News
The Narragansett Town Council Voted 5-0 to suspend talks with the offshore wind turbine developer, Deepwater Wind, until June. The council felt its residents needed more time to vet a plan to run a transmission line through a popular beach.
Also filed under [
Rhode Island]
Northern Pass money dividing North Country opinions
May 7, 2013 by Dave Solomon in New Hampshire Union Leader
May 7, 2013 by Dave Solomon in New Hampshire Union Leader
Savage said the recent purchases by Northern Pass are contiguous to the anticipated route the company is trying to build, but do not address its fundamental problems of crossing the Connecticut River along Route 3 at the Canadian border, or clearing a narrow passage through conservation land in Stewartstown near the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters.
Also filed under [
Transmission|
New Hampshire]
PUC forces NorthWestern to buy electricity from Clark wind farm
May 6, 2013 by Bob Mercer in Aberdeen News
May 6, 2013 by Bob Mercer in Aberdeen News
Oak Tree Energy attempted in 2010 to negotiate with NorthWestern. The utility refused to buy the power, saying the additional electricity wasn't necessary.
Oak Tree Energy turned to the PUC in April 2011. Oak Tree used a federal law known as the Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act of 1978 as the basis for its complaint.
Also filed under [
General|
South Dakota]
When taken in total the restrictions make it highly unlikely that a commercial wind energy conversion system could set up operation in Marshall County.
Also filed under [
Zoning/Planning|
Michigan]
Brighton Officials Urge PSB To Deny MET Tower Application For Wind Developer
May 6, 2013 by Amy Ash Nixon in Caledonian Record
May 6, 2013 by Amy Ash Nixon in Caledonian Record
Brighton recently adopted a newly amended town plan in which the town says it supports the regional planning agency's call for a moratorium on wind development until further study is done.
Four members of the Brighton Planning Commission and the three members of the town's select board, signed a letter urging the CPG not be issued for the MET towers.
The reality of a wind farm in Graham County took a step closer last week when Graham County commissioners approved a conditional-use permit for Ringneck Prairie Wind Farm.
The 70-megawatt farm, is on pace to be fully commissioned by the end of 2014.
Also filed under [
Kansas]
AWEA is trying to secure more stable policy to give stronger signals to investors. Those options include a phase out for the credit and making the incentive permanent ...But Republicans have told The Hill they believe a phase out is AWEA's stance.
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies|
USA]
Moratorium sought on wind farm in Delaware County, IN
May 6, 2013 by Rick Yencer in Muncie Free Press
May 6, 2013 by Rick Yencer in Muncie Free Press
Bledsoe explained it had been been no secret that E-ON had been looking at Delaware and Randolph counties for wind energy and there was nothing for government to do until some rules were in place.
Rybarczrk had said other counties like Marshall at Plymouth, were imposing a moratorium for wind farms.
Also filed under [
Zoning/Planning|
Indiana]
Texas-based Pioneer Green Energy began leasing property for a commercial wind farm south of Interstate 90 two years ago. Its original plan to build as many as 75 turbines to power about 45,000 homes recently was pared to 10 to 20 turbines, company officials said.
Also filed under [
General|
Pennsylvania]
The slain young eagle was likely one of the six white-tailed eagles in a row, "said Pedersen, who follows bird migration in Skagen daily.
There were planning issues, aesthetic issues, things that people get concerned about when one of these type of projects shows up in their backyard, their neighborhood, so we really felt, and the Commission felt, that we needed to emphasize the planning process more first and also give the public an opportunity, a much longer opportunity to respond. Right now, there's a 45-day public notice period when an applicant is going to file with the board.
Power companies operating wind farms in Scotland were paid more than £1 million to shut down their turbines for a single day last month, Scotland on Sunday can reveal. ...The so-called "constraint payments" are paid by the National Grid to energy companies when energy supply outstrips demand - turbines are switched off so they stop producing electricity to rebalance the system.
One point of agreement during a daylong forum on wind energy in Concord last week is that nobody's really happy with the way New Hampshire has been deciding on these projects since Lempster Wind, between Keene and Claremont, was approved more than five years ago.
Also filed under [
General|
New Hampshire]
Sheffield: PSB Denies Resident Relief From Wind Farm Noise
May 4, 2013 by Amy Ash Nixon in Caledonian Record
May 4, 2013 by Amy Ash Nixon in Caledonian Record
"The noise monitoring plan is entirely under the control of First Wind, who chose the firm to design the plan and conduct the monitoring. This is a perfect example of 'the fox guarding the henhouse,' " Smith said Thursday. "The PSB's order further illustrates the near-impossibility of neighbors being able to participate in protecting their interests before the PSB."
State regulators voted unanimously Wednesday to cancel a planned public hearing next week over a controversial rule that defines and caps the costs of renewable energy to public utilities and their customers.
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission also voted to launch a whole new rule-making for the so-called reasonable cost threshold.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
New Mexico]
Oil and gas drillers make technological leaps, while renewable energy industry struggles
May 4, 2013 by Associated Press in Washington Post
May 4, 2013 by Associated Press in Washington Post
But the outlook for wind, batteries and biofuels is as dim as it's been in a decade. Global greenhouse gas agreements have fizzled. Dazzling discoveries have been made in laboratories, and some of these may yet develop into transformative products, but alternative energy technologies haven't become cheaper or more useful than fossil fuels. ..."In many cases, renewables aren't ready for primetime yet."
The long-running quest of Larry LeBlanc and his son-in-law, Michael Carlino, to build the twin 262-foot turbines received a boost in R.I. Superior Court when Associate Justice Kristin Rodgers denied appeals by the Town Council and abutters of the property to halt the turbine project, which has been before town officials and boards since 2010.
Also filed under [
General|
Rhode Island]
Darwen's MP says he is delighted that plans to erect a wind turbine on land near Bull Hill have again been turned down by planning officers. ...It was the fourth time a variation of the planning application had been submitted to Blackburn with Darwen Council.
The bill, which also is known as he Alabama Wind Energy Conversion Systems Act of 2013, is in trouble because of a filibuster by Democrats that has locked it up past the required introduction deadline. That forces the bill to get unanimous approval before it could be introduced.
Vt. Legislature's push to address concerns about wind power projects sputters, splinters
May 4, 2013 by Andrew Stein in VT Digger
May 4, 2013 by Andrew Stein in VT Digger
On Friday, the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee agreed to the House's pared-down version of what was originally a bill regulating large wind turbine projects, including a three-year moratorium.
But although Senate bill 30 is moving forward without any controls on energy siting, some key provisions are still on the table.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
Vermont]