www.windaction.org

Govt to probe wind farm health fears

2009-10-15T07:38:39Z

The State Government will investigate the health concerns of Victorians who live near wind farms. Last month, the Democratic Labor Party Member for Western Victorian, Peter Kavanagh, asked the Government to investigate whether workers near wind farms faced health hazards. Some landholders near the Waubra wind farm, west of Ballarat, say a low frequency hum from the turbines is making them sick.

Tests to measure wind farm noise

2009-09-04T02:35:31Z

The University of Ballarat has begun investigating noise levels near Waubra Wind Farm, with residents claiming low frequency turbine sound is affecting their health. Some say they have experienced headaches, nausea and sleep deprivation since the turbines began operating. The tests will be done at various locations

Turbine hum 'like airport'

2009-07-25T13:46:14Z

A humming noise from a wind farm near Wellington is driving sleep-deprived locals potty. "It's been horrific, it's noise torture," Makara resident Hans Renner said. "We just want some sleep, I don't think that's an unreasonable request." Haydon Miller said Meridian had promised the wind farm would not be noisy. "Either they misled us, or they got it terribly wrong."

Target delay forces wind farm hold-up

2009-06-19T02:59:27Z

Half-a-billion dollars worth of wind farm projects in south-west Victoria have been shelved because of a delay in the introduction of a renewable energy target. Pacific Hydro says the Federal Government must introduce the target before it can build 100 new turbines near Portland and Ararat.

Turbine power gets green light

2009-05-11T03:38:33Z

The Lal Lal Wind Farm in the Moorabool Shire has been given the go-ahead by Planning Minister Justin Madden. ...Moorabool Shire Council mayor Cr Michael Tudball said he hoped the minister had considered concerns held by local residents, including the effect on local flora and fauna, the ability for the turbines to link into existing power grids, flickering, noise and proximity to residential areas.

Billion-dollar wind farm project proposed

2009-01-07T04:32:07Z

A proposed billion-dollar wind farm has been earmarked for 52km of the Woakwine Range. The proposal, triple the size of the Lake Bonney Windfarm, involves up to 300 turbines producing 600 megawatts of energy.

B&B sells Portugal wind assets for $2.23b

2008-11-17T03:33:40Z

Babcock & Brown Ltd (B&B)has sold wind farm assets held by B&B Wind Partners in Portugal for $2.23 billion. The assets were sold to a consortium of investors led by Magnum Capital. B&B said it would earn $285.82 million in net proceeds from the sale of its 50% share of the portfolio. This represents a price above book value and will be used to pay down project debt secured against European wind assets, it added.

Spain's FCC buys BBW wind assets

2008-08-21T23:37:51Z

Spanish builder FCC has agreed to buy all of the wind power generating assets owned by Babcock & Brown Wind Partners in Spain for 190 million euros ($322 million). FCC will also take on gross debt of 590 million euros as part of the deal, FCC said today in a statement.

Plug set to be pulled on power savings campaign

2008-07-20T00:59:03Z

Meridian Energy says more wind generation capacity could have prevented the threat of a power crisis this winter. New Zealand's largest power company says wind is more reliable than hydro power generation because it is always blowing somewhere. It says people should not read too much into official production figures which showed the Te Apiti wind farm produced only a sixth of its installed capacity during some autumn months.

Babcock's Green under pressure to sell wind farms

2008-06-13T23:53:25Z

Babcock & Brown Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Phil Green is under increasing pressure to sell European wind farms to stave off a possible debt review, triggered by a share collapse this week. ...A successful sale could trigger a rebound in Babcock's shares, which trade at less than three times earnings after falling 83 percent this year, said ABN Amro Holdings NV analyst John Heagerty. Failure may increase the risk of banks demanding early repayment on A$2.8 billion of debt.

Global Warming: No Easy Fix

2007-03-04T12:25:36Z

Policymakers have settled on 'emissions trading' as their favorite global-warming fix. But it isn't working.

March 12, 2007 issue - Global warming isn't the only debate that may be over. Governments and policymakers around the world also seem to have settled on a solution. "A responsible approach to solving this crisis," Al Gore said recently at New York University's Law School, would be "to authorize the trading of emissions ... globally." Emissions trading, also called carbon trading, is being expanded in the European Union and Japan. And in many places where it's yet to take hold, like Sacramento, Sydney and Beijing, politicians are embracing it. Nicholas Stern, former chief economist of the World Bank and Europe's foremost political expert on global warming, predicts that the value of carbon credits in circulation, now about $28 billion, will climb to $40 billion by 2010.

This should be great news for the environment, but many experts have their doubts. The notion that emissions trading is going to make a significant dent in global warming is deeply flawed, they say. Current emissions-trading schemes have proved to be little more than a shell game, allowing polluters in the developed world to shift the burden of making cuts onto factories in the developing world.

UN talks split on date for climate fight rules

2006-11-07T14:34:20Z

A U.N. conference working to fix long-term rules to fight global warming beyond 2012 "as soon as possible" was split on Tuesday over whether that meant an accord should be struck in 2008, 2009 or even 2010. Industrial investors, weighing options ranging from coal-fired power plants to wind energy, are frustrated at the possibility of years of uncertainty about rules for fossil fuel emissions upon which carbon markets depend.

Can planting trees really give you a clear carbon conscience?

2006-10-07T12:17:48Z

Carbon offset schemes are designed to neutralise the effects of the carbon dioxide our activities produce by investing in projects that cut emissions elsewhere. They work through the rapidly growing trade in carbon credits, each worth the equivalent of a tonne of carbon. Offset companies typically buy carbon credits from projects that plant trees or encourage a switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy. They sell credits to individuals and companies who want to go "carbon neutral". Some climate experts say offsets are dangerous because they dissuade people from changing their behaviour.

You feel better, but is your carbon offset just hot air?

2006-10-07T11:53:32Z

Green consumers and businesses who want to neutralise their carbon emissions face being ripped off by unscrupulous operators who exploit the growing market in carbon offset schemes, a Guardian investigation has revealed. The surge in interest in such schemes, which invest millions of pounds in forestry and clean energy projects in the developing world, has created a lucrative market in carbon, which is unregulated and subject to little scrutiny. Campaigners and analysts say independent standards are urgently needed to protect consumers and to ensure the promised carbon savings are delivered. Francis Sullivan, a carbon offset expert who led attempts by banking group HSBC to neutralise its emissions, said: â��There will be individuals and companies out there who think theyâ��re doing the right thing but theyâ��re not. I am sure that people are buying offsets in this unregulated market that are not credible. I am sure there are people buying nothing more than hot air.â��

Wind may generate 30 pct of electricity by 2030-study

2006-09-20T10:42:01Z

OSLO, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Wind power could generate almost 30 percent of the world's electricity by 2030 and is growing faster than any other clean energy source, a wind business group and environmental lobby Greenpeace said on Wednesday.

Coal will still be king of power, says industry

2006-04-19T12:37:37Z

INTERNATIONAL power companies are increasingly worried about energy security and greenhouse emission but still plan to build much of their future on coal, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' Utilities Global Survey 2006.

WEO shows rising energy demand to 2030

2005-11-15T23:51:05Z

But world energy resources are adequate to meet this sustained growth trend because global oil reserves today exceed the cumulative projected production to 2030, IEA said. This optimistic outlook, however, is based on a reference scenario that IEA describes as "unsustainable." Under that reference scenario, primary world energy demand increases by an average rate of 1.6%/year, with fossil fuels accounting for 83% of the projected increase. By 2030, the world consumes 16.3 billion tonnes of oil equivalent (toe)/yearÂ�5.5 billion toe more than it does todayÂ�with more than two thirds of energy use coming from developing countries.

Summary of recent research on adverse heath effects of wind turbines

2009-10-20T11:09:47Z

This document provides a useful compilation of recent research pertaining to the impact of wind turbines on human health.

Turbine Accidents: Update from Caithness Wind Farms Information Forum

2006-11-01T00:00:00Z

A compilation as of November 1, 2006 of turbine accidents in the USA and abroad by accident type, date, site, state/country and turbine model.

More Babcock Wind hot air

2008-11-27T18:03:06Z

But when quizzed by a shareholder about why they were selling off such good assets - selling the things investors had bought into BBW to own - BBW came up with entirely new reasons. Now BBW says the Spanish wind farm operation is a dog - a low-yielding asset that didn't produce and economic return. That's a little at odds with the glowing picture painted in previous reports. I'm not sure it was the smartest thing to say when the sale hasn't settled yet.