Eighty hectares of low scrub and pine burn in a fire between Pétrola and Corral Rubio

From El Verdad, Albacete, Spain [translation from Spanish]:

www.laverdad.es

Mount Albaceteño brought a new fright yesterday. An aerogenerator in the Anorias Wind Facility in Pétrola began to burn at four in the afternoon and started a forest fire in the area known as La Cuerda.

As the Mayor of Pétrola, Juan Gómez, described it to this newspaper, the strong winds made the fire spread quickly. ...

Around eight in the evening the fire was brought under control, although the reserve of firemen remained some time more to cool the ground and prevent the fire being revived by the wind. ...

In the end, according to both mayors, and initial official estimates, between eighty and a hundred hectares [200-250 acres] of low scrub and pine were burned.

According to sources from the Castilla/La Mancha firefighters, the effort to extinguish the fire required four teams with four firetrucks, two airplanes carrying dirt, and a helicopter with another team. Two Sepei (Provincial Firefighting Service) trucks also participated.

wind power, wind energy, wind farms, environment, environmentalism

Israel targets civilians

Hezbollah targets civilians. Israel does not. Yet for every 3 Israeli civilians killed by the unaimed rockets of Hezbollah, 100 Lebanese civilians have been killed by the precisely targeted missiles of Israel. Who is terrorizing whom? All for 2 soldiers who wandered over the border and were caught.

The language of the demented can not substitute for the facts of their actions.

Sacred view threatened on Lewis

Every 18 years, the moon is reborn on Scotland's island of Lewis, rising from between the knees of the Old Woman of the Moors, Cailleach na Mointeach. The ancient Callanish stones mark this cyclic event -- the resynchronization of lunar and solar time, the "golden year" that Catholicism still uses to date Easter -- and now a 16-foot-diameter cairn has been discovered near the hills that are the Cailleach's knees. That could prevent the construction of some of the giant wind turbines proposed for the island moors (never mind that disruption of peat by the turbines' erections would release so much carbon it would cancel any possible benefits for 25 years (should they last that long)). Needless to say, the turbines would stand in the way of this view that has been sacred for thousands of years.

wind power, wind energy, wind farms, wind turbines, environment, environmentalism

Another wind lease

Here is what we mean by a "wind power facility," as defined in a Clinton County, N.Y., lease option from Zilkha Renewable Energy (now owned by Goldman Sachs and called Horizon Wind Energy):

(a) wind machines, wind energy conversion systems and wind power generating facilities (including associated towers, foundations, support structures, braces and other structures and equipment), and other power generation facilities to be operated in conjunction with wind turbine installations, in each case of any type or technology (collectively, "Generating Units"; (b) transmission facilities, including overhead and underground transmission, distributin and collector lines, wires and cables, conduit, footings, foundations, facilities, circuit breakers and transformers, and and energy storage facilities; (c) overhead and underground control, communicatins and radio relay systems and telecommunications measurement equipment; (e) roads and erosion control facilities; (f) control, maintenance and administration buildings; (g) utility installations; (h) laydown areas and maintenance yards; (i) signs; (j) fences and other safety and protection facilities; and (k) other improvements, facilities, appliances, machinery and equipment in any way related to or associated with any of the foregoing (all of the foregoing, including the Generating Units, collectively, "Wind Power Facilities").

That Zilkha lease also includes the usual easements for "audio, visual, view, light, flicker, noise, vibration, air turbulence, wake, electromagnetic, electrical and radio frequency interference, and any other effects attributable to any Project or Operations," and the lessor (the property owner) or "any Related Person of Lessor" shall not

(i) interfere with or impair (A) the free, unobstructed and natural availability, accessibility, flow, frequency, speed or direction of air or wind over and across the Property (whether by planting trees, constructing building or other structures, or otherwise) or (B) the lateral or subjacent support for the Wind Power Facilities or (ii) engage in any other activity on the Property or elswhere; in each case that might cause a decrease in the output or efficiency of Lessee's or an Sublessee's Generating Units.

wind power, wind energy, wind farms

U.K. Noise Association: 1 mile setback needed for wind turbines

Press release from the U.K. Noise Association:

July 26th 2006

Within weeks of the Government's Energy Review proposing that planning controls be relaxed to speed up the introduction of wind farms, a new report reveals that badly-sited wind turbines can cause real noise problems for local communities.

In compiling its report, the Noise Association carried out a comprehensive review of the research done into wind farm noise. It found that the stress and annoyance some people experience as a result of noise from wind farms is made worse by the flicker effect created by the rotating blades of the turbines. The report concluded that this was the most likely reason why wind farm noise generates many more complaints than equivalent noise levels from other sources. The Noise Association research found that wind turbine noise can be a particular problem in rural areas, where many of the wind farms are sited, because of low background noise levels.

The report, however, does not come out against the building of wind farms. It argues that 'sensible siting' of wind farms can overcome most noise problems: "It's all about location, location, location." John Stewart, the author of the report, said, "It would be a mistake to see this as an anti-wind farm report. But there is a real danger that, in the enthusiasm to embrace clean technology, legitimate concerns about noise are being brushed aside."

The report recommends that:

• as a general rule turbines should not be sited within a mile of where people live


• the official government guidelines for the siting of wind farms be revised to take account of the more intrusive nature of the noise in areas where the overall background noise is low


• there be a clear and public recognition by the Wind Power Industry, which has tended to dismiss noise as an issue, that wind farms can cause real noise problems for some people. The report argues that this could open the door to "constructive discussion"

[Similarly, the French Academy of Medicine recommends a setback of 1.5 km (see "French Academy of Medicine warns of wind turbine noise"). For more about the growing evidence that industrial wind turbines cause vibroacoustic disease, see Nina Pierpont's new web site.]

wind power, wind energy, wind farms, wind turbines

Vermont Department of Public Service testifies against proposed wind power facility

[PRESS RELEASE]

July 29, 2006

RIDGE PROTECTORS

"It is like a dream come true," said Greg Bryant, a member of the Ridge Protectors, an organization opposing a proposed wind project in the Northeast Kingdom. "The Vermont Department of Public Service has filed testimony opposing UPC's application to build industrial wind turbines on the undeveloped ridge lines of Sheffield and Sutton, Vermont." "This testimony is reassuring and historic for the protection of Vermont 's pristine mountain tops," said Bryant.

The Department's testimony had several significant findings that could well lead the Public Service Board to deny a certificate of Public Good to the UPC wind developers. Noting that the place where the project is to be built is defined as a Rural area in the regional plan and given the undeveloped nature of the site and the large size of the proposed project "the turbines will be out of scale and out of character with the surrounding area." For this reason, the department believes that the proposal is inconsistent with the land use provision of the regional plan.

Another significant fact in the Department testimony is the finding that the proposed project does not conform to the orderly development of the region, an element necessary to comply with the Regional Plan. Citing the recent establishment of the King George School the department states, "The area is ripe with private education facilities built upon the business model of private tuition for educational purposes." The testimony then goes on to state that this tradition is both very old and very young and goes on to site specific examples: Lyndon Institute, St. Johnsbury Academy, the Riverside Day School, St. Paul's Catholic School, Sterling College, and the King George School.

Recognizing the economic impact of this tradition on the regional community, the department goes on to note the specific financial impact that the King George School has on the local community. According to Karen Fitzhugh, the school currently employs 47 full-time staff with a payroll of 1.2 million dollars and spends 750,000 dollars within the regional community. The school has made it clear that if the wind development takes place, they might well have to close the school. "A payroll of the size of this school's is a very significant economic generator for northern Caledonia County ... the risks of the school's demise, in my opinion, could outweigh the benefits of the proposed wind generation project," said Robert Ide in his testimony to the Board.


Probably the most significant finding in the Department's pre-filed testimony addressing project aesthetics is its conclusion that the UPC wind project will have an undue adverse impact on the surrounding natural and visual environment. Specifically, if built, the project might unreasonably interfere with the public's use and enjoyment of Crystal Lake State Park . This finding alone could force this whole project to be reviewed under the Quechee test which might be very difficult for this project to meet. "All of these findings will make it very difficult for this project to move forward," said Bryant. "We have opposed this project for a long time for all the right reasons," Bryant said, "it is wonderful to have the state join our efforts to preserve the natural beauty of these ridgelines."

Ridge Protectors is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to preserving Vermont's undeveloped ridgelines. There are over 250 members of Ridge Protectors, based in Sheffield, Vermont.

wind power, wind energy, wind farms, Vermont

Wind power won't replace Vermont Yankee

The July 24 Times Argus (Montpelier & Barre, Vt.) reported on a campaign event in Putney for Bernie Sanders (running for U.S. Senate) and Peter Welch (running for U.S. House). Besides expressing his impatience with those calling for Bush et al.'s impeachment (not to mention conviction and ouster) (and which the Vermont Democrats had a chance to instigate but then backed off), Sanders spoke to the understandably strongly anti-nuclear crowd about the nearby plant:

Sanders said he had been opposed to the increased power production at the Vernon plant, and he was opposed to extending its federal operating license beyond 2012, when it is due to expire.

That statement drew the largest applause of the evening.

But Sanders said that if Vermont Yankee was shut down, Vermont had to find alternative sources of electricity -- and soon. Sanders said he was a strong supporter of wind energy ...

There's the rub. Vermont Yankee provides a third of the electricity used in Vermont. That's an average load of about 215 megawatts (forget about how much it is likely to have increased by 2012). By the productivity record of the Searsburg wind power facility (average output of 21% capacity), it would require 1,024 megawatts of wind power to produce that average load. That's over 500 turbines of the size currently proposed in Sheffield and Sutton (26 400-feet-high 2-megawatt machines over 3 ridges).

But unlike the steady supply from Vermont Yankee, the energy from wind would be intermittent and variable and would rarely coincide with actual demand. For planning purposes, most grid managers (as in a recent New York study) assume an effective capacity for wind of one-third its average output. That is, Vermont would actually need to plan to erect 3,072 megawatts of wind -- more than 1,500 Sheffield-size turbines -- to replace the energy we use from Vermont Yankee.

But that still wouldn't be enough. The assumption of effective capacity only applies when the penetration of wind is well within the excess capacity of the system, when the unpredictable load from wind can be adequately balanced. Once the system has to rely on wind to actually meet demand -- as in attempting to replace a base load provider of a third of Vermont's electricity needs -- wind power's effective capacity starts heading towards zero. This has been found independently by Irish and German government studies.

In other words, when wind capacity exceeds the capacity of other sources on the system to cover for it, its true value is revealed. If you could cover the hills with giant strobe-lit wind turbines, along with their roads, transformers, and high-voltage power lines, you would still be using the same sources as before to get your electricity. Only the lazy, insane, and greedy could support such a destructive boondoggle.

Closing down Vermont Yankee would benefit all of us, but industrial wind isn't what's going to make that possible.

wind power, wind energy, Vermont, environment, environmentalism