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/38362 Fri, 17 May 2013 13:41:48 GMT NAW has learned that a blade belonging to a Siemens SWT-2.3-108 wind turbine came crashing to the ground at the 265 MW Ocotillo Wind Farm in the early morning hours of May 16. No one was injured. A spokesperson from Pattern Energy, which owns and operates Ocotillo, corroborated the incident. http://www.windaction.org/articles/38362 http://www.windaction.org/articles/38338 Sat, 11 May 2013 17:38:26 GMT The problem, he said, is that those big investment firms tend to focus on mature companies that are generating significant revenue, and there are few of those in cleantech. Meanwhile, more government investment seems increasingly far off as congressional Republicans demand answers about the failure of Fisker Automotive. http://www.windaction.org/articles/38338 http://www.windaction.org/articles/38137 Fri, 19 Apr 2013 21:02:07 GMT "The lack of data is particularly troubling because it is just this sort of data from permit holders that permits the U.S. Fish and WIldlife Service to monitor the health of the eagle populations within the United States, the release notes. Despite lacking a permit, Bittner continued to capture and band 144 migratory birds in the region, including at least one female Golden Eagle. http://www.windaction.org/articles/38137 http://www.windaction.org/articles/38123 Thu, 18 Apr 2013 01:41:54 GMT Dave Bittner, Golden Eagle expert with Wildlife Research Institute, pled guilty to federal charges of unlawful taking of Golden Eagles --working without valid permit and failure to file reports. Bittner conducted studies for Iberdrola's Tule Wind project approved by BLM and San Diego County for public and private land in the McCain Valley National Cooperative Land & Wildlife Management & Recreation Area. Tule Wind decisions by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for turbines on Ewiiaapaayp tribal lands, with a reported 6-8 Golden Eagle nests, and on State Lands Commission lands in Golden Eagle habitat are still pending. Can those agencies rely on Bitner's Golden Eagle work for Tule Wind that was apparently unpermitted and unlawful? What other breaches of law or professional ethics might be involved? http://www.windaction.org/articles/38123 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37764 Mon, 18 Mar 2013 02:30:40 GMT The US Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the death of a golden eagle at a wind farm in Kern County, California, and is asking for local resident's help. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37764 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37747 Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:04:19 GMT "Un-permitted take of eagles is the illegal take of eagles," Birchell said in the release. "We want power companies or any company involved in planning to build wind generation facilities in the Tehachapi range, where a significant golden eagle population exists, to contact the Service well in advance of construction and work with our biologists to develop conservation plans that will avoid take of eagles." http://www.windaction.org/articles/37747 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37727 Wed, 13 Mar 2013 02:26:07 GMT The approvals were for two solar and one wind projects, including NextEra Energy Inc's 750-megawatt McCoy Solar Energy Project in Southern California, the 150-megawatt Desert Harvest Solar Farm proposed by EDF Renewable Energy, also in Riverside County, and the 200-megawatt Searchlight Wind Energy Project in Nevada, south of Las Vegas. Searchlight, which is being developed by Duke Energy Corp, will use Siemens wind turbines. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37727 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37684 Sat, 09 Mar 2013 17:13:34 GMT Industrial-scale energy projects on Bureau of Land Management lands are pushed through by energy companies touting jobs and economic booms to communities. Not mentioned is the potential loss of tourism revenues if people stop coming to recreational areas that are visually blighted. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37684 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37187 Tue, 29 Jan 2013 20:53:25 GMT The tall, grassy hills, raked by stiff winds in spring and summer, offer prime hunting territory for owls, hawks and eagles. Focused on spotting prey, many birds soar straight into the spinning blades of turbines. But efforts to curb the bloodshed may be starting to work. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37187 http://www.windaction.org/articles/36547 Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:22:50 GMT It is unclear how many jobs Clipper might shed. At its high point, the firm employed about 770 people. ...By February, Clipper will consist of “somewhere under 100 employees.” Clipper’s development operations have ceased, and it is likely that the only part of the company to live on will be servicing the proprietary gearboxes in its 739-turbine fleet, this person said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/36547 http://www.windaction.org/articles/36534 Wed, 14 Nov 2012 20:19:06 GMT Barbara Boyle, a senior representative at the Sierra Club's regional field office in Sacramento, says Ivanpah could have been located at any number of other locations where it would have had less impact on the environment and the tortoises that live there. Boyle says there are multiple areas in Southern California, including old dried-up agricultural lands and mining areas, that would have been more suitable. http://www.windaction.org/articles/36534 http://www.windaction.org/articles/36124 Fri, 21 Sep 2012 20:35:49 GMT The power generated by the mega-plants will be among the most expensive renewable energy in the country. ...Stanford University economist Frank Wolak said the state's renewable energy strategy could boost electricity rates 10% to 20%, depending on a number of factors. Potentially, consumers' bills could go up by 50%. "It is easily in the billions of dollars," he said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/36124 http://www.windaction.org/articles/36039 Thu, 13 Sep 2012 12:07:13 GMT Two new lawsuits were filed September 11, 2012 against federal officials and the U.S. government seeking an injunction to halt construction at Pattern Energy's Ocotillo Express industrial wind project. http://www.windaction.org/articles/36039 http://www.windaction.org/articles/35414 Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:23:16 GMT The Fish and Wildlife Service administers eagle take permits under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The legal provisions allow businesses to kill limited numbers of eagles during normal operations. In return, permit holders commit to compensatory measures designed to offset the damage. http://www.windaction.org/articles/35414 http://www.windaction.org/articles/35399 Fri, 06 Jul 2012 03:18:52 GMT But the groups say the state issued North Sky an incidental take permit and approved a streambed alteration "without considering the impacts of the operation of the project on protected avian species, the majestic golden eagle and the extremely rare California condor and imperiled willow flycatchers, as well as impacts to an important avian migratory corridor." http://www.windaction.org/articles/35399 http://www.windaction.org/articles/35065 Fri, 25 May 2012 13:03:14 GMT Quechan contends the project will cause irreparable harm to hundreds of cites including burial and cremation sites, as well as tens of thousands of artifacts. Forensic dog teams hired by tribes last week found six new cremation sites. Tribal members, who in modern times have continued to use the site for ceremonial purposes, also sought to protect views of mountains sacred in their religious beliefs of creation. http://www.windaction.org/articles/35065 http://www.windaction.org/articles/35029 Mon, 21 May 2012 21:12:52 GMT Using a laser pointer, a Navy official outlined on a map a vast area where the military wants to limit commercial wind development. The pointer swept across the Mojave Desert, skirting around Las Vegas, and edging near San Bernardino County's High Desert communities and touching the southern Sierra Nevada range. http://www.windaction.org/articles/35029 http://www.windaction.org/articles/34960 Sun, 13 May 2012 18:50:17 GMT Lisa Linowes, executive director of the Industrial Wind Action Group, a watchdog organization based in New Hampshire, argues the end of the tax credit need not be fatal. She sees new wind installations as more dependent on state renewable energy laws than the tax credit. http://www.windaction.org/articles/34960 http://www.windaction.org/articles/34961 Sat, 12 May 2012 19:30:32 GMT Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed off on the project's Environmental Impact Statement over the objection of Native American tribal officials who remain concerned about the aesthetic impact of the project on ancestral lands and the potential for disturbing cultural and archaeological artifacts, including possible cremation sites. http://www.windaction.org/articles/34961 http://www.windaction.org/articles/34804 Sun, 22 Apr 2012 12:16:09 GMT The Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club filed a federal lawsuit this month against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to stop the proposed 100-turbine North Sky River wind project in Kern County's Tehachapi region. The groups say a neighboring wind farm, Pine Tree, has killed at least eight golden eagles and that condors are at risk, too. http://www.windaction.org/articles/34804