Opinions
Category:
General
If approved, the wind farm would deliver turbine impacts to 196 non-participating residences and only 23 participants. Objector petitions representing more than 170 project area landowners and 13,000 acres were filed against this project.
Also filed under [
Illinois]
Small town caught in wind farm vortex pays $50,000 to settle suit over sign ordinance
May 1, 2013 in Bruce Vielmetti
May 1, 2013 in Bruce Vielmetti
Plans for more of the giant turbines have spun up a deep philosophical split between neighbors who favor or oppose wind farms. As more towers arose, so did big yard signs opposing wind energy ...On Tuesday, their attorneys, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, announced that town and its insurers agreed to pay the couples $30,000, plus $20,000 in attorney fees.
Also filed under [
Wisconsin]
Dear PUC Commissioners - Your consultant kind of missed the point
April 28, 2013 in Honolulu Civil Beat
April 28, 2013 in Honolulu Civil Beat
I just finished reading the transcript of the "open session" the Public Utilities Commission hosted last month: the format included a lively conversation between moderator Maurice Kaya (project director for Hawaii Renewable Energy Development Venture) and lawyer/consultant/"guest presenter," Scott Hempling. I am now sorry I couldn't be there, for two reasons.
Also filed under [
Hawaii]
If you're wondering how in the world this project could be economically viable for anybody involved - and the partners are the city of Ann Arbor; Ann Arbor Public Schools; and Wind Products, the company that estimated the output - it's all about the subsidy. The U.S. Department of Energy is ready to pony up $951,000 in taxpayer money for the $1.44 million project.
Also filed under [
Michigan]
Unbiased inquiry into the facts of Cape Wind do not support any value to the project other than its profit to Mr. Gordon. Perhaps the most serious false claim in behalf of Cape Wind is that it will bring jobs to Massachusetts. New Bedford is the unfortunate setting for this claim.
Also filed under [
Massachusetts]
The deeper, difficult questions to the voters are whether the project's initial community wide benefit has been realized. Whether, after turbine operation curtailment, noise tests, health testimonials, the Wind Turbine Option Process and countless town meetings, if any residual community wide benefit exists? Unfortunately, there is none. The question is no longer whether Wind I and Wind II inflict unacceptable levels of harm upon Blacksmith Shop Road or Craggy Ridge neighbors.
Also filed under [
Vermont]
Cap and Trade Collapses: Even the European Parliament rejects carbon price-fixing
April 18, 2013 in Wall Street Journal
April 18, 2013 in Wall Street Journal
EU carbon permit prices have collapsed as the Continent's economic crisis curbs energy demand. Utilities and industrial firms have less need to emit CO2 above their statutory limits. Total emissions in the EU fell by nearly 10% between 2007-2011, according the most recent data. The low price of carbon allowances is good for consumers who don't have to absorb the extra regulatory cost in what they pay for energy.
Also filed under [
Europe]
"Literal beacons of the ‘green' energy movement, giant wind turbines have been one of the renewable energy sources of choice for the U.S. government, which has spent billions of taxpayer dollars subsidizing their construction ...But high maintenance costs, high rates of failure, and fluctuating weather conditions that affect energy production render wind turbines expensive and inefficient."
Also filed under [
Nevada]
The good news is that communities worldwide are learning how to defeat these dreadful projects. More and more laws and moratoriums are being passed against them, while other projects are defeated on legal grounds or by overwhelming public opposition.
Don't let private energy companies carve up New Hampshire
February 26, 2013 in New Hampshire Union Leader
February 26, 2013 in New Hampshire Union Leader
A new gold rush is on. Northern Pass is a first example of this opportunism, but it is by no means the only private project that will target New Hampshire if we take no action. ...Don't let New Hampshire become the dumping ground for private, unneeded energy projects that our neighboring states do not allow.
Also filed under [
New Hampshire]
Landowners in northwestern DeKalb County already had profited in another way - by selling tracts to nonfarmers who wanted to build homes. That strategy took advantage of their land's best asset - its scenic hills and woodlands. But by inviting so many people to move into the rural area, landowners made it unsuitable for a wind farm, which needs wide-open spaces.
Also filed under [
Indiana]
McKibben does seem to have a problem with the neighbors who express concerns about these wind turbines and apparently hasn't been shy in expressing his views about these folks. This thinking doesn't sound much like an environmentalist to me.
What's next for Mckibben, chiding Vermont farmers to get rid of their tractors and go back to using mules for plowing?
Also filed under [
Vermont]
For an industry all puffed up about its supposed environmental virtue, green energy sure is attracting a dirty crowd. Witness its latest entrant, Italy's Mafia. The mob knows a good fraud when it sees one. Mafia soldiers have moved in on the something-for-nothing world of green energy.
The impetus for the escalation of health concern is born from inadequacies of zoning regulations recommended by wind energy promoters. The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, a quasi-state agency focused on renewable energy development, has authored a state supported Wind Turbine Model Bylaw for municipalities considering wind energy projects. This is heralded as the state standard, yet more and more local boards of health are in a quandary.
Also filed under [
Massachusetts]
In July and August wind generation is minimal because hot air is not dense, and it takes even more wind to turn the blades when it is hot. Those in the industry call this the summer doldrums.
A coal or nuclear power plant cannot scale down their production on a windy day. They are fined if they don’t produce enough power to meet the demand.
Therefore, most (if not all) wind power is wasted.
Also filed under [
Minnesota]
The exit of Spanish wind developer Iberdrola Renewables from the town of Hammond will create a feeling of relief for the majority of residents who have felt the intrusion of this foreign conglomerate into the affairs of this small rural community was unwelcome.
Also filed under [
New York]
The perfect news to greet a freezing Britain today - energy bills are set to take another hike thanks to a series of dodgy wind energy contracts. According to today's Telegraph, a ‘shocking series of errors' has resulted in deals worth £17 billion stacked in the favour of turbine manufacturers. It appears the excessive costs of these contracts could be handed down to families, placing an extra strain on households at a time when family incomes are being pushed to the limit.
Also filed under [
UK]
From numbers acquired from this FOIA request, it was determined there is an accumulated five-year loss of more than $130,000. At the end of 10 years, when the last of the turbine's loan payments are scheduled to be made, the district can be projected to have a deficit of more than $260,000 if the expenses or repairs don't go up. In the most recent year alone, the annual insurance and maintenance expenses have risen more than $2,000.
Also filed under [
Illinois]
Wind is free. Converting it to electricity is not. It appears the cost falls to us, even for power we do not want or need. The generators of wind power demand we pay for electricity they do not make, and ensure their profits from taxpayer subsidies they do not receive.
Also filed under [
Washington]
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