Recent Articles
(6 Nov) California – County Supervisor Jim Spering on Monday supported having a moratorium on the large, green energy projects. The county is concerned about preserving the base’s ability to operate. It has a responsibility to preserve the base’s mission, he said. MORE
(5 Nov) New Hampshire – The New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee (‘SEC’) has announced hearings to determine whether to suspend and revoke the Certificate of Site and Facility granted Groton Wind LLC. MORE
(4 Nov) Germany – The nationwide Energiewende, which has required the expansion of infrastructure and the construction of new wind farms, has resulted in steeply rising costs with, thus far, questionable environmental advantages. MORE
(4 Nov) Vermont – The developer of a major wind project in the Green Mountain National Forest has been unable to reach an agreement to sell the power it would produce. The project’s state permit is contingent on a long term power purchase agreement with a Vermont utility. MORE
(4 Nov) UK – Campaigners have called for a moratorium on wind farm applications in the Highlands amid claims that millions of pounds has been paid out for them to be switched off over the past seven months… MORE
(4 Nov) USA – As Congress works on a tax reform package that could take months to complete, it’s looking increasingly likely that the production tax credit, a key wind industry lifeline, will expire shortly after the end of the year — at least temporarily. MORE
(4 Nov) – Centrica is preparing to abandon a £2bn offshore wind farm project because subsidies offered by the government are too low. The British Gas owner will not build the Race Bank wind farm, 17 miles off the north Norfolk coast, unless proposed subsidies are significantly increased. MORE
(3 Nov) USA – The handouts, known as constraint payments, totalled almost £1million over 24 hours. That brings the total paid out to wind farm owners for unused electricity this year to £26million. MORE
(3 Nov) USA – Some of the world’s top climate scientists say wind and solar energy won’t be enough to head off extreme global warming, and they’re asking environmentalists to support the development of safer nuclear power as one way to cut fossil fuel pollution. MORE
(2 Nov) Maine – Selectman Ed Rankin said he wasn’t sure how the town would vote. He said attendees at a town meeting back in June were evenly divided as to whether or not they supported the project. Travis Bullard, of Eolian Renewable Energy, said that if 51 percent of the voters indicated they… MORE
(2 Nov) Indiana – The BZA on March 20 approved a conditional use permit for Prairie Breeze and set a condition of a 1,500 foot setback from property lines and required the creation of a property value guarantee. …It is alleged in the complaint that the BZA exceeded its authority on placing conditions on… MORE
(1 Nov) Connecticut | Maine | Massachusetts | New Hampshire | Rhode Island | Vermont – “We think that it is likely there will be significant additional transmission investment needed to maintain reliability and improve access to these clean, intermittent power sources.”… MORE
(1 Nov) New Hampshire | Vermont – PSNH has maintained that running underground transmission lines would make Northern Pass economically unfeasible. But critics said TDI New England’s proposal not only disproves that claim, but could place Northern Pass out of the bidding … MORE
(1 Nov) Vermont – The Caledonia County Democratic Committee recently passed a resolution seeking to have the State Democratic Committee call on the Vermont State Legislature and Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin to re-evaluate the state’s energy policy and, in particular, protect areas of high elevation from wind development projects. MORE
(1 Nov) USA – The study also said that investments would need to be made in the transmission system: If the region obtained 20 percent of its energy from wind and solar then 820 miles of wire would have to be installed for around $3.8 billion. If 30 percent then as much as 2,946… MORE
(1 Nov) Vermont – “We all support renewable energy, but it must be built in conformance with the existing standards intended to prevent stormwater pollution of our pristine streams. We cannot trade a wind project for our water quality. Our water is everything — our wells, our water supply for fire fighting, our high… MORE
(1 Nov) USA – After a record-breaking 2012 the US wind industry has slowed to a unprecedented crawl this year, installing less than 70 MW of new capacity in the first three quarters of 2013, the most stagnant growth in recent industry history, according to the American Wind Energy Association. MORE
(1 Nov) Germany – Burning debris flew several hundred metres but no one was hurt and the fire did not spread on the ground, the fire association reported that day. It added: “The difficulty was to find out which company operated the turbines and to contact them.” MORE
(1 Nov) New Hampshire – While the presence of wetlands specifically affected the proposed Grafton site, Cherian said opposition from the community also played into Iberdrola’s decision. “We recognized that in Grafton, as in other towns, there are people that don’t support the project,” Cherian said. MORE
(31 Oct) UK – Hundreds clapped and cheered as Lincolnshire councillors unanimously rejected a proposal to build a wind farm near Hemswell Cliff, north of Lincoln. More than 350 people attended the special planning meeting held by West Lindsey District Council at Lincolnshire Showground on Wednesday, October 30. MORE
(31 Oct) Vermont – In one case, as reported in the Sunday Free Press, the value of property was decreased by a whopping $50,000 from a price of nearly $410,000 because of proximity to a wind turbine. A homeowner saw a $700 reduction in the annual tax bill. Now that’s real cash gained because… MORE
(31 Oct) Australia – Recently retired Liberal MP Alby Schultz has pledged to lobby his former colleagues to place greater restrictions on wind energy, after being appointed the first patron of anti-wind group the Waubra Foundation. “Some sections of the media are blinded by the propaganda put out by those sympathetic to renewable energy…. MORE
(31 Oct) UK – “Although they are not as universally hated as things like electricity pylons, which are an absolute no-no for buyers, they can be a big negative for many people,” he said. …The average price of a house in the UK – £242,415 – would fall to around £223,000 if a wind… MORE
(30 Oct) Vermont – Horn said she is not suggesting that towns have veto power over the board’s decisions, but she does want the statute’s language changed to give towns an effective voice in the process. Communities have become concerned over the permitting process because of the impact some energy generation projects, such as… MORE
(30 Oct) Europe – Two mechanics managed to get themselves to safety in time, reported a police spokesperson. Rescuers found the body of a deceased mechanic next to the wind turbine on the ground. MORE
(30 Oct) Australia – An anti-wind farm lobby group in southern New South Wales wants the State Government to freeze a controversial wind farm proposal. In September, the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure recommended conditional approval of a 63 turbine farm near Collector village, between Canberra and Goulburn. MORE
(30 Oct) UK – Linda Holt, spokesman for wind farm campaign group Scotland Against Spin, said: “Lord Stephen’s chutzpah in bringing forward this amendment is chilling. “He is himself a wind developer who has taken full advantage of lax enforcement about Ofgem licensing and scrutiny of energy companies to a make a slew of… MORE
(30 Oct) New Hampshire – The Coos County Commissioners have voted to award the valuation appraisal contract for the Granite Reliable Power wind farm to George E. Sansoucy LLC of Lancaster. The county is locked in a legal battle with the state Department of Revenue Administration over the valuation of the wind farm components in… MORE
(30 Oct) UK – Controversial plans for the offshore wind farm being opposed by Donald Trump suffered a hammer blow today when proposals for an onshore substation for the Aberdeen Bay development were thrown out by councillors. A total of 62 out of 85 residents in the hamlet of Blackdog had written official letters… MORE
(30 Oct) Michigan – Three townships did not have the authority to enact and enforce the ordinances they passed last year to restrict a $120 million wind energy project, a Clinton County circuit judge has ruled. …Okemos attorney Bill Fahey, who represented Dallas Township in writing its ordinance said each township has the right… MORE
(29 Oct) New Hampshire – We were originally against adding more wind farms to NH’s skylines. Living in Plymouth, we see the mammoth towers every time we drive down Tenney Mountain Highway. But after listening to all of the pros and cons, we’ve changed our opinion. So here are the 10 reasons why we no… MORE
(29 Oct) Illinois – At a public forum on Monday, residents of La Salle County spoke out against a proposed power transmission line that would run through the county. The forum was at the Mendota High School gymnasium and was moderated by the Illinois Commerce Commission, which is in the process of considering Rock… MORE
(29 Oct) USA | California – Though several other wind energy projects have applied for eagle take permits, Shiloh IV is in line to be the first project granted a programmatic eagle take permit. USFWS published a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) of the permit before the shutdown, and is now extending the public comment period to… MORE
(29 Oct) Maine – Opponents of a soon-to-be-started wind farm in the Aroostook County town of Oakfield took legal action Tuesday in a last-minute attempt to stop the project. They filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Bangor, aimed at a 50-turbine wind farm to be erected by First Wind of Boston through… MORE
(28 Oct) Australia – The letter, sent to eight properties, warned that development consent was not a defence against possible legal action and recommended recipients seek legal advice. Mr Hodgson said he had been advised by his lawyers that there was “extensive” precedent to sue his neighbours should the turbines prove a nuisance, and… MORE
(28 Oct) UK – “This is, without doubt, one of the most worrying wind farm applications we have seen in Scotland. Not only does it risk harming some of the UK’s rarest species, it would make restoration of this core part of the globally important Flow Country much more difficult.” MORE
(28 Oct) UK – One-hundred-and-seventy-five wind turbines at the world’s biggest offshore wind plant, the 630MW London Array off Kent’s coast, were shut down from 6.30am until 8.30am. MORE
(24 Oct) USA | New Jersey – Atlantic Grid Development LLC, the company planning an undersea power-transmission line backed by Google Inc. (GOOG), is shifting its goal to moving electricity across New Jersey instead of connecting offshore wind farms. MORE
Recent Documents
(4 Nov) New Hampshire – The New Hampshire SIte Evaluation Committee (NHSEC) issued this procedural order involving Iberdrola’s Groton Wind Energy facility. The controversial Groton Wind project consists of 24 Gamesa G87-2MW (48 MW total) turbines. The project was permitted by the Committee in May 2011 and placed in service December 2012. The order is in… MORE
(1 Nov) Australia – Fresh medical evidence from Australia supports scientific claims of a direct causal link between wind turbine low-level pressure pulses and symptoms of sickness in humans – even up to 20 miles away. Witness statements from residents and the extract of Acoustician Les Huson’s expert opinion are now up as documents… MORE
(19 Oct) Australia | Massachusetts – Dr. Sarah Laurie of the Waubra Foundation in Australia delivered these important comments to attendees at the Falmouth MA Human Rights Conference. A portion of Dr. Laurie’s comments appear below. Her full set of comments can be accessed by clicking the links on this page. MORE
(1 Jan 2002) Germany – This paper describes a case study in which low frequency noise (LFN) was suspected of causing disturbance in a semi-rural location close to an industrial estate. Previous attempts using conventional acoustic measurement techniques to resolve the case, or even prove the existence of a real acoustic problem, had proved unsuccessful…. MORE
Recent Pictures
(1 May 2009) Canada – The picturesque Wolfe Island ferry dock is now dwarfed by the 86-turbine wind energy project in the background. MORE
Recent Videos
(1 Nov) Germany – A wind turbine was destroyed by fire near Magdeburg in Germany. The fire was likely caused by hurricane-strength winds, which blew against the rotor blades resulting in the generator becoming overheated. Members of the fire department could not get close to the burning structure due to falling parts. The damage… MORE
(11 Oct) Europe – The senior executives from ten utilities in Europe have recommended that the end subsidies for renewable energy if it wants to regain its competitiveness. The companies argue subsidies for solar and wind energy are driving up prices for consumers and market distorting. E.ON CEO Johannes Teyssen said that ” renewable… MORE
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