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Opponents of Searchlight wind energy project file federal lawsuit
April 21, 2013 by Thomas Mitchell in Watchdog Wire

Earlier this month, attorneys filed in U.S. District Court of Nevada what we will call for the sake of brevity Bundorf v. Salazar. (Searchlight wind suit) The suit accuses former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar of acting in "a manner that is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and contrary to law" when he granted permission for construction of an 87-turbine wind farm east of Searchlight on 19,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land.

Also filed under [ Nevada]

Basin & Range Watch joins in lawsuit
April 19, 2013 in Basin and Range Watch

The 30-page complaint says that the environmental impact statement (EIS) "presents a one-sided and incomplete portrait of the proposed project and its likely adverse environmental impacts." "The Project would pose significant adverse harm to a wide array of sensitive and protected species -- including desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, golden eagles, bald eagles, and resident and migratory birds and bats -- through direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts."

Also filed under [ Impact on Views| Nevada]

Lawsuit filed against wind energy project near Mojave Preserve
April 19, 2013 by Chris Clarke in ReWire

Plaintiffs charge that the project, to be built by Duke Energy, would (in the words of the suit) "pose significant adverse harm to a wide array of sensitive and protected species ... including desert tortoise, golden eagles, bald eagles, and residential and migratory birds and bats... through direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts" which weren't adequately addressed.

Also filed under [ Nevada]

Lawsuit calls BLM's analysis of Nevada project 'one-sided and incomplete'
April 19, 2013 by Scott Streater in Greenwire

Environmentalists and three Nevada residents are suing the Interior Department over its approval of the Searchlight Wind Energy Project, arguing the wind farm would sit in an area of the Mojave Desert that would cause widespread damage to sensitive wildlife habitat.

Also filed under [ Nevada]

Environmental groups sue federal agencies over Nev. wind project approval
April 16, 2013 by Michael Copley in SNL News

The wind farm and its transmission lines "will dominate the Searchlight desert and mountains," and the turbines, "with spinning blades that reach as high as the top of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas," will ruin the area for visitors, residents and businesses, the complaint stated, as well as cause "significant harm" to an array of animals through "direct, indirect and cumulative impacts."

Also filed under [ Nevada]

Anti-wind farm campaigners remain to convinced over 'extra protection' for wild land
April 3, 2013 by Auslan Cramb in The Telegraph

Campaigners against the "further industrialisation" of the Scottish landscape by wind turbines have reacted sceptically to claims of an about turn on the issue by Alex Salmond. ..."If things are going to change, we would also like to see the guideline that suggests wind turbines should be at least 2km from homes being made mandatory. At the moment that guideline is routinely trampled over."

Also filed under [ UK]

Trouble in the wind: Turbines put near Lake Erie energize conservation, wind power debate
March 31, 2013 by Matt Markey and Jeff Basting in Toledo Magazine

The Lake Erie Business Park, which sits near Camp Perry and in the same lakeshore strip that holds numerous eagle nests, has been considering wind power projects for several years ...but there are much better places to locate the projects than the western Lake Erie shoreline, a magnet for migratory birds, waterfowl, and bald eagles. "You don't go to the worst site first," he said.

Also filed under [ Ohio]

Gilead project wind turbine appeal hearings begin
March 4, 2013 in County Live

"Gillespie's opening statement outlined the reasons for the PECFN appeal of the project approval. He noted Ostrander Point was recognized by local, provincial and national and international organizations as the worst site for wind turbines and that Ostrander Point is in the middle of the PEC South Shore Important Bird Area.

Also filed under [ Canada]

New western Maryland wind energy project in works
January 27, 2013 by Timothy B. Wheeler in The Baltimore Sun

The proposal is renewing concerns raised by some western Maryland resident about the state's first two wind projects, in particular the towering windmills' proximity to homes and their potential to kill birds and bats, including one listed as endangered in Maryland. Some also worry that construction of this project could clear a large swath of forest and harm the nearby Savage River, one of Maryland's premier trout streams.

Also filed under [ Impact on People| Maryland]

Natives protesting at wind turbine sites
January 16, 2013 by Monte Sonnenberg in Simcoe Reformer

As many as 30 natives in a convoy - some wearing traditional garb and waving native flags - interrupted work at several turbine and substation construction sites. ...Josie Hernandez, spokesperson for NextEra, confirmed that the protest was motivated in part by her company's removal of an eagle's nest near Fisherville two weeks ago.

Also filed under [ Impact on People| Canada]

Approval of Ostrander Point is an outrage
December 23, 2012 by Garth Manning in County Coalition for Safe and Appropriate Green Energy

Ostrander Point is Crown Land (owned by the people of Ontario) situated within the globally significant Prince Edward County South Shore Important Bird Area. Ontario allows wind turbines in IBAs; other countries such as Germany do not. The property, on a major bird and bat migration route and home to several endangered species, is arguably the worst location in the province for wind turbines.

Also filed under [ Canada]

Nature Canada dismayed by decision to grant green light for Ostrander Point wind power facility
December 20, 2012 in Nature Canada

We strongly believe there are sound, science-based reasons for rejecting a wind power facility inside this Important Bird Area, and we intend to press for a reversal of this unfortunate decision during the current appeal period.

Also filed under [ Canada]

Proposed wind project near Joshua Tree National Park canceled
November 19, 2012 by Chris Clarke in Rewire

A proposed wind turbine installation that would have covered more than 63,000 acres of the California desert on the eastern edge of Joshua Tree National Park has been canceled by the Bureau of Land Management, ReWire has learned.

Also filed under [ California]

Windmill plans tied up
October 25, 2012 by Jack Deming in Deerfield Valley News

Vermonters for a Clean Environment (VCE), along with the Wilderness Society and Defenders of Wildlife, are trying to block the plan. VCE recently filed a motion for summary judgment in US District Court, claiming the project planning did not correctly carry out evaluation processes required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Also filed under [ Vermont]

Tortoises manhandled for solar in Mojave roils environmentalists
September 20, 2012 by Ken Wells in Bloomberg News

The Bureau of Land Management estimated the project would kill or dislocate about 38 tortoises. Construction had barely begun two years ago, though, when so many tortoises turned up that work was halted for a reassessment. By the end of June, the count was 144, 67 of them juveniles. The BLM found that many more could be uprooted or harmed as the project proceeds.

Also filed under [ California]

Two new lawsuits filed over Ocotillo Wind
September 13, 2012 by Miriam Raftery in East County Magazine

Two new lawsuits were filed September 11, 2012 against federal officials and the U.S. government seeking an injunction to halt construction at Pattern Energy's Ocotillo Express industrial wind project.

Also filed under [ USA| California]

Mainland moose get in the way of N.S. wind farm
August 14, 2012 by Joann Alberstat in Chronicle Herald

Shear Wind Inc., a Bedford wind developer, says it abandoned plans to seek provincial approval for a 50-megawatt project at Canaan Mountain, near Parrsboro, after government officials said a three-year moose-monitoring program would be needed.

Also filed under [ Canada]

Wind turbines planned for northwest Illinois generate controversy
June 19, 2012 by Ted Gregory in Chicago Tribune

The promise of wind turbine energy is starting to give way to the realities of energy production. As more wind farm proposals sweep into Illinois - the nation's leader in new wind turbines last year - questions surface about how "green" an energy source they are.

Also filed under [ Illinois]

ANR cites concerns over possible wind project
May 24, 2012 by Amy Ash Nixon in Orleans Record

Environmental concerns around the sites in Brighton and Ferdinand where a New Hampshire wind project developer is seeking to place meteorological towers have the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources suggesting a limit on when the sites can be disturbed.

Also filed under [ Vermont]

Ocotillo wind project advances despite tribal objections
May 12, 2012 by Morgan Lee in San Diego Union-Tribune

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed off on the project's Environmental Impact Statement over the objection of Native American tribal officials who remain concerned about the aesthetic impact of the project on ancestral lands and the potential for disturbing cultural and archaeological artifacts, including possible cremation sites.

Also filed under [ Impact on People| USA| California]

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