Green Energy News

COLUMBIA – The wind may be blowing a new source of power into Washington County. Apex Clean Energy, based in Charlottesville, Va., is developing plans for a wind farm in Columbia and land nearby in the Unorganized Territory, with hopes of completing the project in October 2022, said Paul Williamson, a senior development manager with the company. The project, known as Downeast Wind, is proposed for 22,000 acres in Columbia and townships 18 and 24 in the Unorganized Territory. A total . . .

RAWLINS – The saga of the two planned wind farm projects will continue into the spring, according to Carbon County Planning and Zoning Director Sid Fox. He said as much on Tuesday morning at the first Carbon County Commissioners’ meeting of 2020, when the board rejected the conditional use permit applications for the Lucky Star and Two Rivers wind farms.

CONNEAUT – An eyesore in Conneaut’s harbor is to be removed this year A draft of the city’s 2020 budget includes $163,000 for demolition of the wind turbine. The turbine was struck by lightning in Feb. 2017 and has not functioned since. One of the blades was destroyed by the strike. After it sat idle for some time, the city sued and eventually took control of the turbine. Last year, council authorized City Manager Jim Hockaday to put out a request . . .

On Tuesday, The Hovey House in Mt. Vernon was filled with people concerned about a proposed wind farm in Posey County. Commissioners and locals voiced their opinions on the wind farm proposal. “I’ve got two cohorts today who don’t want to help out the citizens of Posey County … and I’m embarrassed by your performance today, I’ll tell you that,” said Randy Thornburg, one of the Posey County commissioners. A room filled with locals, waiting to share their thoughts about . . .

OSBORN, Mo. – The nation’s largest generator of renewable energy, NextEra Energy Resources LLC, has dropped one lawsuit but filed another lawsuit in two adjoining counties in northwest Missouri as part of a yearslong legal battle to bring more wind turbines to the area. KMBC 9 Chronicle recently featured the company’s lawsuits as part of an ongoing struggle between neighbors near the Osborn Wind Project – a collection of 97 wind turbines in DeKalb County, Missouri. Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources dropped . . .

A wind facility can continue building in northeastern South Dakota this winter. But it now faces more conditions from state government’s permitting agency. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission voted 2-1 Tuesday to give a temporary waiver to NextEra Energy for the Crowned Ridge Wind facility in Grant and Codington counties. NextEra wanted the waiver because crews had installed noise-reduction devices on only eight of 87 units before cold weather shut down work. Temperatures need to stay at least 50 . . .

A slowdown in the installation of wind turbines and solar panels in Germany this year could put the country’s carbon reduction targets at risk, environmental think tank Agora said on Tuesday. Last year, new onshore wind power capacity in Germany reached 700 megawatts (MW), the lowest level in two decades, while in 2020 only another 1 GW might be built, Agora estimated. This would lag the 4.2 GW of capacity added per annum between 2013 and 2017. It also lags . . .

The Posey County Commission voted on Tuesday to send the proposed windmill ordinance back to the area plan commission, opting not to vote on the ordinance. The proposed ordinance would regulate both wind farms and solar farms. Commissioners don’t believe the two should be linked together and request that the two should be separated into two different ordinances. Posey county residents at the commission chambers Tuesday morning were split on the issue. Those against the project say they are concerned . . .

A group representing New England fishing interests on Tuesday called for special travel lanes through offshore wind farms proposed off the coast of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, putting the fishermen at odds with wind farm developers who want to retain as much space as possible for their turbines. The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance called for the creation of six travel lanes, each one four nautical miles in width, through the entire lease area off the coast of the two states. . . .

These are stressful times for Wainscott residents. Many found out in recent years their drinking water was contaminated, and most oppose a plan to bring offshore electric power into the hamlet via a cable that will run under public roads. The drinking water problem was addressed in 2018 when the Suffolk County Water Authority oversaw the installation of approximately 45,000 feet of new water main in Wainscott, according to the SCWA. The Suffolk County Department of Health Services had previously . . .

Islanders living close to a new wind farm proposed for the north of Skye are being offered up to £400 a year off their energy bills if the development goes ahead. Around 80 households within 2.5miles of the Ben Sca wind farm near Edinbane could benefit from the proposals by renewables firm Wind2. Residents living in the shadows of the nine-turbine development could alternatively chose a single payment of up to £4,500 towards improving the energy efficiency of their homes. . . .

BEEVILLE – County leaders are looking at three options for the future taxing of the wind farm proposed in Bee County. For Joe Carter who spoke to commissioners during their meeting Dec. 20, only one was suitable. “I think that you need to not give a lot of consideration to any form of taxation other than the way everybody else is taxed,” he told commissioners during public comment. Commissioner Dennis DeWitt said that the court could offer no abatement, which . . .

Commercial fishing interests have put forward a proposal for how wind turbines should be laid out across the waters south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, asking federal rulemakers to consider establishing miles-wide, designated transit lanes that offshore wind energy developers have resisted. In a letter sent to the U.S. Coast Guard and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management last week, the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance asked that the agencies consider giving fishing vessels and other mariners six lanes, each four nautical . . .

CAMDEN – Camden will dive into renewable energy conversations Tuesday evening, Jan. 7, at a regularly scheduled Select Board meeting, as the town explores solar power options for municipal operations, as well as wind and hydro energy. It’s not a new topic for the Select Board, but the outline provided by Town Manager Audra Caler-Bell drills into the details the town needs to consider before committing to any options. Citizens, including those serving on the Camden Energy and Sustainability Committee, have . . .

While LED lighting can enhance plant growth in greenhouses, standards are needed to determine the optimal intensity and colors of light, according to research that could help improve the energy efficiency of horticultural lighting products.

Nordex has configured its turbines to emit minimal electromagnetic radiation allowing them to be installed near a radio observatory without interfering with the signals the antennae receive from space.

As we enter 2020 and think about energy efficiency, I take inspiration from the Washington Nationals' come-from-behind World Series victory last year. In some ways, energy efficiency reminds me of that 2019 Nationals team that started the season with a losing record of 19-31, but never lost confidence in their ability to score runs, get out of tough innings, and win games.

While efficiency has had some rocky games in the past (at least at the federal level), at the Alliance, we are training for the season ahead by focusing on the basics of the game – defense, offense, and team building. But we’re taking it one step further by also changing the game through strategic initiatives. Like any good team, we are also thinking ahead and laying the groundwork for the 2021 spring training season of newly elected members of Congress and potentially a new administration.

First, a Quick 2019 Post-Season Wrap-Up

• In the win column, federal appropriations for DOE efficiency programs increased significantly – including double-digit increases for advanced manufacturing, building technologies, and vehicle technologies, as well as FEMP, State Energy Program, Weatherization Assistance Program, and ARPA-E.
• A late-season win is the favorable vote on the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) to reduce energy use by 10% in the residential and commercial model energy codes. 
• In a sort of delayed game, a modest one-year extension of three efficiency tax incentives for homes and buildings is helpful but falls far short of the reforms proposed in the GREEN Act. This important game will hopefully be continued this season.
• In the loss column, regulatory attacks on vehicle efficiency and lightbulbs threaten the very policies and programs that have delivered the majority of energy savings for decades.

Our 2020 Strategy

The best offense is a good defense. In addition to protecting vehicle and appliance standards, the Alliance’s playbook will include challenging proposed budget reductions or elimination of ENERGY STAR, ARPA-E, and other popular DOE energy efficiency programs. 

But offense is still critical. Our offensive game will focus on extra base hits like new federal transportation policies, as well as comprehensive tax policy to scale up whole-house and commercial building deep energy retrofits. We will also work hard on singles and doubles – making sure energy efficiency provisions are included in bills that address clean energy, green jobs, infrastructure, innovation, finance, and digitalization. And we will support market-based approaches that expand on traditional regulatory approaches and gain bipartisan support.

Game changing plays. The Alliance also will be investing in changing the game by launching new initiatives like the Active Efficiency Collaborative. This exciting new platform brings together public, institutional, and private-sector partners to develop transformational new policies and programs leveraging the shift from component-based, passive efficiency measures to smart, efficient systems providing flexible services for consumers and the grid. These capabilities will help energy efficiency achieve its full technical and economic potential by improving public health, energy affordability, organizational productivity, energy security, job creation, and carbon reduction.

It’s all about teamwork. A winning season doesn’t happen without strong teamwork, and the Alliance will lean into our collaboration and coalition-building strengths. We will increase engagement with our 17 honorary board advisors to grow bipartisan support on Capitol Hill for an issue that has been traditionally nonpartisan. Supported by a new ad hoc state and local policy committee, we will also explore ways to build on the policy and program recommendations coming out of our strategic initiatives (50x50, Systems Efficiency, and Active Efficiency) to support advocacy efforts in states and cities. Finally, we will leverage our international coalitions, including the EE Global Alliance and participation in the Three Percent Club, to expand the global impact of our strategic initiatives and create a strong U.S. energy efficiency voice in international climate change and other global initiatives.

I am very excited about the upcoming season for the Alliance (and the Nationals!). As the recent EE Impact Report clearly shows, we have accomplished a lot in the past four decades – but the growing climate crisis doesn’t allow us the luxury of continuing this pace of progress. We must step up our game by playing better defense as well as stronger offense, and by changing the game itself. No one organization can do this alone. We need to work together as a growing community of government, institutional, and business leaders to bring about the kind of transformational changes necessary to protect the earth and deliver equitable economic benefits. The stakes are too high to not give it all we've got. 

OK, everyone – batter up!

FARMERSVILLE – The new majority on the Farmersville Town Board voted Monday to declare a 2019 town wind law void and introduced a more restrictive local law. The proposed local law limits turbine blade ground-to-tip height to 455 feet and seeks a 42-45 dBA noise limit and 3,000-foot setback from turbines to property lines, said Supervisor Francis “Pete” Lounsbury. Town board members voted 3-2 to void the 2019 local wind law enacted 4-0 last year by the previous board on the . . .

Researchers have studied a new approach for laser nuclear fusion utilizing relativistic phenomena of intense laser light. By irradiating the ultra-intense laser light directly onto the fusion fuel, the researchers examined signs of heating of fusion fuel. This work may lead to widespread, clean fusion power.

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has been named preferred turbine supplier by Dominion Energy for its 2.64GW site off Virginia.