Updated: 2021-09-19 11:00:12
It’s a wind farm, not a mushroom farm. But as the Supreme Court of Victoria heard last week, that old adage about keeping them in the dark and feeding them on horse manure, certainly applies to the relationship between the operators of the Bald Hills Wind Farm and neighbouring farmers. What can only be described as an extensive cover-up to hide such things as evidence of the highly irritating noise coming from faulty turbine gearboxes, came to light during a . . .
Updated: 2021-09-19 11:00:07
The operator of a Victorian wind farm being sued by neighbours for allegedly emitting excessive noise says its turbines have a mechanical issue which create a distinctive sound. Two neighbours of the Bald Hills wind farm at Tarwin Lower in Gippsland, John Zakula and Noel Uren, are seeking civil damages in the Victorian Supreme Court. They claim the noise is excessive and they also want the wind turbines turned down or off at certain times. The court was told that . . .
Updated: 2021-09-18 11:00:17
A major voice has chimed in regarding the potential placement of turbines in Lake Erie. During its September meeting, the New York State Conservation Council went on record as calling for a “permanent moratorium on offshore industrial wind turbine development in any Great Lakes waters.” The placing of turbines in Lake Erie has been a hot topic over the past two years in the Western New York region and in Ohio. There, a proposed Icebreaker Windpower project, made up of . . .
Updated: 2021-09-18 11:00:04
A lobbyist promoting a controversial wind farm in East Clare has refuted a claim from a local group that he objected to a similar proposed renewable energy project in West Clare last year. The Fahybeg Windfarm Information Group (FWIG) has claimed that RWE Renewables Ireland representative Kieran O’Byrne’s name appeared on an official objection from Birdwatch Ireland against the proposed construction of eight wind turbines with a maximum overground to blade height of up to 574 feet on land about . . .
Updated: 2021-09-18 10:59:59
In a press release issued to The Midland Tribune this week, the Lemanaghan Bog Heritage and Conservation Group said they are shocked and deeply disappointed by the decision of Offaly County Council to “ignore” the 2,300+ submissions made on the draft County Development Plan regarding the proposal to erect 17 giant wind turbines with blade tip heights of 220 metres. “It raises the valid question,” the Group said in their statement, “what is the point of public consultation? “Never before . . .
Updated: 2021-09-17 11:00:11
JEROME – Magic Valley Energy held a third open house on Wednesday to speak with residents about its proposed wind project. County commissioners, community members and other guests gathered at Renew Coffee Shop in Jerome to learn about the project. Luke Papez, project manager from MVE, said open houses provide an opportunity for public engagement and communication with the community. “Our goal is to continue the conversation,” Papez said. The Lava Ridge Wind Project is in the early stages. Plans estimate . . .
Updated: 2021-09-17 11:00:05
A leading Pembrokeshire marine conservation charity, that has been conducting surveys in the Celtic Deep for two decades, has expressed concerns over the effects on marine wildlife of a proposed large-scale windfarm in the area. Simply Blue energy is currently developing the 96MW test Erebus Project with monitoring technology deployed in the Celtic Deep. It is proposed that Erebus will be followed by the 300MW Valorous floating wind project in the Welsh waters of the Celtic Deep. Sea Trust says . . .
Updated: 2021-09-16 11:00:29
NEWBURYPORT – The City Council’s Committee on Planning & Development and the Planning Board each voted Wednesday night to recommend against moving forward with a proposal to amend zoning to allow for wind turbines along the old Interstate 95 access road. The committee voted 3-0 and the Planning Board vote was 6-0. Planning Board Chair Bonnie Sontag and members Leah McGavern and Anne Gardner were absent for the public hearing. The vote effectively moved the proposal out of committee with the . . .
Updated: 2021-09-16 11:00:23
Renewable energy brings volatility and that’s going to make it very costly for the continent to reach its targets. Germany is a prime example -- Chancellor Angela Merkel’s energy policies have cost its citizens hundreds of billions of euros in subsidies. The EU is unperturbed though. Climate chief Frans Timmermans has said that higher prices mustn’t undermine the bloc’s resolve to expand renewable power and that the industry should speed up instead to make more cheap green energy available.
Updated: 2021-09-16 11:00:18
The bizarre events on Wednesday illustrate how electric power systems are under pressure from the closing of conventional plants powered by coal and nuclear, and the growing reliance on renewable energy like wind and solar, whose output can vary according to the breeze and the sun.
These factors, and the increasing demand for energy as the economy recovers from the pandemic, have left Britain with slim spare capacity in electric power generation.
Adding to the uncertainty, breezes of late have been feeble, cutting the production of electricity from Britain’s many offshore wind turbines.
Updated: 2021-09-16 11:00:10
ALBERT LEA, Minn. – Copper has become a hot commodity in southeast Minnesota in recent months. The metal was reported stolen earlier this week from a wind energy farm site near Albert Lea. Freeborn County Sheriff Sergeant Keith Bolinger tells KIMT they have taken several reports in the last month and a half of copper theft from various wind farms not only in Freeborn County but Mower County and Iowa. He says the sheriff’s office is taking specific actions as . . .
Updated: 2021-09-16 11:00:04
PIERRE – The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission has approved a request for party status from a rural Harrold family opposed to a proposed wind farm near their family farm and pheasant lodge operation. Commission Chairman Chris Nelson says Michael and Judi Bollweg have made three applications in the docket for party status… Brent Koenecke, a Pierre lawyer representing the North Bend Wind Farm project had no objection to the application by the Bollweg’s… Jim Malters, the lawyer representing the Bollweg’s . . .
Updated: 2021-09-15 14:55:50
[Up to 30 wind turbines planned off coast of Connemara] Cuirfidh comhlacht idirnáisiúnta tús le suirbhéanna mara amach ó chósta Chonamara i gceann cúpla seachtain mar chuid dá réamhullmhúchán féachaint leis an chéad fheirm ghaoithe eischósta san iarthar a fhorbairt. Tá súil ag Green Investment Group go nginfidh “Togra na Sceirde” 400 meigeavata leictreachais – oiread fuinnimh a choinneodh soláthar le 295,000 teach. Forbairt luach €1 bhilliún atá i gceist. Tá Carraigeacha na Sceirde suite seacht míle siar ó dheas . . .
Updated: 2021-09-15 11:00:49
IPSWICH – The select board is considering a proposal from a Rhode Island company that could help the town out of a stuck situation. Based in Cranston, R.I., Green Development said it will take down the broken Wind II turbine, which has stopped spinning, replace it with a working model, and sell power to the town. Wind II is one of two windmills at the end of Town Farm Road that are supposed to generate electricity for the town. Wind I . . .
Updated: 2021-09-15 11:00:36
I fear an ill wind is blowing. Maybe wind is indeed the clean-energy cure-all of the future, as climate-change activists claim. Maybe windmills will eventually help wean us from fossil fuels and save the environment. But in the short term they may ruin it. Former Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, one of the most pro-environment politicians in modern history, adamantly opposes windmills. He supports alternative clean-air initiatives, including nuclear energy. I agree. As a life-long outdoorsman and environmentalist, I don’t like . . .
Updated: 2021-09-15 11:00:31
Councillors in Laois rejected a council management proposal to scrap the existing 1.5kilometre set back distance of wind turbines from homes, and instead reduce the distance to 500 metres. The issue came up for discussion during the meeting on the County’s Chief Executive’s report on the draft Laois County Development Plan 2021-2027 on Wednesday 1 September. After the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) had studied the draft plan it recommended that a section of the plan should be amended . . .
Updated: 2021-09-15 11:00:24
Evidence provided by a farmer claiming his property values dropped after a wind farm was built nearby cannot be used in a Victorian court case. The revelation came on the sixth day of a potential landmark case that saw more than 100 pages of handwritten notes about wind farm noise produced as new evidence. Noel Uren and John Zakula are seeking damages from the Bald Hills Wind Farm near Tarwin Lower in the state’s south-east, claiming the wind turbine noise . . .
Updated: 2021-09-15 11:00:14
A lengthy Custer County Board of Supervisors meeting saw a number of approvals including the 2021-22 budget. During the hearing regarding the budget, a handful of citizens spoke regarding Ryno Road and if money would be in the budget to keep the road asphalt and not turn it into gravel. Board Chairman Barry Fox stated the county budgeted $4-$5 million for new surface projects for the entire county next year which was much higher than normal. He stated the board . . .
Updated: 2021-09-15 11:00:08
A renewable energy developer will study wedge-tailed eagle movements for up to two years as it works towards a potential wind farm south of Burnie. Epuron said it was using GPS devices to track a number of eagles in the project area at Guildford as part of a wider UTAS research project into how the endangered species used the landscape. “Independent ecology specialists will also conduct on-ground surveys of eagle flights,” Sydney-based Epuron said in a project update. “Findings from . . .
Updated: 2021-09-15 11:00:04
A wind energy farm could be coming to Harvey County – though the project is, at this time, in its very early stages. Fiona Bagwell. Renewable energy officer for NextEra Energy, approached the Harvey County Commission on Tuesday to inform them the company is beginning analysis of Harvey County. “We are looking at an opportunity for a wind project in Harvey County,” Bagwell said. The size, scope and location of the project are not known. “Wind and solar projects of this . . .
Updated: 2021-09-14 11:02:18
It’s been like watching a train wreck in slow motion from day one. From the time that the host-landowners, the authorities and the developers of the Bald Hills Wind Farm first unveiled their proposal, you could see it was going to create problems for uninvolved, neighbouring landowners. It stands to reason. The proposal trampled all over the unwritten code for farming neighbours, the time-honoured system of cooperation, co-existence and reciprocity whereby you don’t do something to them that you wouldn’t . . .
Updated: 2021-09-14 11:02:15
Environmental issues remain the big challenge for a giant $2 billion green energy wind farm between Gympie and the Cooloola Coast, as the proposal heads for federal environmental assessment. The proposed 1200 megawatt project had a rocky passage through state parliament last year and now faces assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, the same law which saved the Mary Valley from inundation by the failed Traveston Crossing dam proposal. Former State Development Minister Kate Jones backed the . . .
Updated: 2021-09-14 11:02:13
Electricity prices soared to a record in Britain as a period of still weather is curbing wind power, exposing the U.K.’s reliance on intermittent renewables. U.K. power for next day exceed 400 pounds ($553) a megawatt-hour at an auction on Monday, an all-time high. Wind generation is currently below normal, accounting for about 11% of all the electricity entering the grid. That’s leaving the market exposed to swings at a time five nuclear units are offline. The U.K.’s ability to . . .
Updated: 2021-09-14 11:02:11
A second group has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the government’s approval of the offshore wind project that is expected to generate cleaner electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts starting in late 2023. A coalition of fishing industry groups called the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Monday to review the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s approval of the Vineyard Wind I . . .
Updated: 2021-09-14 11:01:46
Natural gas and electricity markets were already surging in Europe when a fresh catalyst emerged: The wind in the stormy North Sea stopped blowing. The sudden slowdown in wind-driven electricity production off the coast of the U.K. in recent weeks whipsawed through regional energy markets. Gas and coal-fired electricity plants were called in to make up the shortfall from wind. Natural-gas prices, already boosted by the pandemic recovery and a lack of fuel in storage caverns and tanks, hit all-time . . .
Updated: 2021-09-14 11:01:44
Another public open house is will present information on the proposed Lava Ridge Wind project in the Magic Valley while the federal government has extended the time for the public to comment on the proposal. Magic Valley Energy, part of LS Energy, will host the open house September 15, at the Renew Coffee Shop on 111 E Main St, in Jerome. The open house is not affiliated with the scoping project, only an informational meeting hosted by the company. The . . .
Updated: 2021-09-14 11:01:39
Saying the Northeast fishing industry has been “systematically marginalized in the permitting process,” the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance sued the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Monday over its July 15 approval of the Vineyard Wind offshore wind energy project. The group, a coalition of fishermen and coastal communities, filed a petition for review in the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals challenging the permit for the 800-megawatt project off southern Massachusetts. “BOEM’s hasty approval of this project, which could . . .
Updated: 2021-09-14 11:01:37
SHOSHONE – The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public input on a commercial-scale wind energy facility that is proposed to be constructed on BLM-managed public land in southern Idaho, approximately 25 miles northeast of Twin Falls. Magic Valley Energy LLC, an affiliate of LS Power, is seeking authorization to construct the Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project on 73,000 acres of public land in Jerome, Lincoln and Minidoka counties. The project has the potential to generate 1,000 megawatts of wind energy. . . .
Updated: 2021-09-14 11:01:34
A relentless rally in Europe’s energy prices is piling up pressure on governments, with Spain and Greece taking steps to cushion the blow for consumers. Gas and power prices extended gains in Europe on Tuesday, reaching records in countries including Germany, France and the U.K. Spain moved to ease the cost of energy bills late Monday, and France said it was considering it, while Greece announced over the weekend a subsidy for all households. Energy prices are skyrocketing as economies . . .
Updated: 2021-09-13 11:00:38
Concerns over a lawsuit from Invenergy has prompted citizens of Worth County to create a legal defense fund that has already garnered nearly $10,000 in support. Worth County Planning and Zoning Commission chair Jeff Gorball, who is also involved in the citizen’s legal defense fund, spoke to the board of supervisors on Tuesday morning about the fund. “In an effort to help ease your concern of the financial burden on legal actions’ impact to the budget, a fundraiser for county . . .
Updated: 2021-09-13 11:00:32
A south-west council is missing out on potentially more than $100,000 in rates from a wind farm that is complete but unable to connect to the outdated electricity grid. The Mortlake South Wind Farm was due to pay rates to Moyne Shire Council from July but the project has been unable to start producing power and the developer has flagged delays could last until early next year. For a full year, the wind farm was due to pay about $260,600 . . .
Updated: 2021-09-13 11:00:25
Concern has been voiced that a proposed wind farm in Peeblesshire will be “pretty intrusive” if given the go-ahead. Peebles Community Council has been asked to back neighbouring community leaders in objecting to the plans for 12 turbines at Cloich Forest, near Eddleston. Although proposals have been revised to reduce the number of turbines, the height and size are said to have increased. Convenor of planning for the community council, Peter Maudsley, has changed his stance on the proposals. After . . .
Updated: 2021-09-13 11:00:21
An armada of wind farms is planned for the California coast under new legislation intended to spur an offshore wind energy revolution in the Golden State. Touted as the perfect complement to solar energy, lawmakers believe offshore wind will reduce reliance on fossil fuels and provide badly needed new jobs at a time when California is dealing with electricity shortages and massive unemployment. In unanimous fashion, the Assembly approved a proposal late Thursday that commits the state to building the . . .
Updated: 2021-09-11 11:00:18
Wind turbines have become a vital source of global green energy but their makers increasingly face an environmental conundrum of their own: how to recycle them. The European Union’s share of electricity from wind power has grown from less than 1% in 2000, when the continent began to curb planet-heating fossil fuels, to more than 16% today. As the first wave of windmills reach the end of their lives, ten of thousands of blades are being stacked and buried in . . .
Updated: 2021-09-11 11:00:06
A new report says the stability of the land where a massive landslide occurred at Derrybrien Wind Farm in 2003 has not been properly checked in over 15 years. The state is currently paying €15 thousand in fines every day to the European Commission over failures to carry out an adequate Environmental Impact Assessment. In October 2003, during the construction phase at the 70 turbine development, a massive landslide occurred. It dislodged almost half a million cubic metres of peat . . .
Updated: 2021-09-10 11:00:30
Several farmers have complained to Oregon energy regulators that wind turbine construction in Sherman County has caused severe erosion and other problems. A letter from 11 farmers to the state’s Energy Facility Siting Council alleges that developer Avangrid Renewables has failed to comply with requirements for building the Golden Hills Wind Project, which will include up to 51 turbines on 29,500 acres. “We’ve lost more soil in the last two months than we have in 30 years,” said David Pinkerton, . . .
Updated: 2021-09-10 11:00:25
Every night for months, turbines at Missouri’s largest wind farm sit idle to avoid killing endangered and threatened bats. And now, as the wind farm’s owner, Ameren Missouri, seeks permission to increase customers’ rates, consumer advocates are sounding the alarm. They argue customers shouldn’t have to pay the full costs of the wind farm on their bills if it’s not fully functional. And at least one fears the company won’t meet state standards for renewable energy. The St. Louis electric . . .
Updated: 2021-09-10 11:00:19
Adrian Whetstone formed the Auglaize County Townships United organization to present a united front in opposition to a proposed wind energy project. She brought those concerns to the Auglaize County commissioners Thursday. The proposed Moonwalk Energy project involves the construction of 50 wind turbines across 10,000 acres in Clay, Goshen, Union, Wayne and Pusheta townships. “The lack of transparency (from) Liberty Power to the community as a whole has caused frustrations to others and I,” Whetstone said. She said their . . .
Updated: 2021-09-10 11:00:14
CLINTON – A judge has ruled the county has no authority to withhold building permits from the Enel Green Energy Alta Farms II wind energy project. In his ruling issued this week, Sixth Circuit Court Judge Jason Bohm ordered the DeWitt County Zoning Administrator to process the 15 permit applications in question by September 13. County board members voting in July to suspend further building permits for Alta Farms II said the action was to force the developer Enel Green Energy . . .
Updated: 2021-09-10 11:00:10
The first Kimball County Commissioners board meeting of September on Tuesday addressed public hearings, roads, budgets and inventories for the county. County Zoning Administrator Sheila Newell briefly explained that the Kimball County Planning Commission met and recommended approval for the conditional permit application of Dale Critchfield of Real Western Wings. Critchfield’s application is looking to expand his controlled shooting area south of Kimball. The commissioners approved the public hearing for 10 a.m. Sept. 21. At that time, they will receive . . .
Updated: 2021-09-10 11:00:06
CLINTON – Fourteen of 15 building permits for the DeWitt County wind farm that were contested in a lawsuit were issued the same day a judge gave the zoning administrator three days to decide to issue or deny them. Sixth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Jason Bohm said the DeWitt County Board “lacked the legal authority” to stop the issuance of building permits “because a county board has ‘no power to suspend, even temporarily, their own ordinances.’” The DeWitt County Board narrowly . . .
Updated: 2021-09-10 03:25:34
TWIN FALLS – More than 100 people attended an online meeting about the Lava Ridge Wind Project and submitted more than 80 comments and questions Wednesday. Participants had concerns over potential impacts to historical sites and avian species were addressed. The site has the potential to impact Minidoka National Historic Site, a former internment camp during World War II. The second online meeting will be from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. today. Anyone interested in attending can register on the project . . .
Updated: 2021-09-09 11:01:08
So loud was the roaring and constant “woosh, woosh, woosh” of the Bald Hills Wind Farm turbine blades, after they became operational in 2015, that neighbouring landowner, John Zakula, had to clear out at night, on dozens of occasions, especially during winter, and sleep in his car at the beach. The late-night excursions, sometimes at 12 midnight or 2.00 in the morning, he said, happened two and three times-a-month in winter between 2015 and 2021, but also extended from April . . .
Updated: 2021-09-09 11:01:01
TWIN FALLS, Idaho – The public has an opportunity to weigh in on a large wind-energy project proposed in Idaho. The Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project would be located about 25 miles northeast of Twin Falls and generate 1,000 megawatts of energy. Ben Otto, energy associate for the Idaho Conservation League, said it would more than double the amount of wind energy currently generated in the state, but he pointed out the project could have local impacts. One concern is for . . .
Updated: 2021-09-09 11:00:55
Wake up Washington County, Colorado! We’ve already lost the war with our water rights. We are currently losing the war to preserve this county. Our commissioners WILL NOT stand up and save us from big government. The sheer destruction of putting a reservoir out on the beloved land by the Buttes. To cover up centuries old Teepee rings and artifacts. Then we’ll dot the land with the ever presenting huge and ugly wind towers, solar panels and transmission lines. You . . .
