“The Canadian government is correct that there is a need to understand ‘the potential health impacts and community concerns that underscore public resistance’ to wind energy. But Canadians and others will not be Grubered by phony studies.”

The Canadian government is trying to ‘Gruber’ [1] its residents on wind turbine noise. It will not work.

This story dates back two years ago when community resistance to industrial wind energy was impeding the expansion of projects in Canada’s rural areas, especially in Ontario. Turbine noise and the impact on human health were of primary concern for residents and for good reason. Documented cases of home abandonments to escape the ‘whoosh-thump’ of the blades were piling up (see here, here and here).…

“The debate is no longer about the fear of change or aesthetics. It’s about preserving the health, safety, and welfare of communities from developers hell-bent on sticking turbines on every free acre with transmission access no matter who’s in the way. More than twelve active lawsuits are pending against wind projects in as many states, and more are sure to follow.”

U.S. voters are unhappy with the direction of the country. The big ticket issues — ISIS, Ebola, the sluggish economy — are dominating the national dialogue and will sway votes.

But for many thousands of Americans, next week’s election is deeply personal. For them it’s their best opportunity to drive back the spread of industrial-scale wind power that’s plowing through quiet communities and destroying families. On November 4th, they will be checking the box next to those candidates who promise to permanently end the wind production tax credit (PTC).…

“This proposal delivers its ‘green’ energy at roughly twice the cost of a LA-basin gas-generated power, estimates energy expert Tom Tanton, since transmission losses from Wyoming to LA would be between 10 and 11 percent. This is surely a project that should be taken with a grain, or a chunk, of salt.”

California, trying to desalinize their drinking and irrigation water, is floating the idea of buying and storing renewable energy in a salt mine near Salt Lake City as part of a plan to get ‘green’ electrons to Los Angeles. This technology-over-economics, cost-be-damned project would use  an existing Utah-to-California transmission line previously dedicated to coal-by-wire from the Intermountain Coal Power Plant.

This scheme, a joint venture by Pathfinder Energy, Magnum Energy, Dresser-Rand and Duke-American Transmission, is based on the purported success of a preexisting energy storage project in Alabama that uses compressed air stored in natural caverns to power electricity producing generators.…

“But the true intent of AWWI’s study is not about accurate mortality estimates. It’s about deflecting the avian mortality problem…. The fact is, many more birds (and bats) are dying at operating wind plants than we know, and as the turbines spread, mortality will increase. Now is not the time to relax our concern and look elsewhere. Rather, we should [demand] … that the industry be held accountable for bird mortality once and for all!”

Nobody really knows how many birds are destroyed annually in wind turbine related collisions. [1] Wind proponents have long discounted the carnage by pointing at other sources of bird mortality including cats, windows, and communications towers [2], but the issue still haunts developers.

This month, the American Wind Wildlife Institute (AWWI) released its latest analysis of bird fatalities with the focus on small passerines (commonly referred to as songbirds).…