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/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/35724 Tue, 07 Aug 2012 03:32:28 GMT The politics of renewable energy headed the agenda in battleground Nevada on Tuesday, as Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar opened a fifth annual green energy conference with the announcement that a 12-square-mile wind energy farm in rural White Pine County will begin producing electricity. http://www.windaction.org/articles/35724 http://www.windaction.org/articles/33780 Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:50:49 GMT The plant was built with the help of a federal grant of approximately $65.7 million through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the loan from John Hancock is 80 percent guaranteed by the federal government. http://www.windaction.org/articles/33780 http://www.windaction.org/articles/33200 Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:21:28 GMT In a remote desert spot in northern Nevada, there is a geothermal plant run by a politically connected clean energy start-up that has relied heavily on an Obama administration loan guarantee and is now facing financial turmoil. The company is Nevada Geothermal Power, which like Solyndra, the now-famous California solar company, is struggling with debt after encountering problems at its only operating plant. http://www.windaction.org/articles/33200 http://www.windaction.org/articles/32290 Sun, 26 Jun 2011 18:58:59 GMT The question of where renewable energy plants can and should go has prompted debate across the West, in New England and in numerous other parts of the country. What makes the debate so heated is that it forces people to reconcile two imperatives: developing sources of alternative energy and supporting preservation-whether of a Civil War battlefield, an endangered species' habitat, or a sacred Native American burial site. http://www.windaction.org/articles/32290 http://www.windaction.org/articles/26363 Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:59:47 GMT Some environmentalists are breaking ranks and fighting the solar industry. The problem, as they see it, is that tens of thousands of acres of mostly pristine desert is slated for bulldozing to accommodate utility-scale solar power plants in Nevada and across the Southwest. ...Renewable energy developers have long been the darlings of environmental groups, but Saturday's event highlights a growing rift within those groups. http://www.windaction.org/articles/26363 http://www.windaction.org/articles/22563 Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:27:38 GMT This economy, proponents say, promises to rebuild communities abandoned by bankrupt manufacturers, restore jobs lost by the busted housing market and reinstate America as a global leader. Not so fast. Although Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says renewable energy has the potential to create "tens of thousands of jobs" in Nevada and more than a million nationwide, little research has been done on actual job creation in such an unchartered area. http://www.windaction.org/articles/22563 http://www.windaction.org/articles/22346 Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:48:46 GMT Political leaders from both parties have often said Nevada is in a race with other states to attract renewable energy projects. Solar, wind and geothermal energy production represent the very future of Nevada's economy, they say. Despite the bold talk, state government has lagged behind surrounding states in applying for millions in federal stimulus dollars for renewable energy and energy conservation projects. http://www.windaction.org/articles/22346 http://www.windaction.org/articles/21944 Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:05:48 GMT Salazar said Interior is setting aside 24 parcels of federal land for a special study of environmental effects. Those areas, a total of 670,000 acres, were chosen based on the routes of transmission lines and early indications that they are less environmentally sensitive than other areas in the state. Once an area wins preapproval, applications for solar plants could race through the process, officials say. http://www.windaction.org/articles/21944 http://www.windaction.org/articles/21662 Sat, 20 Jun 2009 21:13:25 GMT On a vacant piece of land near Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, the promise of solar energy has collided into the demands of military training. And a solar project that would have featured a vast field of mirrors, a molten-salt storage facility and a 600-foot "power tower" appears to be heading for defeat. http://www.windaction.org/articles/21662 http://www.windaction.org/articles/19996 Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:48:03 GMT Nevada needs billions of dollars in new transmission lines if it is to capitalize on its renewable energy potential and become a net exporter of clean energy, Gov. Jim Gibbons said in a statement. He and other Western governors have called for changes in tax laws to further stimulate transmission line development. http://www.windaction.org/articles/19996 http://www.windaction.org/articles/15539 Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:19:07 GMT The fate of basic industries across the Intermountain West -- grazing, mining, energy -- soon could be at least partially tied to that of a bird about the size of a chicken. The federal government is under a judge's order to reconsider an earlier decision against listing the sage grouse as endangered, and wildlife biologists are scouring the species' customary mating grounds to see how many are left. The species was seen as recently as 2004 over an area as large as California and Texas combined, but its habitat used to be close to twice that and research has shown that many types of human activity continue to harm it. ...''It will affect everything we do and know (as) a Western state, everything from livestock grazing to mining to development of sage brush habitat, wind energy,'' said Ken Mayer, director of the Nevada wildlife department. ''I don't think we have ever been in this position before.'' http://www.windaction.org/articles/15539 http://www.windaction.org/articles/15524 Sat, 26 Apr 2008 12:31:46 GMT As the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gets ready to re-examine whether the greater sage grouse needs federal protection, Espinosa and other state wildlife biologists across the West are frantically looking for the bird and the traditional mating grounds known as leks where they have lived for centuries _ or, increasingly, where they used to live. ..."It has been quite simply amazing the amount of habitat we have lost in just the last two years, particularly in the northeast part of the state," said Espinosa of the Nevada Department of Wildlife. ...whether the federal government concludes the grouse needs protection is "a huge decision." "It will affect everything we do and know (as) a Western state, everything from livestock grazing to mining to development of sage brush habitat, wind energy, transmission lines," he said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/15524 http://www.windaction.org/articles/10293 Thu, 21 Jun 2007 11:34:23 GMT WASHINGTON - The House rejected a resolution Wednesday that would block government plans to spur construction of major new power lines in many states regardless of local opposition. The issue has been contentious in parts of the East Coast and in the Southwest, where two high priority transmission corridors for power lines were proposed. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., warned colleagues that unwanted power lines could come to their district. http://www.windaction.org/articles/10293 http://www.windaction.org/articles/1204 Fri, 06 Jan 2006 14:10:19 GMT LAS VEGAS -- Sen. Harry Reid called Wednesday for a 14-year federal energy plan that he said would encourage renewable sources of power and ensure domestic supply. http://www.windaction.org/articles/1204 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37398 Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:28:08 GMT This unanimous decision by the Nevada Supreme Court could have impacts across the U.S. The Court lays out a clear and convincing explanation for why a personal wind turbine in a residential subdivision should be prohibited. In the order, Justice Jim Hardesty covers noise, property value impacts and the effect on aesthetics including shadow flicker. Excerpts of the order are provided below. The full order can be accessed at the below links. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37398 http://www.windaction.org/articles/35738 Fri, 10 Aug 2012 00:08:19 GMT No doubt renewable energy technologies will continue to evolve and become more viable. But it would be helpful if conferences such as this one included a serious discussion of economic realities rather than simply devolving into a pep rally for increased public handouts to favored green producers all too eager to stick out their hands. http://www.windaction.org/articles/35738 http://www.windaction.org/articles/26111 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:20:39 GMT Chinese wind power provider A-Power Energy Generation Systems(SPWR) and its U.S.-based partners announced on Thursday plans to build a wind turbine production and assembly plant in Nevada that will create up to 1,000 permanent jobs for the state and more jobs during the construction phase. The announcement about the Nevada plant was notable for two reasons: the selection of Nevada as home state for the wind energy plant, and the political power broker who is associated with the state. http://www.windaction.org/articles/26111 http://www.windaction.org/articles/21663 Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:26:30 GMT Col. Howard "Dave" Belote, commander of the 99th Air Base Wing at the Nellis Air Force Training Range, pledged to work together early in the process on projects like renewable energy in an attempt to dispel the military's image as an obstacle. "We're not trying to stop development, but we want to say we're here, we're going to be here for a long time," Belote told Nye County Commissioners Tuesday. http://www.windaction.org/articles/21663