Europe slashes low-carbon energy subsidies as budgets shrink
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:48:40 GMT
What appears to be a bonfire of low-carbon energy subsidies has been lit in Europe as cash-strapped countries grapple with their empty coffers and start to cut back on what many see as over-generous support for industries from wind to solar that has created a green energy bubble.
Spain, Germany, France, Italy and the Czech Republic have all announced subsidy cuts.
|
At whim of the wind
Sat, 31 Jul 2010 18:46:27 GMT
The issue is that pursuit of the goal has the potential to convert thousands of acres of the state's land and water into industrial tracts - all for the purpose of generating low quantities of expensive and unreliable electric power. This may be acceptable in the Midwest with its open agricultural spaces, but in Massachusetts will likely mean the destruction of forested lands and scenic vistas.
|
Legislators clarify position on offshore wind turbines
Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:24:38 GMT
Lawmakers in attendance at Tuesday's meeting of the legislature's Economic Development and Planning Committee took issue with a story published in that day's issue of The Palladium-Times that stated, "Discussions by area officials regarding the development of a wind turbine farm based in the Oswego County waters of Lake Ontario have not blown over."
They have blown over, legislators said, during a sometimes contentious discussion.
|
Wind meeting "blown" because of too many people
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:19:17 GMT
It was a packed house at the Pontypool Community Centre Thursday (July 29) night -- a little too packed.
Not a half hour into the planned three-hour public meeting regarding two proposed wind turbine projects in Pontypool and Bethany, fire officials shut it down for violating fire codes for going over capacity.
|
Fire marshal shuts down public meeting on proposed wind turbines in Pontypool after 140 crowd into hall
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:14:58 GMT
When more than 140 people had crowded into the Pontypool Community Centre, the meeting was brought to an abrupt halt - a move that serves opponents of the Settlers Landing Wind Park and Snowy Ridge Wind Park since it means the first open house has technically not taken place and sets proponents' Energy Farming Ontario Inc. and project managers M.K. Ince Associates Ltd. back in their process.
|
Experts to answer wind turbine questions at Q & A Thursday, Aug. 12
Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:11:47 GMT
The massive blades on the University of Delaware’s Lewes wind turbine seem to generate new questions every time they turn. In response: the university is holding a question-and-answer session next month, when its wind-power experts will answer questions about the turbine and its purpose.
College of Earth, Ocean and Environment Dean Nancy Targett will moderate the event.
|
Rosemount turbine won't get much of a breeze
Sat, 31 Jul 2010 15:56:21 GMT
UMore Park, the University of Minnesota's sprawling research area in eastern Rosemount, doesn't typically get much wind.
That makes it the perfect place for the university's new wind-turbine project.
That's because the goal of a turbine to be built there this year is not to feed the electrical grid, but to conduct research on ways to generate wind energy even when gales aren't prevalent.
|
Adams County group introduces wind energy revisions of its own
Sat, 31 Jul 2010 15:53:04 GMT
A group of Adams County residents has proposed seven additional changes to the county's wind ordinance.
The Advocates for Responsible Energy Development issued their recommendations as the county released the draft of revisions to the county wind ordinance Wednesday.
|
Waubra turbine health fear
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:43:59 GMT
The Waubra wind farm, near Ballarat, is detrimental to residents' health, a specialist consultant's report has found. ...The Dean Report by Noise Measurement Services found Waubra resident Noel Dean "has been and is currently adversely affected by the presence and activity of the Waubra wind farm".
|
Wind farm rate reduction negotiated
Sat, 31 Jul 2010 15:37:32 GMT
In May, Cape Wind Associates LLC reached an agreement with National Grid to sell half the power generated by the wind farm for 20.7 cents per kilowatt hour. Under the "agreement in principle" announced yesterday by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, the cost of energy in the proposed 15-year contract would drop to 18.7 cents per kilowatt hour.
|
Concerns over impact of wind farm
Sat, 31 Jul 2010 15:34:00 GMT
Concerns have been aired about the potential impact on people's health from a planned wind farm near Thornbury.
Parish leaders in areas surrounding the site being considered for the scheme said there had not been adequate investigations generally into health problems which are claimed to be linked to wind turbines.
|
Kirklees Council's wind turbine woes deepen
Sat, 31 Jul 2010 15:31:29 GMT
Council officials have admitted: "We can't get our wind turbine repaired".
More than FOUR MONTHS after one of the two turbines on top of Civic Centre 3 broke down, it is still out of action.
|
Lawmakers challenge state permitting process
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:22:58 GMT
A bipartisan group of House legislators, including several from Cape Cod and Nantucket, are asking state Attorney General Martha Coakley to take a hard look at a proposal to overhaul how land-based wind energy projects are approved. ...Opponents say the bill, expected to go to Gov. Deval Patrick's desk for his signature today, goes too far. The legislative session ends Saturday.
|
TransCanada to test legality of Cape Wind pact; Power co. hits green deals
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:20:50 GMT
A Canadian power company is laying the groundwork for a major legal battle with the Bay State over what it's calling a "tainted" process for signing renewable-energy contracts.
Industry experts warn that TransCanada Power could soon challenge the constitutionality of National Grid's controversial deal with Cape Wind Associates.
|
Proposed underwater powerline would stretch from Searsport to Boston
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:17:36 GMT
The developer of a proposed underwater transmission line from Searsport to Boston is pressing the need for the New England Region to tap the full wind power potential of Northern Maine.
The so-called Greenline project would include the installation of a 140 mile undersea cable carrying electricity from Maine down to the high demand markets to the south.
|
It's prime time to clear the Saco skyline
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:12:45 GMT
Saco has been sidestepping and apologizing for the wind turbine's weak production since shortly after it was installed. Because of the poor siting, the turbine has reportedly produced only 27,545 kilowatt hours, or about $3,900 worth of revenue, since its installation in February 2008.
|
In Wyoming, a careful balance between wind power and sage grouse
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:33:34 GMT
In the latest in an ongoing series about roadblocks to clean energy in the region, Molly Messick of Wyoming Public Radio and KUNC in Colorado, explores how the Sage Grouse is hampering wind development in Wyoming.
|
State denies Cape Wind foe's request for longer review
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:22:34 GMT
The most vocal group to oppose Cape Wind was dealt a setback yesterday, when the state Department of Public Utilities denied its request for more time to review confidential cost and pricing data about the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm.
|
Accuracy a casualty as job arguments dominate energy debate on Hill
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:01:57 GMT
"People want jobs, and all the more so in a situation like this," with an ongoing recession, said Alan Viard, an economist who is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. "It naturally has a political resonance."
But Viard and other economists warn that the jobs arguments is flawed. Industries tend to look only at a policy's impact on one sector, ignoring the broader economic impact.
|
Inquiry finds hand of officials in scam
Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:50:57 GMT
Mr. Vasudevan's inquiry also found the involvement of some officials of the Attappady Hill Area Development Society (AHADS) in the fraud. They had supplied the survey map records and bought tribal land and sold it to windmill companies at huge profits, the report says.
He found that in six cases, the land was registered merely on the strength of tax receipts and without proper documents. This was possible only with the connivance of the Sub-Registrar of Agali. The RDO has recommended action against the official.
|
Controversy surrounds wind energy tax law
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:46:57 GMT
A recently-passed law that gives Ohio's county commissioners the power to authorize property tax exemptions to wind turbine developers could impact local school districts.
Senate Bill 232 gives exclusive power to county commissioners to accept regular property taxes from renewable energy developers or provide them incentives by collecting substantially smaller, annual payments.
|
Orono wind farm public meeting draws large crowd, differing opinions
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:39:30 GMT
"We're interested in hearing their point of view and if the turbines do come, we do want to know what they're going to do to protect our health, and what the setbacks will be," said Ms. Rutherford.
Representatives of the wind farm company said they hoped the information they provided will make people more comfortable with the project.
|
Local residents oppose wind farm in their backyards
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:14:06 GMT
More than 50 people packed a room in the Bonneville County Court House Wednesday night to attend a public hearing about the Meadow Creek Wind Farm project that Ridgeline Energy wants to build. There would be 75 400-foot high windmills built northeast of Idaho Falls near the Ririe Reservoir.
|
Wind Turbines (Minimum Distances from Residential Premises) Bill
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:37:07 GMT
House of Lords: A bill to make provision for a minimum distance between wind turbines and residential premises according to the size of the wind turbine; and for connected purposes.
|
Wind ordinance revisions in Adams County call for setback of 1,320 feet, study of shadow flicker
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:50:15 GMT
Included in the ordinance are provisions that would require the setback from a primary structure of a non-participating landowner's property to be 1,320 feet rather than 1,000 feet in the previous version.
The provision requiring the setback distance of 1,500 feet from school property remains in the ordinance.
|
