Free Republic

Back in 1969, Congress passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), mandating environmental reviews for all major projects to determine their environment impact and allowing for periods of public comment. This has generally been beneficial, but it opens the door to lengthy lawsuits from environmental activists that can tie projects up in the courts for years. There may be some significant changes coming to the process, however, but only for certain types of projects. The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has just finished what's being described as a "rule change" that will remove many delays and "streamline" the...

"Wind Droughts": A 15-state region produced less than 10% of its potential 22 gigawatt wind output over an 82-hour period. For 42 hours straight within that period, the wind output was only 1.5% of the total.. Last month, multiple news outlets reported on the record-smashing year the wind industry had in 2023. The Global Wind Energy Council released its latest report showing the world installed 117 gigawatts of capacity. The Associated Press called 2023 a “record year for wind installations,” and Reuters noted that the U.S. was among the top five markets for wind installations. The U.S. Energy Information Administration...

New York’s embattled offshore wind industry has suffered a series of blows to projects and infrastructure, but one effort enjoying a tailwind is a city-backed plan to convert a Brooklyn marine terminal into a sprawling manufacturing hub.

Landmark environmental laws leveraged for decades to challenge infrastructure projects are now being used against offshore wind, a key aspect of ... Joe Biden’s green energy agenda. A new lawsuit brought by grassroots environmental groups, fishermen and local citizens alleges that the government did not abide by the terms of statutes including the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act in a rush to permit two massive offshore wind developments off the East Coast. “Destroying ocean habitat in the name of climate change prevention is absolutely hypocritical and atrocious,” Dustin Delano, the COO of the New England Fishermen’s...

Residents of Virginia Beach, one of the few areas in Virginia to choose Joe Biden for president in 2020, are upset over the construction of wind turbines. Complaints range from noise and vibrations caused by the 24/7 construction project to the destruction of ocean views and possible negative effects on marine life. On Wednesday, Virginia Beach residents met with Dominion Energy, the company installing 178 wind turbines 900 feet high across 15 miles of ocean. The local news outlet News 3 reported that after the meeting, residents still “have concerns regarding the construction noise, environmental damage, and ocean views.” The...

Despite Biden’s belief that renewable energy such as wind and solar are the cheapest forms of electricity, New Yorkers are about to receive higher bills for offshore wind that will raise their rates by more than twice what was originally agreed to in earlier canceled contracts. New York’s solicitations to cover the higher cost for offshore wind is also being used in other Northeastern states, allowing wind developers to rebid for higher prices and receive new contracts. Offshore wind is much more expensive than most other forms of electricity and these states are committing their residents to markedly higher rates...

Wind power is essential to fighting climate change, yet building the turbines is energy-intensive and the blades are made from plastics. So how eco-friendly is wind power really?ind power is set to become the key pillar of the global renewable energy supply. Generating power from wind is not only carbon neutral, it can also be used to produce hydrogen and synthetic fuels like kerosene and diesel in a climate-friendly way. With the sun, wind is so abundant that it has the potential to supply the entire global energy demand a few times over. This will be vital for the energy...

Why Are Some Wind Turbines Not Turning? SNIP 2. The Wind Is Too Strong Wind turbines need wind to function, yet too much wind is ineffective. Wind turbines can only be safely operated up to a particular wind speed, known as the “cut-off wind speed” or “cut-out wind speed.” Any wind exceeding the limit is too powerful for the mechanism to manage, posing threats to the equipment and the workers.

The energy implosion set in motion by New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019 (Climate Act) continues to unfold slowly. This week we have gotten a few more new data points. If you can read between the lines of wild spinning by the Governor and her team of bureaucrats, you will find that the scope of offshore wind projects moving forward with accepted bids has decreased by about two-thirds, while the price has just jumped by over 30%. First, some background. The Climate Act sets several unachievable and impossible targets, the first of which is 70% of...

Juice: Why Wind and Solar Make Our Power Grid Less Reliable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNS7Qojr1JQ John Stossel 920K subscribers 18936 views Mar 5, 2024 Politicians and activists tell how “renewable" energy will save us from the climate “crisis.” They don’t tell us about the real costs of green power.

By commissioning expensive and inefficient wind and solar electric generating facilities, India may have dug the grave of its own efforts to save the critically endangered great Indian bustard. Erected to avert a faux climate crisis, the so-called renewable machines and their attendant transmission lines are helping to drive one of Earth’s largest flying birds to the brink of extinction. Avian aficionados such as myself have long bemoaned prioritizing wind and solar technologies at the expense of endangered species. Yet, the relentless push for needless climate solutions seems to ignore this as “green energy” installations and avian fatalities increase in...

The cost of the Inflation Reduction Act’s energy and climate provisions is now expected to be significantly higher than previously projected, at least partially because of greater-than-anticipated investment in climate-friendly technology. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) revised its projections this week, greatly increasing how much it believes the law’s energy tax credit-related provisions will cost. “The costs of energy-related tax provisions are much higher than the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation originally projected,” CBO Director Phillip Swagel said. One of the factors the agency cited is a greater number of people expected to claim tax credits for electric...

Walkers enjoying a quiet stroll in the Welsh countryside captured a shocking sight on Sunday, after a wind turbine burst into flames before exploding. Nick Blasdale, 61, and his wife Alison, 59, were left stunned when they saw burning parts of a turbine fall more than 100ft to the ground. Firefighters were called to the blaze at Blaen Bowi Wind Farm near Newcastle Emlyn, Pembrokeshire at 11.46am, but could only watch and make sure passersby didn't get too close. Alison said: 'We watched the top section burst into flames then drop off whilst still burning then explode when it hit...

If you are at all interested in matters of climate and energy, you have probably read hundreds of articles over the past few years about the inevitability of the coming energy transition. A piece of the claimed inevitability is that all good and decent people support this transition as a matter of moral urgency; but it’s not just that. Nor is it just that government backs the transition with all its coercive powers, from subsidies to mandates to regulations. No, most importantly, the transition is said to have become inevitable due to unstoppable economic forces. Wind and solar are now...

Renewable energy is the alternative that Democrats and other environmental nuts want to replace reliable oil, gas and coal. But time and time again, people who rely on wind and solar power have had to learn the tough lesson that such alternatives are both undependable and susceptible to the same elements they are supposed to harness. Nowhere was that more true than in Nebraska, where a thunderstorm dumped baseball-sized hail on a solar farm on Friday at a speed of 150 mph — destroying the facility in just a few minutes. Cowboy State Daily reported a storm moved east out...

Multinational energy developer Orsted unexpectedly withdrew from agreements with the State of Maryland to develop two offshore wind projects, citing worsening economic conditions. Orsted announced that it had pulled out of orders which the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) issued years ago greenlighting the so-called Skipjack Wind 1 and Skipjack Wind 2 projects, and selecting the projects for a 20-year Offshore Renewable Energy Credit (OREC). Maryland Democrats repeatedly pointed to the Skipjack Wind development as a key part of the state's aggressive decarbonization agenda. "Today’s announcement affirms our commitment to developing value creating projects and represents an opportunity to reposition...

Due to the Biden administration's decision to waive financial assurance fees, should Vineyard Wind fail and not fully fund their decommissioning account in a timely manner, the public will likely have to pick up the tab.. Biden administration reportedly waived fees for an offshore wind project that are in place to ensure that the infrastructure is removed and the site reclaimed at the end of the project’s life.. Joe Biden, as part of his climate agenda, is pushing an aggressive buildout of offshore wind projects along the East Coast. With the offshore wind industry struggling financially, the waiving of these...

A wind turbine at a northern Colorado wind farm folded in half and caught fire Thursday morning, startling neighbors who heard banging noises prior to the collapse. The incident was reported at 8 a.m. No injuries were reported. Oil and grease from the generator caught fire after the tower's collapse. ... Personnel from the Peetz and Crook all-volunteer fire departments responded. Employees from Invenergy - a Chicago-based company which first owned the wind turbine field and now operates it for the current owner, ClearWay Energy - were already at the site when firefighters arrived, according to Peetz Fire Protction District...

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Global energy developers Equinor and BP announced Wednesday they are canceling the contract for a massive wind project slated for construction off the coast of New York. The two companies said they had reached an agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to terminate the offshore wind renewable energy certificate for their Empire Wind 2 project. Equinor and BP explained that commercial conditions, namely inflation, interest rates and supply chain disruptions, prevented its contract for the project from remaining viable. "Commercial viability is fundamental for ambitious projects of this size and scale. The Empire Wind...