Documents
Category:
General or Energy Policy
Jacques Whitford Stantec, by its successor in interest, Stantec Consulting LTD., filed construction liens in the amount of $242,296.58. A total of 150 landowners were cited in the claim.
NY PSC order prescribes renewable energy deliverability test
October 20, 2009
by NY Public Service Commission
This impacting order by New York's Public Service Commission requires renewable energy developers to quantify and qualify whether their proposed project, if built, will displace other renewable energy and in what amounts. (Case Number 09-E-0497)
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
New York]
This Windaction.org presentation was given at the Indiana State Bar Association's 2009 Fall Utility Law seminar held in Michigan City, Indiana on Oct 16-17, 2009.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
Indiana]
Economic impacts from the promotion of renewable energies: The German experience
September, 2009
by Dr. Manuel Frondel, Nolan Ritter, Prof. Colin Vance, Ph.D. et.al.
Abstract:
The allure of an environmentally benign, abundant, and cost-effective energy source has led an increasing number of industrialized countries to back public financing of renewable energies. Germany’s experience with renewable energy promotion is often cited as a model to be replicated elsewhere, being based on a combination of far-reaching energy and environmental laws that stretch back nearly two decades. This paper critically reviews the current centerpiece of this effort, the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), focusing on its costs and the associated implications for job creation and climate protection. We argue that German renewable energy policy, and in particular the adopted feed-in tariff scheme, has failed to harness the market incentives needed to ensure a viable and cost-effective introduction of renewable energies into the country’s energy portfolio. To the contrary, the government’s support mechanisms have in many respects subverted these incentives, resulting in massive expenditures that show little long-term promise for stimulating the economy, protecting the environment, or increasing energy security. In the case of photovoltaics, Germany’s subsidization regime has reached a level that by far exceeds average wages, with per-worker subsidies as high as 175,000 € (US $ 240,000)
This appeal was filed by the Concerned Citizens to Save Roxbury ("CCSR") in response to the August 20, 2009 final order issued by Maine's Department of Environmental Protection granting approval for Record Hill Wind LLC to construct a 22-turbine wind energy facility in Roxbury, Maine. The aggrieved parties further request a public hearing on its appeal on the grounds that credible, conflicting medical and technical information regarding the licensing criterion and it is likely that a public hearing will assist the State in understanding the evidence.
A technical critique of Denmark's wind energy development and operation. A brief summary of the report appears below. The full report can be downloaded by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
Denmark]
In a book released today, Dr. John Etherington - former Reader in Ecology, Thomas Huxley Medallist at the Royal College of Science and former co-editor of the Journal of Ecology - argues that wind farm technology is a wholly counter-productive and undesirable response to the problems of climate change and electricity generation.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
UK]
The Bingham County Idaho County Commissioners approved a wind proposal involving the construction of 81 miles of road and erecting 150 wind turbines across more than 17,600 acres of Wolverine Canyon. The area is locally designated as a Natural Resource/Agriculture district which, by definition, does not permit industrial, energy-producing, structures. The Commissioners ruled that since the wind energy facility was a "wind farm" it was therefore an agricultural use and thus permitted. The residents in the area filed an appeal with the courts. This document is one of several responsive briefs filed by the residents.
The U.S. wind industry experienced a banner year in 2008, surpassing even optimistic growth projections from years past. At the same time, the past year has been one of upheaval, with the global financial crisis impacting near-term growth prospects for the wind industry, and with significant federal policy changes enacted to push the industry towards continued aggressive expansion. Dr. Ryan Wiser, and others, prepared this detail analysis of wind development in the United States.
It's commonly believed that new wind power generation will displace coal and natural gas-fueled power plants and thereby avoid all their associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (NOX) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). The benefits of these avoided emissions have become a major factor in wind developers gaining public support for their plans to site wind farms. These purported benefits also are the reason for the large subsidies governments have provided to offset wind's higher power production costs.
Unfortunately, some of these environmental claims are built upon incorrect assumptions about how U.S. environmental regulations actually work and the type of generation a new wind project will displace. On any given power project, the benefits of avoided air emissions can be calculated as the simple difference between whether a designated project is built versus if the project is not built. This simple calculation has been incorrectly done by several renewable project developers and their consultants. Their mistakes have led them to incorrectly claim large air emission benefits from building new wind facilities.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
USA]