www.windaction.org | Impact on Landscape

Wind Power Honeymoon Over
April 28, 2013 by Sam Shriver in Hometown Stations

While many in the area embraced the new green wind power it's "honeymoon over" for Hoaglin township trustees Wayne Kemler and Milo Schaffner. Kemler and Schaffner want Iberdrola Renewables to pick up the tab to pave 3 and a half miles of Hoaglin township roads that they say weren't properly repaired.

Also filed under [ Erosion| Ohio]

Native American Heritage Commission declares Ocotillo wind site a sacred site; asks attorney general to weigh legal action
April 26, 2013 by Miriam Raftery in East County Magazine

By a 4-0 vote, with the remaining commissioners absent, the NAHC voted to grant requests by Viejas and Quechan tribes to declare the 12,400 acre Ocotillo wind project site a sanctified Native American sacred site. Further, the commissioners voted unanimously to ask California Attorney General Kamala Harris to research if legal action can be taken.

Also filed under [ Impact on People| California]

Protesters ‘delighted' as plan for wind turbine north of Grantham rejected
April 24, 2013 in Grantham Journal

Those standing in opposition to the proposal were supported by comments from English Heritage which warned the turbine would have a "harmful effect on the setting and significance of a number of highly graded, nationally important designated heritage assets" including Belton House, Bellmount Tower, The Church of St Mary at Marston and The Church of St Peter at Foston.

Also filed under [ Impact on Views| UK]

Tribal Commission seeks enforcement action against Pattern project
April 23, 2013 in North American Windpower

The California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) has declared the area surrounding the Ocotillo Wind Energy Facility, located in Imperial Valley, Calif., as a sacred Native American site and is seeking assistance on enforcement options from the office of the California Attorney General.

Also filed under [ Impact on People| California]

Hearing set for Antrim Wind offer
April 22, 2013 by Brandon Lawrence in Monadnock Ledger-Transcript

Town officials will hold a public hearing on Monday to decide whether or not to accept a one-time payment of $40,000 from Antrim Wind Energy for "acceptable compensation" for negative visual impacts a wind farm would have had on the town. In February, the N.H. Site Evaluation Committee voted down a proposed 10-turbine wind farm due to negative visual impacts the turbines would have had on the area and the town.

Also filed under [ Impact on Views| New Hampshire]

Renewable power's green vs. green battles continue
April 22, 2013 by Alex Guillén in The Politico

The conflicts are bound to grow as renewable projects spread, some environmental advocates say. "Certainly, there's going to be a lot more wind farms than there have been historically," ABC spokesman Bob Johns said. "And the problem is that we have seen no reason to believe that areas of conflict are being avoided - in fact, quite the opposite. They're walking right into it, leading with their chin on some of these."

Also filed under [ Energy Policy| USA]

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 [ Impact on Wildlife| Nevada]

Locals see red over 'green' development; Critics say renewable energy plan threatens desert
April 21, 2013 by Jim E. Winburn in Daily Press

Johnson Valley resident Betty Munson says the plan threatens "over 22 million acres of desert - from the Mexican border all the way up to Inyo County." Munson proposed an alternative: Limiting solar projects to areas already developed to prevent further industrialization of the High Desert.

Also filed under [ California]

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 Wildlife| 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 [ Impact on Wildlife| 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 [ Impact on Wildlife| Nevada]

In New Ad, Vallee Hits Sanders on Wind Development
April 19, 2013 by Paul Heintz in Seven Days

The Maplefields owner and gasoline distributor has ponied up $10,000 to run a new, 30-second attack ad on WCAX-TV for a week, according to the station. In it, Vallee accuses Sanders of seeking to "industrialize our mountains with giant wind turbines." "Once we sacrifice our mountains to big corporate interests, it will change Vermont forever," the ad's narrator says.

Also filed under [ Impact on People| Vermont]

High Court ruling supports wind turbine exclusion distances
April 17, 2013 in The Renewable Energy Foundation

“To avoid public anger and disenchantment, it is crucial that there are reasonable safeguards to protect the amenity of wind turbine neighbours. The judgment in the Milton Keynes case shows that the law in fact supports Local Authorities that wish to set minimum separation distances, although it also shows that these must be designed and worded carefully.”

Also filed under [ Impact on People| UK]

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 [ Impact on Wildlife| Nevada]

Wind farm warning issued
April 13, 2013 in Berwick Advertiser

An organisation has called for robust planning measures to be put in place to ensure large areas of Northumberland do not become "wind farm landscapes", which it says has happened in parts of Berwickshire. ...There is also concern the council has not adequately recognised the cumulative effects of turbine development.

Also filed under [ Impact on Views| UK]

National Park welcomes changes to wind farm proposal
April 10, 2013 in West Sussex County Times

Margaret Paren, Chair of the South Downs National Park Authority, said: "We're pleased to see that E.ON has listened to our concerns regarding the visual impact of the Rampion proposal on the South Downs National Park, however we think that there is more to be done especially on the routing of the cables."

Also filed under [ Impact on Views| UK]

Salmond asked to stop huge wind farm above Loch Ness
April 9, 2013 by Auslan Cramb in The Telegraph

Alex Salmond has been urged to "show real leadership" by rejecting a large wind farm that campaigners say threatens to submerge an area of wild land under a "forest of steel turbines the height of the Forth Bridge".

Also filed under [ UK]

Opposition mounts to building of wind farms in midlands
April 9, 2013 by Ronan McGreevy in Irish Times

Also filed under [ Impact on People| Ireland]

Loch Ness wind farm plans gets green light
April 9, 2013 by Alistair Munro in The Scotsman

Helen McDade, head of policy at the John Muir Trust, said: "We are disappointed that the majority of councillors chose to ignore expert opinion from bodies which include Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the Cairngorms National Park, the Mountaineering Council of Scotland and the John Muir Trust. "But despite this setback, the fight to save the Monadhliath Mountains will continue.

Also filed under [ UK]

New York renewable power plan would cost $382 billion by 2030
April 8, 2013 by Louise Downing in Bloomberg News

"It's too ambitious by 2030 to replace all the state's power with renewables," Angus McCrone, a senior analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in London, said today. The projections, he said, look "unrealistic" for individual technologies. ...offshore wind turbines would cover an area of about 4,903 square miles, and onshore machines would cover a further 1,000 square miles.

Also filed under [ Impact on Economy| Energy Policy| New York]