World Wind Watch | Green Energy News

June 18, 2006 – Vol.11 No.13

WORLD WIND WATCH.

The provision in a Coast Guard Authorization bill which would have allowed Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts to nix the 420-megawatt Cape Wind offshore wind project for waters off Massachusetts has itself been nixed.

The permitting process by the Minerals Management Service (MMS) of the Department of Interior (which also manages leases for US offshore oil drilling) is now officially resumed. Yet Cape Wind supporters need to hold tight and stay vigilant. Opposition forces will do the same. A final decision is still a year and a half away. Visit Cape Wind. at http://www.capewind.org/

Airtricity of Dublin, Ireland has a long-term plan to invest $1.5 billion in wind projects in the US. The first of those projects is now underway, the 125-megawatt Forest Creek project 25 miles southeast of Big Spring, in West Texas. Due to be complete by the end of the year, it will have 54 2.3-MW Siemens wind turbines.

Financing for the project came from GE Energy Financial Services, Fortis Capital, and Wells Fargo and the project will help the state of Texas meet its renewable portfolio standard of 5-percent renewables (5,880 MW) by 2015. Visit Airtricity at http://www.airtricity.com/ .

Once in awhile wind energy supporters, the wind industry or government may have to take one in the chin over a wind project.

England’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) reports that nine white-tailed eagles including three chicks have been killed in ten months at a wind farm at Smola, a set of islands about six miles (ten kilometers) off the northwest Norwegian coast. The population of Europe's largest eagle could be endangered by the wind farm they say.

The RSPB is understanding of wind farms though not entirely forgiving. The group believes that climate change poses the greatest long-term threat to wildlife and strongly supports the development of renewable energy including wind farms. The group just wants better siting studies done. There are more than 100 wind farms proposed for Norway.

Apparently the Norwegian government was warned of a possible problem with white-tailed eagle strikes before the project was built but the government ignored the warnings. http://www.rspb.org.uk/