Fw: Industrial Wind Alert! 2008-08-12

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Suzanne Smith

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Aug 25, 2008, 4:19:28 PM8/25/08
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Hi all,
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Suzanne
 
News and Information from Industrial Wind Action Group www.windaction.org
facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts

Issue: 2008-08-12

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The State of New Hampshire, long recognized for respecting local governance, stepped over the bounds last month when the Governor signed into law HB 310, a statute oddly described as “allowing municipalities to regulate small wind energy systems”. In fact, the law is designed to deliberately remove authority from municipalities by establishing prohibitions on what a community can and cannot regulate.

HB 310 asserts that any “ordinances or regulations adopted by municipalities to regulate the installation and operation of small wind energy systems shall not unreasonably limit such installations or unreasonably hinder the performance of such installations”. The statute defines unreasonable limits as those including:

1) restricting tower heights through a generic ordinance that does not specifically address small wind energy systems.

2) establishing turbine setbacks from property lines larger than 1.5x the system height (tower plus blade).

3) defining noise level limits lower than 55 decibels, as measured at the property line, or not allowing for limit overages during utility outages and severe wind storms.

In an apparent attempt to show its “green” credentials, the State of New Hampshire demonstrated surprising ignorance of the facts and arrogance in its authority. Had the bill’s sponsors bothered to look, they would have found a large body of stories nationwide detailing cases where other States wrestled with small wind systems.

Consider these four recent news reports:

Coming soon to a neighbor near you, a 200-foot wind tower?

Wind turbines found to cause sickness

Neighbor's windmill lowers property value, civil board rules

Trees Block Solar Panels, and a Feud Ends in Court

The last article tells the story of a California man who sued his neighbors because their redwoods cast shadows on his solar panels. The court found in favor of the plaintiff and ordered the trees cut. Similar wording in HB 310 could easily create similar unfortunate circumstances.

Windaction.org has no issue with small wind systems if properly regulated and the health, safety, and welfare of surrounding property owners protected. As written, the State failed to comprehend the implications of HB 310 at the peril of New Hampshire residents. But worse, the State’s actions portend comparable reckless efforts to force industrial-scale wind turbines on rural New Hampshire communities.

As I prepared for this month's column, my initial thought was to present brief quotations from industrial wind turbine contracts that had crossed my desk. I quickly discovered that approach would be woefully inadequate and insufficient. Just reading quotes and clauses from these contracts would not fully convey the underlying...  more

Harnessing the wind: Debate rages on future of wind power in Vt.
August 12, 2008 by Bob Audette in Brattleboro Reformer

"While wind power is a popular and growing source of electricity generation in the United States ... it continues to face regulatory obstacles and local opposition," stated the Vermont Energy Partnership report. "And while there is clear potential for an expansion of wind in the State of Vermont, even fully developed, wind can only meet a fraction of the state's electricity needs. To ensure that Vermont has a dependable supply of clean and low-cost electricity, base load providers such as Vermont Yankee and HydroQuébec must continue to serve our state into the future," stated the report.   more...

Conneaut council may take road trip to see wind farm
August 12, 2008 by Mark Todd in Star Beacon

Interim City Manager Edward Somppi, at Monday's regular meeting, said he is trying to arrange a tour of a wind farm near Lowville, N.Y., a town of about 3,250 people northeast of Syracuse. Council is deciding whether to sell 159 acres within the publicly owned East Conneaut Industrial Park to SGR Site Associates of Willoughby. SGR believes the property, when combined with privately owned land north and south of the city parcel, could be home to as many as 50 gigantic wind turbines.   more...

Filed under | New York| Ohio| General

Judge denies appeal
August 12, 2008 by Eric Hrin in Daily Review

A community organization's land use appeal in Tioga County regarding a wind farm project on Armenia Mountain has been denied. ...On Jan. 17, Tioga Preservation Group filed a land-use appeal asking the court to reverse the granting of preliminary approval by the planning commission to the preliminary land development plan of AES.   more...

Oswego considers backyard energy windmills; Concerns arise over wind, noise, cost
August 11, 2008 by Christine Moyer in The Beacon News

The kind of windmills Oswego trustees are discussing would stand 60 to 80 feet tall on residential property that is between half an acre and an acre. Larger lots would not have a height restriction beyond those imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration. ...On the other hand, Lisa Linowes with the Industrial Wind Action Group -- which counteracts misleading wind energy information -- contends that it's more beneficial to reduce energy use than erect backyard windmills. ...Village leaders should remember to have an open but realistic mind when considering ways to make the community more eco-friendly. Just because windmills may be good for the environment doesn't necessarily make them a good fit for Oswego.   more...

Filed under | Illinois| Zoning/Planning

JPMorgan neutral on utilities
August 11, 2008 by Associated Press in CNN Money

JPMorgan analysts are recommending investors take a neutral stance on electric utilities and independent power producers, a less upbeat position than the securities firm took earlier this year. ...The firm also said it has received calls from a number of investors worried about T. Boone Pickens' high-profile plan supporting wind power could hurt power prices.   more...

A crucial argument about the best way to combat global warming comes down to two alternatives that may seem deceptively simple: • Force utilities to make a certain percentage of electricity from renewable resources, such as solar and wind. • Make utilities pay a stiff fine for the greenhouse gases they produce from coal and natural gas, then let the utilities figure out the most economical way of reducing their emissions. ...The debate boils down to three key points: Are renewable standards the best way to deal with greenhouse gases? How expensive are renewables, particularly in the Southeast? And what's the best renewable for Florida?   more...

U.S. Wind Force has received a county grading permit for a geotechnical investigation for a commercial wind energy conversion system and access roads near Vale Summit along the ridge of Dan's Mountain. The Allegany County Division of Land Development Services issued the permit July 31, one day after the application was submitted by CME Engineering in Frostburg on behalf of the newly formed Dans Mountain Wind Force LLC. Dans Mountain LLC is a subsidiary of U.S. Wind Force.   more...

Naples backs windfarm opponent
August 10, 2008 by Emily McFaul in MPN Now.com

The Town Board recently agreed to collaborate on a letter to the state attorney general asking his office to intervene in a conflict between a Naples property owner and a company that plans to build a wind farm in Prattsburgh. The board wants the attorney general to require that windmills be set back far enough from the town line to allow Naples homeowners full use of their property.   more...

Wind whips up health fears
August 10, 2008 by Richard Cockle in The Oregonian

Sherry Eaton pulled into the driveway of her rural, high-desert home to see one of several giant wind turbines being assembled a half-mile away. "I started to cry," Eaton, 57, recalled of her first sight of the Willow Creek Wind Project in late July. "They're going to be hanging over the back of our house, and now there's the medical thing." "The medical thing" is new research suggesting that living close to wind turbines, as Eaton and her 60-year old husband, Mike, soon will be doing, can cause sleep disorders, difficulty with equilibrium, headaches, childhood "night terrors" and other health problems. ...Concerns also are coming out of Europe about low-frequency noise from newly built wind turbines. For example, British physician Amanda Harry, in a February 2007 article titled "Wind Turbines, Noise and Health," wrote of 39 people, including residents of New Zealand and Australia, who suffered from the sounds emitted by wind turbines.   more...

Gauging wind power's impact; Group focuses on the wildlife
August  9, 2008 by Kevin Welch in Amarillo.com

About 140 people got another look at the coming world of wind power Friday. Birds and bats were major topics, but the basic message was that there needs to be more study of the impact of wind farms and turbines. "We're kind of finding our way along with the industry," Kathy Boydston, a biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, told the gathering at the Ambassador Hotel in Amarillo. Experts are trying to find ways to deter birds and bats from hitting turbines, but the lack of information on how many fall victim and how it happens is lacking.   more...

Group pushes for lawsuit against wind farm
August  9, 2008 by Fernando Del Valle in Valley Morning Star

An environmental group may try to push the federal government to file a lawsuit against the state, arguing that it failed to stop developers from building a wind farm in Kenedy County, an attorney said Friday. Jim Blackburn, a Houston attorney who represents the Coastal Habitat Alliance, said the group had not decided whether it will appeal a judge's decision to dismiss a lawsuit against Texas General Land Office Commissioner Jerry Patterson, wind developers PPM Energy and Babcock & Brown and the Public Utility Commission.   more...

Filed under | Texas| General

Project Hayes wind farm hearing to resume in January
August  9, 2008 by Rosie Manins in Otago Daily Times

At what was to be the last of four weeks in the initial six-week hearing, Judge Jon Jackson granted an application to present further evidence regarding the possible cumulative effects of Project Hayes and TrustPower's consented $400 million Mahinerangi wind farm. "Mahinerangi may, and I emphasise may, have cumulative or a cumulative effect when constructed, with this proposal [Project Hayes] on the Lammermoor Range and its surrounding environment. The Mahinerangi decision appears to change the environment which is the setting for Meridian's application," he said.   more...

Kern's green energy boom: Firms grabbing land for wind, solar
August  8, 2008 by Stacy Shepard in Bakersfield Californian

The Bureau of Land Management is currently processing two dozen applications for wind and solar projects in the eastern Kern desert. Meanwhile, the Kern County Planning Department has received applications for wind and solar as well as a biogas pipeline and sludge-to-energy plant. ...Kern's wind farms now generate 710 megawatts of wind energy, but that's expected to grow by an additional 4,500 megawatts in the next decade due to the ongoing construction of Southern California Edison's Tehachapi Transmission line project.   more...

Filed under | California| General

Hearings held for wind farm
August  8, 2008 by Anthony Gaynor in The Intermountain

The process to determine if AES will be given permission to place a wind farm on a Laurel Mountain ridge between Randolph and Barbour counties is one step closer to being completed as the West Virginia Public Service Commission conducted evidentiary hearings Monday through Wednesday. "The attorneys representing both sides presented their cases and called witnesses," PSC spokesperson Sarah Robertson said. ...According to Robertson, the PSC expects to make a decision on Nov. 26.   more...

One native bird in the area may soon be added to the endangered species list. And it could have a big impact on future wind farm development in the Panhandle. There are only a few lesser prairie chickens left in Texas. And because of huge wind farms proposed in the Panhandle, their population is in limbo. Today at the Panhandle Wind and Wildlife Conference here in Amarillo, wildlife experts discussed the impact wind turbines and wind farms have on animals, both in the air and on the ground.   more...

Urban wind turbines 'may be waste of time'
August  7, 2008 by Paul Eccleston in Telegraph.co.uk

Putting up a small wind turbine on the roof of a suburban home may be a waste of time, according to a new report. And in future grants for people who want to install small-scale wind turbines should only be given if it can be shown the turbine will actually save on CO2 emissions. The claims are made in a joint study by the Carbon Trust and Met Office set up to establish whether household wind turbines - so-called microgeneration - will work and whether they can help cut CO2 emissions.   more...

Filed under | General| UK

It's not clear how many municipalities have approved ordinances or taken other steps to govern windmills. It doesn't appear to be many. But the reality is that there could be a windmill -- or windmill farm of 20 or more towering wind machines -- coming to a field near you in the not-too-distant future. Thus, at least the possibility of such should be on the radar screen of every municipal governing body in the state.   more...

TrustPower plans under threat
August  7, 2008 by Dan Hutchinson in Business Day.co.nz

TrustPower says $1.3 billion of wind and hydro-electric power projects it plans are unlikely to go ahead without a change in transmission pricing. TrustPower has approval to build a 200MW wind farm near Dunedin and was this week granted approval to build a 72MW hydro project near Blenheim. Neither project, nor two others awaiting approval, are likely to proceed because of costs charged to South Island generators, TrustPower spokesman Graeme Purches said.   more...

Magic Valley Fish and Game supervisor demoted
August  7, 2008 by Jared S. Hopkins and David Cooper in Magic Valley Times-News

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has demoted David Parrish as Magic Valley regional supervisor a month after he publicly criticized an estimated $500 million wind project south of Twin Falls. Parrish's comments prompted a high-ranking legislator to contact Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter and express concern that Parrish had violated the governor's office's media policy. Fish and Game announced the demotion Monday to state employees - but did not do so publicly.   more...

Filed under | Idaho| General

Symington proposes increase in wind power
August  7, 2008 by Terri Hallenbeck in Burlington Free Press

Symington released a proposal Wednesday that calls for increasing the state's use of wind energy from about 0.2 percent today to 20 percent, saying it would create jobs while shifting the state away from reliance on nuclear power and out-of-state sources whose prices are expected to increase. State Public Service Commissioner David O'Brien called the plan "irresponsible." Wind is not reliable enough to provide that much of the state's energy, and Vermonters would not want to see that many turbines popping up across the landscape, he said.   more...

Filed under | Energy Policy| Vermont

Campaigners' victory over windfarm plan
August  6, 2008 by Emily Dennis in EDP24

Campaigners were jubilant last night after controversial plans to build a windfarm in the south Norfolk village of Hempnall were unanimously refused. More than 100 local people packed into the chamber at South Norfolk Council's headquarters in Long Stratton to listen to the debate over plans by renewable energy company Enertrag UK to build seven 125m high turbines on land at Bussey's Loke. The proposals had been recommended for refusal and were last night unanimously turned down by the council's south-west area planning committee. Enertrag said that it would appeal the decision.   more...

Filed under | General| UK

Construction of a 150-turbine wind farm on 20,000 acres along Wolverine Canyon has been approved by Bingham County commissioners. The unanimous vote Monday to approve the plan by Ridgeline Energy LLC disappointed opponents who say the 490-foot turbines will be a blight on the scenic southeastern Idaho canyon, a popular recreation area south of Idaho Falls. ...Frank VanderSloot, owner of Melaleuca Inc. and a landowner in the area, said opponents are evaluating their options, including legal action.   more...

Filed under | Idaho| Zoning/Planning

Facing reality of wind energy
August 11, 2008 in Salina Journal

Iberdrola of Spain, owner of Elk River, realized over $9.9 million in PTC allowances in 2007. Foreign companies are not regulated by the Kansas Corporation Commission. There are no state or federal regulations of any kind on WECS. Few Kansas counties have wind regulations. WECS will force consumers to pay for their electricity three times; to build the WECS, build conventional power as backup, and additional transmission lines to carry power from the WECS to the grid. WECS will not produce large economic benefits to a community as evidenced by records from Gray County (Montezuma), or Butler County (Elk River). Elk River has produced seven jobs. Most employees live outside the community.   more...

Heroes? The Answer Is Blowing in the Wind
August  7, 2008 in New York Times

The hero who installed the first wind turbine in New York "Wind Farmers of East 11th Street" (Aug. 3) was honored as a visionary. Then, reading between the lines, I realized: • The turbine was installed without regard for public safety. • The turbine was illegally grid-connected, possibly endangering linemen. • The turbine performance did not match that promised.   more...

Filed under | General

Round and round we go
August  6, 2008 in Smoky Mountain News

In my humble opinion when any organization actively pursuing wind power options, promoting legislation that would support those options and taking it upon themselves to define responsible siting criteria publishes a "model" ordinance, it's going to be an ordinance promoting the interest of wind production and wind producers. And what could have prompted the need for wind proponents to create their own model ordinance? Well, according to Brent Summerville, wind program manager at ASU's Energy Center, "Some wind ordinances have passed that are not favorable to utility scale wind development.   more...

Windmill profits portend an atrocity for Blue Mountain
August  6, 2008 in The Morning Call

Now, there are people who think it may be a good idea to build wind turbines on the Kittatinny Ridge (Blue Mountain). On Monday, a letter to the editor from Donald Heintzelman of Zionsville talked about the first such proposal. Lower Towamensing Township, he noted, is considering a request to put windmills around the Blue Mountain Ski Area. Heintzelman said that would place them in the path of America's most spectacular migratory route for eagles, hawks and other raptors. "As an ornithologist involved in raptor migrations ... I am unconditionally opposed to the installation of all wind turbines on this internationally famous ... migration corridor," he wrote. I am unconditionally opposed to it for other reasons, as well.   more...

Invenergy's Forward Wind facility, Brownsville WI  more

This brochure provides a quick, but informative, summary of the key issues pertaining to wind energy development in Virginia and the Appalachian region. The document can serve as a start point for others preparing similar information materials for their community. Click on the link(s) at the bottom of this page...  more

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