ocean Plan nears finalization on December 31. "The secretary's perspective is that we're not going to ram our projects down the throats of a place that doesn't want them," said Deerin Babb-Brott, an assistant secretary to Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23845 http://www.windaction.org/articles/23760 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:07:32 GMT Ian Bowles, Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said Tuesday that the state is prepared to listen to the concerns Islanders have about provisions of the Oceans Act. He said that while Islanders have focused on the designation of areas west of the Vineyard for wind farm development, the state is actively exploring the potential for wind farm development in federal waters well south of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23760 http://www.windaction.org/articles/23505 Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:04:28 GMT The Martha's Vineyard Commission (MVC) last Thursday voted 12 to 1 to accept a nomination to create an Island wind district of critical planning concern (DCPC) that would cover the airspace above 220 feet over the waters of Dukes County. The purpose of the DCPC is to provide a framework to regulate large-scale wind turbine development, according to the MVC. ...Acceptance of a nomination immediately triggers a moratorium on development permits. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23505 http://www.windaction.org/articles/23410 Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:08:30 GMT The city announced yesterday it is one of 103 Massachusetts cities and towns to receive a planning assistance grant from the Green Communities Program from state Department of Energy Resources. The grant will help communities like Newburyport take the necessary steps to becoming official Green Communities by providing free technical assistance to reach a set of pre-written standards. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23410 http://www.windaction.org/articles/23345 Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:11:05 GMT In the scramble to harness ocean wind power, floating turbine technology may be the holy grail. Turbines that can be floated into position and anchored in deeper water are the solution to much of the politics that confronts shallow-water projects, according to proponents of the concept. A pair of announcements this month seems to herald the next step into deeper water. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23345 http://www.windaction.org/articles/23300 Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:34:02 GMT Well over 100 people attended the public hearing called to receive feedback on the Oceans Management Plan, billed by the state government as a first-in-the-nation attempt to manage all development in Massachusetts waters. But just one issue dominated proceedings: wind generation. ...Overwhelmingly, the dozens who rose to speak were opposed to the plan, either outright or in part - although most also asserted their support in principle for alternative power generation. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23300 http://www.windaction.org/articles/23175 Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:44:22 GMT A company that wants to build a floating wind farm 23 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard has applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to install a demonstration platform at the project's proposed site. The application by Blue H USA proposes a semi-submerged deepwater platform held underwater by chains attached to a counterweight on the ocean floor. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23175 http://www.windaction.org/articles/23132 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:08:24 GMT Wind energy development in and near Buzzards Bay drew the most public comment during a hearing Tuesday night on the state's draft Ocean Management Plan. Public officials, environmental advocates and local residents shared concern for protecting the ecologically sensitive bay, but disagreed on how much wind development they would support. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23132 http://www.windaction.org/articles/23076 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:01:40 GMT A growing group of elected officials this week raced to stay ahead of a state plan that could allow large-scale commercial wind farms to built within three miles of the Vineyard's southern shore, with little or no oversight from Island regulatory agencies, including the Martha's Vineyard Commission. ...Chairman Leonard Jason Jr. said the county and the six Island towns should join forces to create a unified front in response to the state wind initiatives. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23076 http://www.windaction.org/articles/23075 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:01:03 GMT Associated Industries of Massachusetts has launched an all-out attack on the Patrick administration's aggressive renewable energy programs, saying they'll cost electric ratepayers billions of dollars and represent a stealth tax on residents and companies. In a letter filed with the state's Department of Energy Resources, AIM objected to the administration's move to impose specific guidelines on how much solar power that ratepayers should eventually buy to help reduce carbon pollution. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23075 http://www.windaction.org/articles/22998 Sat, 05 Sep 2009 18:21:50 GMT The waters around the Cape and Islands are awash with ideas for harnessing renewable energy. From a tidal project in Muskeget Channel east of Chappaquiddick Island to ocean-based wind turbines, it is difficult to escape hope-infused plans for a green, energy-filled future. But over the next month, the action comes onshore during a series of public hearings and conferences on how to mold those dreams into reality. http://www.windaction.org/articles/22998 http://www.windaction.org/articles/22892 Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:08:52 GMT Draft legislation backed by Gov. Deval Patrick has again placed the Vineyard front and center in the statewide push to build large-scale wind farms on land and at sea, sparking some concern here that the rush to adopt clean energy technologies could come at the expense of fishing grounds, scenic views and the Island's unique powers to regulate development through the Martha's Vineyard Commission. http://www.windaction.org/articles/22892 http://www.windaction.org/articles/22728 Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:30:58 GMT Dubbed "biomass energy," the push to help wean the state off coal-burning plants by incinerating trees and wood has the backing of state officials and many environmentalists. The Patrick administration already has invested $1 million to help jump start the development of four wood-burning plants in the western Massachusetts ...But a coalition of neighborhood groups and other environmental advocates is pushing back. http://www.windaction.org/articles/22728 http://www.windaction.org/articles/22720 Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:10:45 GMT State officials have scheduled the last of five public hearings on a draft ocean management plan released last month. ...The final version of the plan, which is being developed under the state Oceans Act of 2008, is set to go into effect Jan. 1. http://www.windaction.org/articles/22720