News
Category:
General or Technology
‘Historic' energy bill clears Maine legislative committee, 12-1
May 25, 2013 by Scott Thistle in Sun Journal
May 25, 2013 by Scott Thistle in Sun Journal
"One disappointing aspect of the legislation is it does not address wind energy policies whatsoever ...". LePage is pushing to remove a 100 megawatt cap in the state's renewable energy portfolio standard. ...After the vote on the overall bill Friday the committee also voted to "lay over" a bill that will address the 100 megawatt cap issue. The bill would be taken up in the second half of this lawmaking session, which starts next January.
Castle & Cooke moving forward with Hawaii ‘Big Wind' project
May 25, 2013 by Duane Shimogawa in Pacific Business News
May 25, 2013 by Duane Shimogawa in Pacific Business News
Castle & Cooke Inc., which kept the rights to build a wind farm capable of producing up to 200 megawatts of renewable energy when CEO David Murdock sold the majority of the Pineapple Island to Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL) CEOLarry Ellison last year has remained mum about its plans until Friday.
HEAD teachers are being asked to venture out into hurricane-force conditions to switch off wind turbines in school playgrounds.
That is one of the claims of far north anti-wind farm protesters who have heavily criticised Highland Council's safety review of school-based turbines.
Hundreds attend public hearing on turbines
May 24, 2013 by Maria Shanahan in Southern Rhode Island Newspapers
May 24, 2013 by Maria Shanahan in Southern Rhode Island Newspapers
Hundreds turned out for a public hearing before the Charlestown Zoning Board Tuesday, the latest chapter in the quest of Whalerock Renewable Energy LLC to erect two wind turbines in the town.
Several residents in opposition to the turbines met attendees at the door handing out stickers that read, "vote no."
Also filed under [
General|
Rhode Island]
£1.5 million paid to shut down new Scottish wind farm
May 24, 2013 by Simon Johnson in The Telegraph
May 24, 2013 by Simon Johnson in The Telegraph
EDF Energy was handed £1.45 million between April 29 and May 15 to shut down turbines on the Fallago Rig wind farm, which is on land owned by the Duke of Roxburghe in Scottish Borders.
The "constraint payments", which ultimately come from electricity bills, are given to wind farm companies to compensate them for not producing power during periods of high generation and low demand.
Payback gone with the wind: Turbine not producing as much energy as expected
May 24, 2013 by Karl Puckett in Great Falls Tribune
May 24, 2013 by Karl Puckett in Great Falls Tribune
At the turbine's current rate of power production, it would take the county 33.70 years to recover its $201,924 investment ..."We needed to get a payback in 25 years because that was the expected life of the unit," Commission Chairman Joe Briggs said.
The turbine currently is idle because of a parts malfunction, which isn't helping matters.
In full-page newspaper ads Thursday, the Associated Industries of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership say the state already has expensive energy, and the project's above-market power costs will make it tougher to attract business.
Also filed under [
General|
Massachusetts]
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.
Also filed under [
General|
New Hampshire]
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.
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.
Since 2008, the amount of energy it outputs into the electricity grid varies greatly, resulting in monthly credits from $1 to $250. In the six-month period from August 2012 to January 2013, the city received a total combined credit of $76.53 for electricity generated by the windmill. In that same period, the total amount billed to the city for the Amtrak station's electricity usage was $9,155.50.
Anti-wind group accuses Clayton town board of canceling meetings because of video cameras
May 23, 2013 by Jaegun Lee in Watertown Daily News
May 23, 2013 by Jaegun Lee in Watertown Daily News
A relatively new anti-wind organization is accusing the Town Council of canceling two scheduled meetings because the group started hiring Steve Weed Productions, Watertown, to videotape these open sessions.
Sauk winds down wind program amid declining student interest
May 22, 2013 by Kayla Heimerman in Sauk Valley News
May 22, 2013 by Kayla Heimerman in Sauk Valley News
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.
Controversial Ulverston wind farm given go ahead by Barrow planners, but future remains unclear
May 22, 2013 by Tom Murphy in Westmorland Gazette
May 22, 2013 by Tom Murphy in Westmorland Gazette
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.
Cape Vincent town government, WPEG awarded majority of wind project intervenor funding
May 21, 2013 by Jaegun Lee in Watertown Daily News
May 21, 2013 by Jaegun Lee in Watertown Daily News
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.
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.
Lee board OKs wind farm project; 12-9 vote overrules decision by lower panel
May 21, 2013 by David Giuliani in Sauk Valley News
May 21, 2013 by David Giuliani in Sauk Valley News
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.
Wind farm battle turns personal; Opponents claim lack of due diligence by county officials.
May 21, 2013 by Ken de la Bastide in Kokomo Tribune
May 21, 2013 by Ken de la Bastide in Kokomo Tribune
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.
Wethington files for new Fairhaven Board of Health election, hearing Wednesday
May 21, 2013 by Matt Camara in South Coast Today
May 21, 2013 by Matt Camara in South Coast Today
John Wethington has asked a Superior Court judge to throw out April's much-disputed election results and compel a new Board of Health race. [Note: The outcome of the election would impact how the community addressed noise from the Fairhaven wind turbines.]
Also filed under [
General|
Massachusetts]
Champaign wind farm decision nears; State board will consider second phase of turbine project.
May 21, 2013 by Matt Sanctis in Springfield News-Sun
May 21, 2013 by Matt Sanctis in Springfield News-Sun
Several issues are still pending, including how the project will be taxed. Developers are expected to seek a Payment In Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, if the project moves forward. Under that scenario, Buckeye would make an annual payment to the county between $1.2 and $1.8 million spread between numerous entities.