News
LePage also is displeased that the bill ignores a study by Woodcock's office meant to reconsider the state's ambitious wind energy goals and shift the priority to lowering electricity rates.
Wind power policy is too big an issue to tackle in the bill, said John Cleveland, D-Auburn, Senate chair of the committee.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
Maine]
Plans to erect four large wind turbines have been torn up after the developer concluded that the site near Hutton in the Merse Valley is unsuitable.
Airvolution Energy has announced that it will not be proceeding with plans to develop the 126.5m turbines at Crossrig, 3km southwest of Hutton.
Planning board recommends 6-month wind turbine moratorium
May 16, 2013 by Elizabeth McNamara in East Greenwich Patch
May 16, 2013 by Elizabeth McNamara in East Greenwich Patch
"We thought we would impose a moratorium while we study other ordinances and templates and models and what's happened in other places and draft something coherent," she said.
Other Rhode Island municipalities have imposed such a moratorium in advance of legislation, including North Kingstown, which ended up with a large wind turbine it didn't want on privately owned land on Route 102.
Also filed under [
Zoning/Planning|
Rhode Island]
Wind turbine blade throw incident at Pattern Energy's Ocotillo Wind Project
May 16, 2013 in Protect Our Communities Foundation & Backcountry Against Dumps
May 16, 2013 in Protect Our Communities Foundation & Backcountry Against Dumps
This wholly avoidable public health and safety hazard occurred just one day after San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved the revised Wind Energy Ordinance & Boulevard Community Plan to remove community protections to allow 500 foot tall industrial wind turbines on private land in previously protected areas near homes, recreation areas, and sensitive wildlife.
Opposition is growing and, in turn, putting pressure on turbine owners, public and private, to defend their investments. In March, Doreen Reilly, who lives about 1,000 feet from the turbine, told Fox 25 Boston that staying in her home with the noise and strobe effects was "torture."
Also filed under [
Impact on People|
Massachusetts]
The Antrim Select Board voted to appeal the state ruling that denied a 10-turbine wind project after deciding to accept a $40,000 offer from Antrim Wind in a contentious meeting Monday that led to one resident being escorted out by police and several others walking away in frustration.
Hickenlooper still ‘gathering information' on rural energy renewables mandate
May 15, 2013 by Eli Stokols in Fox 31 TV
May 15, 2013 by Eli Stokols in Fox 31 TV
The Democratic sponsors of Senate Bill 252, which will force rural electricity associations to draw more of its energy from renewable sources, ended the legislative session last week believing that Gov. John Hickenlooper was certain to sign their bill.
DOE to recast landmark 20% wind energy report; Study looks back, ahead
May 15, 2013 by Mark Del Franco in North American Windpower
May 15, 2013 by Mark Del Franco in North American Windpower
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Program is revisiting the conclusions from its 2008 study that contemplated the technological and regulatory road map for the U.S. wind industry to achieve 20% wind energy by 2030.
Top Ind. wind farm drafts bat-protection plans
May 15, 2013 by Rick Callahan in Bloomberg Businessweek
May 15, 2013 by Rick Callahan in Bloomberg Businessweek
An estimated 850,000 to 1.7 million bats have died from collisions with wind turbines in the United States and Canada since 2000, said Mylea Bayless, director of conservation programs for Austin, Texas-based Bats Conservation international.
Also filed under [
Impact on Wildlife|
Indiana]
Ontario cabinet ministers told to smooth out wind turbine conflict
May 15, 2013 by John Spears in Toronto Star
May 15, 2013 by John Spears in Toronto Star
Four Ontario cabinet ministers have been given the job of devising ways to give local residents more say in where renewable energy projects like wind farms can be located.
It's a politically urgent task for the Liberals, who were almost wiped out in rural Ontario in the last election.
The 1.5-megawatt turbine was commissioned in March 2009 but was shut down June 18, 2012, after the gearbox showed significant wear. The faulty gearbox was no longer covered by warranty, and the manufacturer of the turbine, AAER Wind Energy of Quebec, is no longer in business. Three of five turbines of the same make and model erected in California and Templeton, Mass., also suffered gearbox failure.
"What it boils down to is this: If you electrocute an eagle, that is bad, but if you chop it to pieces, that is OK," said Tim Eicher, a former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforcement agent based in Cody, who helped prosecute the PacifiCorp power line case.
By not enforcing the law, the administration provides little incentive for companies to build wind farms where there are fewer birds.
One Cape Vincent blogger settles lawsuit; judge pares action against second
May 14, 2013 by Brian Kelly in Watertown Daily News
May 14, 2013 by Brian Kelly in Watertown Daily News
A judge has dismissed several causes of action in a defamation suit brought by wind farm development supporters against a local blogger, while a second blogger has reached a settlement with the wind supporters.
Obama administration gives wind farms a pass on eagle deaths, prosecutes oil companies
May 14, 2013 in The Associated Press
May 14, 2013 in The Associated Press
Nearly all the birds being killed are protected under federal environmental laws, which prosecutors have used to generate tens of millions of dollars in fines and settlements from businesses, including oil and gas companies, over the past five years.
"What it boils down to is this: If you electrocute an eagle, that is bad, but if you chop it to pieces, that is OK," said Tim Eicher, a former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforcement agent based in Cody, Wyo.
Also filed under [
Impact on Birds|
California]
Opposition to wind farm increases; Will the setback distance also increase?
May 13, 2013 by Seth Slabaugh in The Star Press
May 13, 2013 by Seth Slabaugh in The Star Press
Opposition to a possible wind farm in Delaware County is growing.
An overflow crowd of about 75 people showed up at a city-county plan commission meeting on May 2 to voice objections to a potential wind farm.
According to various reports these incentives were scrapped as many developers took incentives to save tax and after the completion of incentives either neglected or abandoned the wind farms altogether.
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies|
Asia]
Cape Vincent's town board, WPEG apply for 99% of intervenor funds
May 11, 2013 by Jaegun Lee in Watertown Daily News
May 11, 2013 by Jaegun Lee in Watertown Daily News
The town government hopes to hire several experts - three in conjunction with the Wind Power Ethics Group - to review and critique BP's Cape Vincent Wind Project proposal with intervenor funding made available under Article X.
Latest cleantech funding woes spark fears of industry slide
May 11, 2013 by Peter Delevett in Mercury News
May 11, 2013 by Peter Delevett in Mercury News
The problem, he said, is that those big investment firms tend to focus on mature companies that are generating significant revenue, and there are few of those in cleantech. Meanwhile, more government investment seems increasingly far off as congressional Republicans demand answers about the failure of Fisker Automotive.
New funding is being sought for a wind farm scheme off the coast of Aberdeen, opposed by Donald Trump, after a major investor announced plans to reduce its stake in the project.
New Era was given until Sunday May 12 to resolve a delay in the production of a 78-megawatt wind farm in Goodhue County that is causing the company to default on an agreement to sell generated power, said Jim Alders of Xcel Energy.