Documents
Category:
Maryland or Denmark
Browse in :
All
> Location
> USA
> Maryland (11)
All > Location > Europe > Denmark (22)
All of these categories
All > Location > Europe > Denmark (22)
All of these categories
The Windfarm perception project shows that the sound of wind turbines causes relatively much annoyance. The sound is perceived at relatively low levels and is thought to be more annoying than equally loud air or road traffic. This may be caused by the swishing character of the sound or because at night it does not decrease in strength -which is usually the case for traffic noise. Also in this study more disturbance of sleep occurs at the highest sound levels that occurred in this study. ...In the WINDFARM perception project, supervised by Frits van den Berg, the perception was investigated of modern, tall wind turbines by Dutch residents. The study shows that sound from wind farms is an important disadvantage of wind energy which in itself is positively appreciated by a majority of the participants.
Project WINDFARMperception: Visual and acoustic impact of wind turbine farms on residents
June 2, 2008
by van den Berg, Pedersen, Bouma, and Bakker
Jon Boone, an intervenor on the Clipper Wind proposal before the Maryland PSC presented these comments to the PSC in regard to Case No: 8938 Criterion Wind. The Criterion Wind project is the same project as the Clipper Wind proposal only reduced down to 70MW to qualify for fast-track review.
Letter to landowners, Garrett County MD
January 19, 2008
by Citizens For A Responsible Energy Future
The Citizens For A Responsible Energy Future sent this letter to all landowners in Garrett County, MD. The full letter can be downloaded by clicking on the link below.
Ecological impacts of wind energy development on bats: questions, research needs, and hypotheses
August 6, 2007
by Thomas H. Kunz et al
This important peer-reviewed paper written by bat expert Dr. Thomas H. Kunz et al identifies the significant risk wind turbines pose for migratory and local bat populations in the mid-Atlantic Highlands region of the United States. The projected number of annual fatalities of bats at wind energy facilities in the Highlands in the year 2020 can reach up to 111,000 bats.
Almost a fifth of the electricity produced annually in Denmark is generated by wind, yet only about 6% of the country’s electricity demand is satisfied directly from this source. Possibly two-thirds of its wind power output cannot be used to satisfy domestic needs at the moment of generation, and has to be exported (often at reduced prices) to preserve the integrity of the grid. Savings in carbon emissions are minimal. Public opposition and reduced subsidies have halted the deployment of on-shore wind turbines for the time being, but political and commercial interests are pressing to integrate much larger amounts of wind power into radically altered domestic and international transmission systems.
Bird and Bat Studies Conducted at Proposed or Existing Windpower Facilities
February, 2007
by Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
This document includes studies in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.
Also filed under [
Impact on Wildlife|
Impact on Birds|
Impact on Bats|
Maryland|
Maine|
Minnesota|
New Hampshire|
New York|
Pennsylvania|
Virginia|
Vermont|
West Virginia]
Less For More: The Rube Goldberg Nature of Industrial Wind Development
December 20, 2006
by Jon Boone, Oakland (MD)
Rube Goldberg would admire the utter purity of the pretensions of wind technology in
pursuit of a safer modern world, claiming to be saving the environment while wreaking
havoc upon it. But even he might be astonished by the spin of wind industry spokesmen.
Consider the comments made by the American Wind Industry Association.s Christina
Real de Azua in the wake of the virtual nonperformance of California.s more than 13,000
wind turbines in mitigating the electricity crisis precipitated by last July.s .heat storm..
.You really don.t count on wind energy as capacity,. she said. .It is different from other
technologies because it can.t be dispatched.. (84) The press reported her comments
solemnly without question, without even a risible chortle. Because they perceive time to
be running out on fossil fuels, and the lure of non-polluting wind power is so seductive,
otherwise sensible people are promoting it at any cost, without investigating potential
negative consequences-- and with no apparent knowledge of even recent environmental
history or grid operations.
Eventually, the pedal of wishful thinking and political demagoguery will meet the renitent metal of reality in the form of the Second Law of Thermodynamics (85) and public resistance, as it has in Denmark and Germany. Ironically, support for industrial wind energy because of a desire for reductions in fossil-fueled power and their polluting emissions leads ineluctably to nuclear power, particularly under pressure of relentlessly increasing demand for reliable electricity. Environmentalists who demand dependable power generation at minimum environmental risk should take care about what they wish for, more aware that, with Rube Goldberg machines, the desired outcome is unlikely to be achieved. Subsidies given to industrial wind technology divert resources that could otherwise support effective measures, while uninformed rhetoric on its behalf distracts from the discourse.and political action-- necessary for achieving more enlightened policy.
Eventually, the pedal of wishful thinking and political demagoguery will meet the renitent metal of reality in the form of the Second Law of Thermodynamics (85) and public resistance, as it has in Denmark and Germany. Ironically, support for industrial wind energy because of a desire for reductions in fossil-fueled power and their polluting emissions leads ineluctably to nuclear power, particularly under pressure of relentlessly increasing demand for reliable electricity. Environmentalists who demand dependable power generation at minimum environmental risk should take care about what they wish for, more aware that, with Rube Goldberg machines, the desired outcome is unlikely to be achieved. Subsidies given to industrial wind technology divert resources that could otherwise support effective measures, while uninformed rhetoric on its behalf distracts from the discourse.and political action-- necessary for achieving more enlightened policy.
Also filed under [
General|
Technology|
Pollution|
Tax Breaks & Subsidies|
Energy Policy|
Zoning/Planning|
USA|
California|
Maryland|
Denmark|
Germany|
Canada]
This report (6.68 MB) is available via the link below
Dan Boone's Response to Maryland PSC's proposed siting guidelines for windpower projects
August 4, 2006
The attached two documents include the MD Public Service Commision's (PSC) proposed Siting Guidelines for wind energy facilities in MD, and a detailed critique of this draft by Dan Boone, a conservation biologist with nearly 30 years of professional experience involving wildlife biology, forest ecology, and biodiversity protection.