Wind Watch: Investigation: 'Foreign object' caused wind farm fire

An investigation suggests an explosion and fire inside a Nebraska wind turbine– that’s part of the largest wind farm in the state– was caused by a “foreign object”.

A spokesperson for the company building the 80 megawatt Elkhorn Ridge farm, near Bloomfield, says the “object” blew into the turbine causing the blast. The incident injured three workers, including one who suffered first and second-degree burns from the waist up.

Wind Watch: Oregon is exceptionally generous with green-energy subsidies

Oregon taxpayers are shelling out tens of millions of dollars to subsidize green energy projects, making the state a magnet for solar and wind companies.

But an investigation by The Oregonian shows that the money also is going to risky ventures with questionable environmental benefits and to prosperous companies that need no incentives but are cashing in anyway.

Wind Watch: Shut up and pay for your windmill

Must we destroy the environment in order to save it? In the province of Ontario, the answer seems to be “yes.”

This month, the Liberal provincial government of Dalton McGuinty will finish drafting its proposed Green Energy Act. The Act’s early drafts call for a big increase in renewable energy production in Ontario. Sounds nice! How do we get there?

The plan contains two big elements: (1) a huge cash giveaway and (2) a brusque slap-down of local democracy.

Let’s talk about local democracy first. Communities often resist wind and solar power for the simple reason that they ruin the beauty of local landscapes. When you think of wind power, for example, don’t think of the solitary turbine that overtops the CNE grounds in Toronto. To meet the goals set out in the Green Energy Act, Ontario will have to build tens of thousands of these massive turbines, linked by a vast network of electrical transmission wires. Many hundreds of these turbines are proposed for my own beloved Prince Edward County.

When people in places such as Prince Edward County hear about “the environment,” they think of their environment. They think responsible stewardship means protecting what is lovely and natural. To them, it seems perverse to ruin the landscape in the name of preserving the environment. So they resist.