The US wind industry
is growing.
Overall capacity tripled
over the past decade
and an estimated
13,000 megawatts
will be added this year.
Recent news out of
from some U.S. states,
and Germany,
is that regulators,
local governments, and
environmental groups
are slowing or preventing
new wind turbine projects.
The industry is also facing
the expiration of the federal
production tax credit,
the subsidy that drove growth.
Massachusetts:
In August the Trump
Administration
delayed approval
for Vineyard Wind,
a proposed $2.8 billion,
800-megawatt
offshore wind project
using dozens of turbines
in the waters
off Martha’s Vineyard.
The delay will allow
federal agencies to do
a “robust cumulative
analysis” of the
"environmental impact"
of offshore wind projects,
whatever that means !
A conservation commission
in Edgartown, Massachusetts
had previously voted
5 to 1 to deny a permit
that would have allowed
the wind project’s
high-voltage
transmission cables
to pass through the
Muskeget Channel.
The commission
was concerned about
protection of
marine fisheries,
land containing shellfish,
storm damage prevention,
flood control, and
protection of
wildlife habitat.
Oregon:
The August 1, 2019
ruling by the
Oregon Supreme Court,
halted construction of the
proposed 194-megawatt
Summit Ridge wind project
near the Deschutes River.
The ruling is a win for
nine environmental groups
who opposed the wind project,
that which “threatened bald eagles,
golden eagles and several other
important bird and bat species.”,
according to a spokesman
for Oregon Wild,
North Dakota
In June 2019,
the North Dakota
Public Service Commission
unanimously rejected
a 200-megawatt
wind project
in Burke County,
due to concerns
about wildlife.
Officials from the North Dakota
Game and Fish Department
said that NextEra Energy,
the developer of the proposed
project, “could not have
picked a worse spot.”
New YorK:
In February 2019,
Apex Clean Energy
withdrew its application
to build 108 megawatts
of wind capacity
on New York’s Galloo
Island, a small island
off the eastern shore
of Lake Ontario.
Clifford Schneider,
a retired biologist
who worked at the
New York Department
of Environmental
Conservation
for 34 years,
discovered that Apex
knew that bald eagles
had been nesting
on Galloo Island
but didn’t disclose
that information
in a timely manner
to state regulators.
Indiana:
In May 2019,
Tippecanoe County
commissioners voted 3-0
for a zoning ordinance
that prohibits
wind turbines
taller than 140 feet.
Germany:
In July 2019 the German
newspaper Die Welt,
reported that new wind
installations in Germany
during the first six months
of 2019 “collapsed”
to the lowest level
since 2000 -- a decline
of 82% when compared
to the same period in 2018.
More than 70% of the
legal objections are based
“on species conservation,
especially the threat
to endangered bird
and bat species.”