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Legislature considering delays in renewable energy standards
February 6, 2013 by Nikki Wentling in Lawrence Journal-World
February 6, 2013 by Nikki Wentling in Lawrence Journal-World
The debate about climate change continues, and the discussion has now made its way to the Kansas Legislature.
The Senate Standing Committee for Utilities is proposing to delay or modify the mandates established by the Renewable Energy Standards Act that would relieve utilities' requirements to use more renewable fuels.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
Kansas]
"There was a cold front that came through two weeks ago," said Kurt Bookout, public utilities director. "During the night we had the wind switch from 35 to 45 out of the south to 50 to 60 out of the north in the middle of the night."
As the wind turbine was turning into the wind the blade tips deployed and flaired out as a braking mechanism. That caused one of the tips to break.
Wind turbine pressure change kills bats, research may help prevent future deaths
October 30, 2012 by Christine Peterson in Casper Star-Tribune
October 30, 2012 by Christine Peterson in Casper Star-Tribune
Miles away, wind turbines sat motionless in the windless night. Their spinning blades can be deadly to bats, bursting capillaries in their lungs before the blades hit their tiny bodies. Three Wyoming bats are particularly susceptible when they migrate from summer to winter ranges.
Keinath and Abernethy were looking for bats to tell them which, if any, species called the area home.
Of Wyoming's 15 resident bat species, three of them are most susceptible to the deadly effects of wind turbines: the hoary bat, the silver-haired bat and the eastern red bat.
They are Wyoming's only tree-roosting bats, said Douglas Keinath, senior zoologist with the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database.
The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) has issued the first permit of its kind for a wind project in the state allowing a small number of fatalities of endangered bats, which could collide with the turbine blades or be affected by the pressure changes created by the rotating turbines.
Group: Bat care plan is unsound; Draft suffers from ‘various legal flaws'
October 8, 2012 by Elaine Blaisdell in Cumberland Times-News
October 8, 2012 by Elaine Blaisdell in Cumberland Times-News
Save Western Maryland believes that the HCP is not based on the best available science and is in violation of the Endangered Species Act; that a full environmental impact statement is warranted under the National Environmental Protection Act; and that the draft EA does not adequately analyze alternatives in violation of NEPA.
Game Commission withdraws its proposal to extend protections to some bat species
October 6, 2012 by Shannon M. Nass in Post Gazette
October 6, 2012 by Shannon M. Nass in Post Gazette
In January, the wildlife service updated its bat mortality estimate, claiming that at least 5.7 million to 6.7 million bats have been lost to white nose syndrome, prompting agency director Daniel Ashe to call it an "unprecedented wildlife crisis."
"Indiana bats are beginning to slip away from us," said Mollie Matteson, a bat specialist with the Center for Biological Diversity, which this spring petitioned the White House for national action on the disease outbreak. "At this point, every remaining Indiana bat is a precious survivor.
The biggest cuts will come in Fort Madison, where 407 workers at a wind turbine blade factory will be out of work. About 220 workers there will be retained.
The company blamed difficult market conditions due to lack of congressional action on a wind energy tax credit as well as increased use of natural gas-fired power plants and an overall sluggish economy.
Siemens laying off half its work force in Hutchinson
September 18, 2012 by Emily Behlmann in Wichita Business Journal
September 18, 2012 by Emily Behlmann in Wichita Business Journal
Siemens, a German conglomerate, announced Tuesday it is laying off 146 employees at its wind turbine nacelle plant in Hutchinson, leaving just 152 employees there.
All told, 615 employees in Siemens' wind power business will lose their jobs. Siemens said the change would primarily affect employees in Iowa, Kansas and Florida.
Not in Kansas anymore: Politics threaten state's wind energy market
September 6, 2012 by Kimberly Svaty in North American Windpower
September 6, 2012 by Kimberly Svaty in North American Windpower
According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), Kansas is leading the U.S. in new wind farm installations this year. By the end of the year, eight new utility-scale wind projects will come online - representing approximately $3 billion in new investment - and the state will have more than doubled its installed wind power by adding 1.489 GW of new wind power capacity.
Conservation effort focuses on bats and wind turbines
August 31, 2012 by Chuck Quirmbach in Wisconsin Public Radio
August 31, 2012 by Chuck Quirmbach in Wisconsin Public Radio
The Fish and Wildlife Service has begun to work with Wisconsin and seven other Midwest states on a habitat conservation plan. The service says the aim is to promote the development of clean energy, while helping federally endangered species known to be at risk from wind farms.
Without the permit, now in its draft form, First Wind would be prohibited by law from any fatalities of the endangered bat species as a result of its activity at the Sheffield site.
The Boston-based First Wind company is seeking the permit citing economic hardship.
Beech Ridge Energy is looking for a 25-year permit that would essentially get them off the hook for all the endangered bats that get killed flying into its turbine blades.
The project currently has almost 70 turbines in action and has plans to put 30 more in the area.
The PSC dismissed the complaint because the sitting order does not contain material terms and conditions related to noise or flicker and because the agency does not possess the statutory authority to address the issues raised by Braithwaite, according to the commission's final order.
To comply with the terms of a lawsuit settlement, Maryland-based Beech Ridge Energy is seeking a 25-year permit for its wind farm in Greenbrier and Nicholas counties. The existing 67 turbines and another 33 that are planned could harm Virginia big-eared and Indiana bats.
Pending further evaluation, AES has voluntarily ceased nighttime operation of the turbines at the Laurel Mountain facility. The facility has been testing different cut-in speeds to reduce bat mortality. The Indiana bat was found near a turbine that was operating at a cut-in speed of 3.5 meters per second.
The research, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, involved halting microturbine movement at 20 sites across the UK and examining the effect on bird and bat activity. Bird activity was not significantly affected but bat activity was 54% lower in close proximity to operating turbines.
Also filed under [
Impact on Bats|
UK]
Bats & blades: More research needed on bat, wind farm fatalities
July 30, 2012 by Dan Haugen in Midwest Energy News
July 30, 2012 by Dan Haugen in Midwest Energy News
Laura Ellison is an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Fort Collins, Colorado, who has spent the last 20 years studying bats and other small mammals. Earlier this month she presented on the bat and wind farm issue at the North America Congress for Conservation Biology.
"The newer, larger turbines seem to be worse for bats," Ellison said.
Renewable energy mandate spikes cost for customers
July 28, 2012 by Ben Fitch in The Emporia Gazette
July 28, 2012 by Ben Fitch in The Emporia Gazette
KPI President Dave Trabert said subsidized wind farms hurt the state's economy, that business investment in the state will be $191 million less than without the mandate.
"It's easy to see windmills going up or an employer moving into town as a good thing," Trabert said in a KPI press release. "But it is often overlooked that they received a subsidy or incentive.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
Kansas]