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/news/38445 Thu, 23 May 2013 17:50:45 GMT A Hillsborough County Superior Court judge David Garfunkel ruled Monday that town officials violated the state's Right-To-Know law by holding illegal non-public hearings with Antrim Wind Energy and its counsel to negotiate a payment in lieu of taxes, known as a PILOT agreement. As a result of the ruling, the terms of the deal between the town and Antrim Wind Energy has been voided. http://www.windaction.org/news/38445 http://www.windaction.org/opinions/38444 Thu, 23 May 2013 16:01:38 GMT This power cost taxpayers $135 per megawatt, totalling $7,852,276. At the same time, because wind power has priority over cheaper forms of electricity production, Ontario had to export 127,361 megawatt hours at $20.40 per megawatt. But by far the worst fact about that weekend is that OPG spilled (or wasted) clean renewable hydro power because of wind priority on the grid. http://www.windaction.org/opinions/38444 http://www.windaction.org/news/38443 Thu, 23 May 2013 15:57:18 GMT All seats were filled and residents lined the walls at the Paris Township Hall Monday night as the board held a second public hearing seeking input regarding a zoning ordinance that some argue is too restrictive and others say will be fair to all. http://www.windaction.org/news/38443 http://www.windaction.org/news/38442 Thu, 23 May 2013 15:47:09 GMT Wind turbines might offer good returns for farmers - but not if they are vulnerable to extremes of the weather they need to operate. Gale force winds can blow debris or grit into gears or even cause entire turbine masts to collapse. http://www.windaction.org/news/38442 http://www.windaction.org/opinions/38441 Thu, 23 May 2013 14:32:20 GMT Gov. Paul LePage is withholding support for a compromise bill being worked out by the Legislature's Energy Committee that's aimed at expanding Maine's natural gas infrastructure, boosting funding for energy efficiency, directly lowering businesses' electricity costs and making it more affordable for residents to abandon oil heat. http://www.windaction.org/opinions/38441 http://www.windaction.org/opinions/38440 Thu, 23 May 2013 14:24:28 GMT State testing shows that the two industrial turbines on Arsene Street in Fairhaven at times violate state noise regulations. It doesn't happen all the time and testing is not finished, but this news is certainly enough for town officials to take notice — and to take action. http://www.windaction.org/opinions/38440 http://www.windaction.org/news/38439 Thu, 23 May 2013 13:36:06 GMT The powerful Danish wind industry in the last six years received over 80 billion, with the bulk of the money going to project owners and investors. At the same time, Danish electricity consumers paid $4.6 billion in so-called PSO charges last year for wind power. That figure has skyrocketed by 270 percent over the past five years. http://www.windaction.org/news/38439 http://www.windaction.org/news/38438 Wed, 22 May 2013 04:02:57 GMT Board of Selectmen Chairman Charlie Murphy had called for a meeting in April between the Boards of Health and Selectmen to look into turning the turbines off between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. On Wednesday, he said the study's findings have only strengthened his resolve to "give our residents a good night's sleep." http://www.windaction.org/news/38438 http://www.windaction.org/news/38437 Wed, 22 May 2013 03:56:15 GMT The message by itself will not stop the province from approving the proposed Port Ryerse Wind Farm or other projects. But councillors hope the province will take heed of the growing chorus of municipalities asking to put the brakes on Ontario's push for wind energy. http://www.windaction.org/news/38437 http://www.windaction.org/news/38436 Wed, 22 May 2013 03:42:03 GMT In a draft ruling made at a pre-application conference for BP's proposed project, Administrative Law Judge Paul Agresta awarded the town of Cape Vincent and WPEG a total of $82,600. The two parties had asked for $98,840, or 99 percent of the $99,750 in intervenor funding BP Wind Energy was required to provide under state law. http://www.windaction.org/news/38436 http://www.windaction.org/news/38435 Thu, 23 May 2013 02:56:03 GMT The college Board of Trustees on Monday voted to discontinue the program amid declining interest from students, which officials attribute to negative perceptions of wind energy in this area, among other factors. Sauk has offered a wind energy program since 2009. http://www.windaction.org/news/38435 http://www.windaction.org/documents/38434 Mon, 20 May 2013 01:43:06 GMT NH Superior Court has found that the Town of Antrim was in viloation of the State's Right to Know law by conducting numerious unnoticed, non-public meetings to negotiate the PILOT agreement between the Town and Antrim Wind LLC, a company seeking to erect a wind energy facility in the Town. A portion of the ruling is provided below. The full order can be accessed by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page. http://www.windaction.org/documents/38434 http://www.windaction.org/news/38433 Wed, 22 May 2013 01:36:38 GMT In his ruling he wrote: "The court grants the petitioners' request to void the PILOT Agreement ... the Board conducted numerous noticed and unnoticed, non-public meetings while negotiating the PILOT Agreement. These meetings contravened the fundamental purpose of the Right-to-Know law's goal of transparent and open government." http://www.windaction.org/news/38433 http://www.windaction.org/news/38432 Wed, 22 May 2013 23:13:41 GMT A hotly-contested plan to 're-power' a five-turbine wind farm near Ulverston has been given full support by Barrow planners. However, three of the turbines fall within South Lakeland District Council jurisdiction, who narrowly rejected the plan earlier this year. http://www.windaction.org/news/38432 http://www.windaction.org/news/38431 Wed, 22 May 2013 23:08:14 GMT Wind farm technicians and officials with EDF Renewable Energy believe one wind tower, just northeast of Dexter, was struck by lightning on April 24, which mangled one of the structure's 37-meter, 14,000-pound blades. http://www.windaction.org/news/38431 http://www.windaction.org/news/38430 Wed, 22 May 2013 23:05:45 GMT Tuesday night's Board of Health meeting erupted in angry shouts. This after the state Department of Environmental Protection showed the wind turbines often exceed legal noise limits. http://www.windaction.org/news/38430 http://www.windaction.org/news/38428 Wed, 22 May 2013 15:55:52 GMT Robert Arthur Reed, of Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty in federal court in Casper to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money. Four other co-defendants have entered earlier guilty pleas. ...An indictment alleges that they hired phone solicitors to make cold calls to investors, urging them to invest in wind farms by falsely claiming they were being constructed jointly by private investors and the U.S. government. http://www.windaction.org/news/38428 http://www.windaction.org/news/38427 Wed, 22 May 2013 15:25:17 GMT DEP Deputy Commissioner Martin Suuberg told the Board of Health that noise from the turbines exceeded state regulations in five of the 24 periods during which the DEP conducted testing. ...many in the audience began shouting for Board of Health Chairman Peter DeTerra to make a motion to shut down the wind turbines until Fairhaven Wind presented the board with a mitigation plan. http://www.windaction.org/news/38427 http://www.windaction.org/opinions/38426 Wed, 22 May 2013 15:17:43 GMT As federal wildlife officials turn a blind eye to the wind industry's slaughter, they exercise strict enforcement when others run afoul of the law. http://www.windaction.org/opinions/38426 http://www.windaction.org/news/38425 Tue, 21 May 2013 13:25:16 GMT On Friday, Rockford attorney Rick Porter, who is representing Hamilton Township, informed Lee County of the township board's Dec. 11 decision to file an objection to the wind farm, known as the Green River project. ...By Porter's reading of the law, the township's written objection now means the project needs a three-fourths County Board majority for passage. http://www.windaction.org/news/38425 http://www.windaction.org/news/38424 Wed, 22 May 2013 13:22:14 GMT Forty-one percent of registered voters - 9,873 out of 24,158 - turned out to cast ballots on 18 questions, including Question 2, which would have authorized the decommissioning, dismantling and removal of the turbines. ...The selectmen, who support removing the turbines, will now have to find another way to deal with the ongoing dispute. http://www.windaction.org/news/38424 http://www.windaction.org/news/38423 Tue, 21 May 2013 01:25:27 GMT The applications had opposition from Scottish Natural Heritage and the Mountaineering Council of Scotland. SNH claimed the windfarms would impact "an area of the strongest wild land character - as confirmed by the wildness mapping work carried out" by the Government agency. http://www.windaction.org/news/38423 http://www.windaction.org/news/38422 Tue, 21 May 2013 01:22:42 GMT Its operator hopes to file an application with the Ohio Power Siting Board early this summer and begin construction by the end of the year. Commercial operations would then begin in the summer or fall of 2014. Construction would have to begin this year for the operator to take advantage of a federal tax credit, unless it is renewed for next year. http://www.windaction.org/news/38422 http://www.windaction.org/news/38421 Tue, 21 May 2013 01:20:11 GMT Cheshire-based Renewable Solutions UK submitted the application on behalf of the landowners to South Ribble Council, but have now pulled the plug on the scheme before it reached the planning committee. More than 100 letters of objection were sent to the council about the proposal, but two residents wrote in support of the idea. http://www.windaction.org/news/38421 http://www.windaction.org/news/38420 Tue, 21 May 2013 20:25:09 GMT The company said it was closing two plants - Albacete in Castilla-La Mancha and Tudela in Navarre - and restructuring a third at As Somozas, Galicia. The cuts affect 6% of the total workforce. http://www.windaction.org/news/38420 http://www.windaction.org/news/38419 Tue, 21 May 2013 17:36:54 GMT The Lee County Board this morning voted 12-9 to allow a controversial wind farm, overruling a decision last month by the Zoning Board of Appeals. The board approved the project, along with a number of conditions dealing with issues such as noise. http://www.windaction.org/news/38419 http://www.windaction.org/news/38418 Tue, 21 May 2013 17:31:06 GMT An opponent of the proposed Wildcat Wind Farm, slated for construction in eastern Howard County, said local officials are taking an uninformed risk in agreements reached with E.ON Climate & Renewables. Joe Russeau told the Howard County Commissioners Monday he questioned how the proposal was evaluated and how the public was notified of several meetings starting in 2009. http://www.windaction.org/news/38418 http://www.windaction.org/news/38417 Sun, 19 May 2013 17:26:15 GMT There has also been a resurgence of cheap coal, considered a dirtier energy source, abetted by a market failure in the European carbon emission trade. An oversupply in the right-to-pollute certificates has seen their price fall from an envisioned 15-18 euros per tonne of CO2 to just two to three euros -- making coal plants an economically attractive option once more. http://www.windaction.org/news/38417 http://www.windaction.org/news/38416 Tue, 21 May 2013 17:17:47 GMT The overall direction of the market, however, has been down. You can get a sense of the amount of money that has been lost by investors from the WilderHill Clean Energy Index, which tracks the performance of publicly traded green energy stocks ranging from solar and wind to rare earth minerals and water companies. The market value of the companies in the index has fallen from a peak level of $231 billion in late December 2007 to about $108 billion today, a decline of 53 percent. http://www.windaction.org/news/38416 http://www.windaction.org/news/38415 Mon, 20 May 2013 16:38:29 GMT Dank said the wind tax credits, among the most costly issued by state government, benefit some companies that are selling the power they generate to other states. "The Oklahoma taxpayers are being asked to subsidize electric customers in Tennessee and Alabama," he said. http://www.windaction.org/news/38415