News
Category:
Iowa
Repair costs push school toward wind turbine sale
April 5, 2012 by Magdalene Landegent in Le Mars Daily Sentinel
April 5, 2012 by Magdalene Landegent in Le Mars Daily Sentinel
Akron-Westfield Community School District's 165-foot-tall wind turbine now stands idle on Akron's skyline. A costly repair means the school board is facing the decision of possibly trying to sell the turbine.
Also filed under [
Safety|
Structural Failure]
"I have no information that Acciona is going to lay off people," he told the West Branch Times. "I was trying to generalize the entire industry, ... and I made a statement I should have not made specifically."
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies]
Wind turbine collisions causing bat deaths, not low pressure field
February 29, 2012 in Iowa City Press-Citizen
February 29, 2012 in Iowa City Press-Citizen
Bats are an integral part of food webs and play a critical role in pest control that's worth at least $3 billion per year to America's crop farmers. Understanding the causes of bat fatalities at wind farms is important for scientists and policy makers looking for ways to mitigate or prevent the loss of these important animals.
Also filed under [
Illinois]
Ill wind: Farmers find problems with wind power generators
February 20, 2012 by Matthew Wilde in Cedar Valley Business
February 20, 2012 by Matthew Wilde in Cedar Valley Business
Strottman bought two turbines from Earth Linked two years ago to drastically cut his monthly $1,700 electric bill. The project cost $410,000. Strottman received $123,000 in government funds and he got a loan for the balance.
The farmer makes $3,700 monthly payments on the machines that currently sit idle.
Also filed under [
General]
Federal lawsuit filed in Winnebago County wind turbine accident
January 12, 2012 by Mary Pieper in Globe Gazette
January 12, 2012 by Mary Pieper in Globe Gazette
The defendants designed, tested, marketed and distributed the safety equipment he used while employed by Clipper Windpower Inc., as a repair worker, according to the lawsuit.
Clipper Windpower was not named as a defendant in the suit.
Company freezes proposed Plymouth County wind farm projects
January 10, 2012 by Magdalene Landegent in Le Mars Daily Sentinel
January 10, 2012 by Magdalene Landegent in Le Mars Daily Sentinel
Horizon Wind Energy, the company that installed several test towers for two potential wind farms in Plymouth County has "put the project on hold," according to Roby Roberts, a spokesman for EDP Renewables, which owns Horizon.
"Demand for energy is way down, due to the recession," Roberts said.
Also filed under [
General]
However, total employment in wind energy dipped from 3,107 to 2,831 between 2009 and 2010. And, while it jumped back up this year, it is not expected to grow dramatically in the near future, according to Kerry Koonce, IWD spokeswoman.
"Projections say that growth will probably be flat for awhile as the state is pretty saturated," Koonce said. "This could change if other types of alternative energy outputs falter."
Also filed under [
Impact on Economy]
The job ground to a halt after workers for Industrial Contract Services placed a 17-ton rotor assembly atop the 246-foot tower. A blast of wind spun the blades prematurely, according to Waverly Light and Power, and all but the base of the turbine fell to the ground.
Also filed under [
Safety|
Structural Failure]
Residents reported to the National Weather Service that two wind turbines were damaged. One had a propeller bent in half and the second had a propeller with the tip snapped off.
Also filed under [
Safety|
Structural Failure]
Authorities say 33-year-old Christopher Paulette of Spirit Lake, was taken to a local hospital after the incident where he later died.
Rehearing requested on wind transmission ruling
August 22, 2011 by Dan Piller in Des Moines Register
August 22, 2011 by Dan Piller in Des Moines Register
Opponents of proposals to build a multistate line from Iowa east of the Mississippi River to bring wind-generated electricity to large urban markets have asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reconsider its decision last month to allow the cost of such lines - estimated to be as high as $20 billion, to be spread to end users rather than borne entirely by the builders of the line.
Also filed under [
Transmission|
USA]
Acciona to introduce concrete towers for wind turbines
August 18, 2011 by David DeWitte in The Gazette
August 18, 2011 by David DeWitte in The Gazette
Iindustry publication Recharge in May reported on the height advantage of the 120-meter all-concrete towers Acciona plans to offer. It said the higher tower height and an enormous 116-meter rotor would extend the reach of Acciona's new turbine.
Also filed under [
Technology|
USA]
The wreck blocked U.S. Highway 52 and cut off access to the bridge from U.S. Highway 20 for more than two hours. It was cleared by late morning.
Also filed under [
Safety]
Iowa Stored Energy Park Agency director Bob Schulte said that geology tests found the storage reservoir wasn't suitable for the scale of project officials envisioned. Essentially, the quality of the storage rock, which would have been sandstone, wasn't as good as officials were looking for.
Also filed under [
Technology|
USA]
During the Development process it has become evident that the wind resource at the Long Creek site is not robust enough for the project to be competitive with other projects in the region in the near- to mid-term.
Also filed under [
General]
Wind farms would be forbidden within two miles of a residential property without the owner's permission, according to a measure that proposes strict new limits on where the tall turbines could be built.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy|
Idaho]
An eastbound coal train clipped a wind turbine blade hauled by a westbound locomotive stopped near the Main Street crossing in downtown Burlington, which halted train traffic for several hours early Thursday morning.
BNSF spokeswoman Amy McBeth said the incident happened about 2:15 a.m.
Also filed under [
Safety]
Can uniform setbacks prevent local wind farm fights?
January 6, 2011 by Kari Lydersen in Midwest Energy News
January 6, 2011 by Kari Lydersen in Midwest Energy News
As a wind-turbine factory in Pipestone, Minn., lays off most of its workers, competitors in South Dakota and Iowa are booming. ...The stark differences among the three Midwestern manufacturers show how business can blow hot and cold in what is still a young and growing wind-power industry.
258 MidAmerican turbines planned in four counties
December 29, 2010 by Dan Piller in Des Moines Register
December 29, 2010 by Dan Piller in Des Moines Register
In the short run MidAmerican's surplus of energy is sold to other utilities. However, its new wind capacity will be available if MidAmerican and its partner, AEP of Columbus, Ohio, are able to build a 765-kilovolt transmission line that would connect wind energy in Iowa and the Upper Midwest with larger markets east of the Mississippi River.
Also filed under [
General]
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