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Can wind turbines make you sick? No easy answers as turbines pop up around the world
May 17, 2013 in Latitude News
May 17, 2013 in Latitude News
After years of complaints about noise and health effects, on May 21, 2013 residents of Falmouth, MA will vote on whether or not to tear down both of the town's wind turbines.
Siemens blade crashes at Ocotillo Wind Farm
May 17, 2013 by Mark DelFranco in North American Windpower
May 17, 2013 by Mark DelFranco in North American Windpower
NAW has learned that a blade belonging to a Siemens SWT-2.3-108 wind turbine came crashing to the ground at the 265 MW Ocotillo Wind Farm in the early morning hours of May 16. No one was injured.
A spokesperson from Pattern Energy, which owns and operates Ocotillo, corroborated the incident.
Wind Energy's Shadow: Turbines Drag Down Power Potential
May 16, 2013 by David LaGesse in National Geographic
May 16, 2013 by David LaGesse in National Geographic
In several recent published studies, Adams and other researchers have explored the issue of turbines stealing energy from the wind, creating drag or a "wind shadow" of air slowed by the spinning blades. Each turbine added to a particular landscape captures less energy. "You reach a point that if you add any more turbines, you get no more energy," Adams said.
Also filed under [
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USA]
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.
"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.
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.
Lack of wind halts Scituate wind turbine studies
May 11, 2013 by Patrick Ronan in The Patriot Ledger
May 11, 2013 by Patrick Ronan in The Patriot Ledger
A group of residents have complained that the noise and shadow flicker from the turbine, erected last year, are hurting their health. At the behest of the town's board of health, Scituate Wind hired Tech Environmental to see if the turbine complies with state noise standards.
At Lowell, Sheffield: DPS Commissioner concerned about turbine noise
May 10, 2013 by Robin SMith in Orleans County Record
May 10, 2013 by Robin SMith in Orleans County Record
Since October, 105 complaints about the big three wind projects have been collected by the DPS division on consumer affairs and public information, not including this complaint from McGrath.
Some of those complaints are from the same people. Twenty-three different people have complained. In one case in November, 31 people joined to file a petition about wind noise about the Lowell wind project which prompted Green Mountain Power to adjust early operations.
Charlestown turbine foes hear scientific evidence of infrasonic threat
May 9, 2013 by David Pepin in The Westerly Sun
May 9, 2013 by David Pepin in The Westerly Sun
It's not always the noise you hear that damages your ears. The noise you don't hear can be more harmful, wind turbine opponents were told Wednesday night.
Harold Vincent, an associate research professor at the University of Rhode Island, told an audience of about 75 residents at Cross' Mills Public Library that infrasonic noise can create health problems that go beyond hearing difficulties.
AWEA is trying to secure more stable policy to give stronger signals to investors. Those options include a phase out for the credit and making the incentive permanent ...But Republicans have told The Hill they believe a phase out is AWEA's stance.
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Tax Breaks & Subsidies|
USA]
Sheffield: PSB Denies Resident Relief From Wind Farm Noise
May 4, 2013 by Amy Ash Nixon in Caledonian Record
May 4, 2013 by Amy Ash Nixon in Caledonian Record
"The noise monitoring plan is entirely under the control of First Wind, who chose the firm to design the plan and conduct the monitoring. This is a perfect example of 'the fox guarding the henhouse,' " Smith said Thursday. "The PSB's order further illustrates the near-impossibility of neighbors being able to participate in protecting their interests before the PSB."
Oil and gas drillers make technological leaps, while renewable energy industry struggles
May 4, 2013 by Associated Press in Washington Post
May 4, 2013 by Associated Press in Washington Post
But the outlook for wind, batteries and biofuels is as dim as it's been in a decade. Global greenhouse gas agreements have fizzled. Dazzling discoveries have been made in laboratories, and some of these may yet develop into transformative products, but alternative energy technologies haven't become cheaper or more useful than fossil fuels. ..."In many cases, renewables aren't ready for primetime yet."
AGL Energy (AGL) this week announced that an independent noise compliance assessment on the wind turbines by the AECOM company had shown the farm was operating within the noise limits set down in its planning permit.
However, Annie Gardner said residents who lived near the turbines could still not sleep at night.
Wind industry still awaits first eagle-take permit under BGEPA
May 3, 2013 by Mark Del Franco in North American Windpower
May 3, 2013 by Mark Del Franco in North American Windpower
NAW has learned that West Butte Wind Power LLC has withdrawn its permit application enabling the developer to "take" golden eagles at a proposed wind project in central Oregon. ...the developer withdrew its take permit request in March due to the difficulty in finding a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the project.
Zoning board to vote on assertion that turbines are excessively noisy
May 2, 2013 by Michael C. Bailey in The Enterprise
May 2, 2013 by Michael C. Bailey in The Enterprise
Neil P. Andersen of Blacksmith Shop Road filed the appeal in November, asking the zoning board to overturn Building Commissioner Eladio R. Gore's ruling that Wind 1 did not present a nuisance by virtue of excessive noise-a ruling issued in response to a complaint by Mr. Andersen.
Call to phase out production tax credit gathers pace
May 1, 2013 by Diane Bailey in Windpower Monthly
May 1, 2013 by Diane Bailey in Windpower Monthly
As the $0.023/kWh production tax credit (PTC) is back on a countdown to expiration just months after US Congress passed a short-term extension of the incentive, some in the US wind sector are weighing whether negotiating its eventual demise may be the only way to put the industry on a stable footing for the long term.
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies|
USA]
PTC clarity to ease renewable energy additions, questions remain
April 30, 2013 by Conway Irwin in AOL News
April 30, 2013 by Conway Irwin in AOL News
PTC eligibility for 2013 also requires that project developers demonstrate that projects be under "continuous construction" from 1 January 2014 until completion. This marks a change from the cash grant system - which gave renewable energy project developers the option to receive 30% of project costs up front in lieu of a tax credit - for which projects were eligible using the Safe Harbor Rule or by being under continuous construction.
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies|
USA]
Sen. Lasee is now pushing for more regulations on wind energy that could limit its future growth even more.
"What I'd like to do is at the very least, follow the lead of Australia and have a mile and a quarter setback from anybody's property line," said Sen. Lasee.
"We are VERY unappreciative of this symbol being used by the USPS for Earth Day," Marie McNamara recently emailed postal officials in Washington. "Thanks for putting us on record as strongly objecting to the symbol of industrial wind turbines as a postmark. Thanks for putting us on record as wanting to see the postmark go away immediately."
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is using noise testing near a Clare Valley wind farm to determine whether local residents' claims about health impacts are valid. ...Peter Dolan from the EPA says 57 residents will also be keeping 'noise diaries' to document their own experiences.