Wind Watch: Industrial Wind Energy News
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Fishermen’s houses burned to make way for wind farm
Twenty houses were set on fire as a three-year-old dispute flared up over a wind farm in a Oaxaca coastal municipality. Municipal authorities and a community of fishermen are at odds over the Boca Barra wind farm, which was first proposed three years ago. The indigenous fishermen of Pueblo Viejo have strongly opposed it, refusing to give up 15,000 hectares of coastal land. Yesterday, the municipal representative in Pueblo Viejo, Francisco Álvarez, led a group of supporters to the beach . . . Complete story »
Fears wind turbines will blight Belleek landscape
There is concern in Belleek that the company behind a major windfarm which will be visible from the village has not consulted with local people on the northern side of the border who will be most affected by the giant turbines. The argument is that a public meeting held last week was in a neighbouring rural area of Donegal and that Belleek people were not aware of it. And there are fears that giant wind turbines will blight the landscape . . . Complete story »
Wind power, jobs and the gullible
We often hear wind power is generating lots of jobs for Iowans. How true is this? Wind power is subsidized by taxpayers, because it cannot support itself or the jobs it claims without subsidies in the form of tax credits. This means we, the taxpayers, are paying for the jobs claimed by wind power. Check out the Production Tax Credit (Iowa Code 476C) if in doubt. Let’s be honest and call subsidies what they are – a giveaway – paid for by . . . Complete story »
Renewable energy goal creates familiar tension between business, environment concerns
The Spokane City Council is scheduled to once again take up the issue of environmental sustainability Monday night, and familiar battle lines already are drawn. The panel will debate a plan calling for the city to use 100 percent renewable energy within 12 years. While the city has said it’s already met that goal for government functions, the law would apply to private citizens and businesses as well. Supporters say Spokane must do its part to counteract the effects of . . . Complete story »
Madison County gets input on wind regulations
With a focus on making wind energy available to landowners who want turbines – while protecting the interests of those who don’t – Madison County is getting ready to put the finishing touches on its revised wind energy regulations. On Thursday evening, the Madison County Joint Planning Commission continued discussions on the regulations, with hopes of hosting a public hearing on them next month. If there are no major changes based on the input from the hearing, the regulations could be forwarded . . . Complete story »
Trailblazing desert bitcoin project raises fresh questions over Morocco’s role in Western Sahara
For all the revolutionary potential of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the digital inventions are extremely bad news for the environment. At the end of 2017, when bitcoin mania was at its peak, the surge in processing power needed by computers for mining and transactions upped its estimated annual energy consumption to a staggering 30 terawatt hours – roughly the same energy use as the entire country of Morocco. A new blockchain company, Soluna Technologies, is building a huge 900-megawatt wind . . . Complete story »
New windfarm project near Ballyshannon and Belleek proposed
Plans are to be lodged in the coming week to construct some of the tallest wind turbines in Donegal at a site near Ballyshannon. The proposals are to be lodged with Donegal County Council Council to construct seven wind turbines standing approximately 150 metres high in the Behy mountain area in Cashelard. In addition planning permission is also being sought to raise the heights of the five turbines at the wind farm in the Derrykillew area from 135 metres to . . . Complete story »
Proposed Wyoming wind farm to power Colorado communities
CHEYENNE – A proposed wind energy project to power northern Colorado communities would be operated on public and private Laramie County land. The Roundhouse Renewable Energy Project would deliver up to 150 megawatts of energy to more than 70,000 households in Fort Collins, Loveland, Longmont and Estes Park, Colorado, annually. A total of 75 turbines, managed by Utah-based Enyo Renewable Energy, would be built on 30,000 acres of land just north of the Wyoming-Colorado border, southwest of Cheyenne. The power . . . Complete story »
Queman 20 viviendas en Oaxaca
Un grupo de habitantes del municipio de San Francisco del Mar, Oaxaca, incendió 20 casas rurales de la comunidad de Pueblo Viejo para desalojar a pescadores que viven en la zona y poder ceder el terreno a empresas eólicas. El subsecretario de Desarrollo Político, Carlos Ramos, informó que personal de la dependencia se trasladó al lugar para dialogar con los inconformes. De acuerdo con reportes policíacos, habitantes de la agencia municipal de San Francisco, encabezados por Francisco Álvarez, prendieron fuego . . . Complete story »
St. Cloud VA to take down ill-fated, dysfunctional wind turbine in 2019
ST. CLOUD – The ill-fated, much maligned and profoundly dysfunctional wind turbine at St. Cloud VA Health Care System will finally have its last chapter. “We’re going to take the thing down,” Barry Venable, public affairs officer, said Friday. “After seven and a half years, it’s an item of curiosity.” The VA has “fully explored” its option to repair the turbine and has decided to take it down in 2019, Venable said. “To characterize how we feel here locally, we’re disappointed,” . . . Complete story »
