Free Republic

On Wednesday afternoon, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to halt construction on Equinor’s Empire Wind project off the New York coast. It’s a new frontier for President Donald Trump’s war on offshore wind, marking the first time his administration has attempted to shut down a fully permitted, in-construction project. In a post on X, Burgum said the order will allow for “further review of information that suggests the Biden administration rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis.” Equinor had been planning the Empire Wind project for years, receiving its first site assessment approval from...

Donald Trump has all sorts of odd grievances. He’s complained about low water pressure and toilets, magnetic elevators, a lack of Christmas cheer in advertisements, tiny windows, tiny fish, Abraham Lincoln’s negotiation skills, “the world” generally, and more. But perhaps his favorite thing to hate? Wind turbines. In more than 100 social media posts over the last 12 years, he’s claimed that wind turbines are “ugly” and “disgusting looking,” “inefficient,” “unreliable,” “noisy,” “neighborhood-destroying,” “bird-killing” “monstrosities” that “cause tremendous damage to their local ecosystems.” (It’s true wind turbines kill birds—but not nearly as many as cars, buildings, and cats.) It’s a...

At 5 p.m. last Wednesday, Germany’s 1602 offshore wind turbines in the North and Baltic Seas stood still…solar output was also near zero. Germany had to scramble to keep supply going. The enemy of green energy: the high pressure system.. In the words of Professor Claudia Kemfert: It is a myth to believe that solar and wind do not provide enough electricity. The myth that there will be enough wind and sunshine somewhere in Europe was shattered at the beginning of November 2024. Daniel Wetzel describes the situation in the online Die Welt (pay article) At 5 p.m. on Wednesday,...

Europe is saying goodbye to natural gas for good with a superturbine that will produce the substitute energy. Although demand for natural gas has fallen in recent years, the continent remains dependent on it as an alternative to coal, a fossil fuel it wants to replace with pure hydrogen. However, to achieve this, a combustion system must first emerge that can work efficiently with any concentration of H mix, including 100%. Different nations aim to achieve decarbonization through a gradual energy transition. In this search for new alternatives to fossil fuels, hydrogen has many possibilities. Its production for energy purposes...

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...

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...

The Osage Nation won a massive ruling in Tulsa federal court on Wednesday that requires Enel to dismantle a 150-megawatt wind project it built in Osage County despite the tribe’s repeated objections. The tribe’s fight against Rome-based Enel began in 2011 and is the longest-running legal battle over wind energy in American history. As reported by Curtis Killman in the Tulsa World on Thursday, the ruling grants the United States, the Osage Nation, and Osage Minerals Council permanent injunctive relief via “ejectment of the wind turbine farm for continuing trespass.” The decision by U.S. Court of International Trade Judge Jennifer...

Lower prices for turbines amid a price war in China have resulted in a 98% plunge in the net profit of the top Chinese wind turbine maker, Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co. While investments in renewable energy projects in China are booming, intensified competition has led to a race to the bottom for wind turbine prices—a race that has dented profits at the biggest Chinese manufacturer. Goldwind booked $1.28 million in net income for the third quarter of 2023, down by a massive 98% compared to the same period of 2022 ... Globally, the wind power industry faces additional...

Wind turbines, once touted by the few wealthy and less populated countries as a clean solution for electricity, are now becoming an eyesore, a hazard, and a significant environmental threat. After decades of operating around the world for the few wealthy and less populated countries, wind turbines continue to have a live expectancy of about 20 years. To date there has yet to be discovered a financially viable means of recycling those wind turbines. As a result, today’s old wind turbines are being dumped into toxic waste dumps. Because wind turbine blades are very difficult to recycle, the waste stream...

The blight on the landscape of abandoned and decommissioned wind turbines stimulated Colorado's U.S. Reps. Ken Buck, Doug Lamborn and Harriet Hageman, Wyoming, to introduce the Production Tax Credit Reform Act. According to a press release, the bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require energy companies remove decommissioned wind turbines from leased land as a condition of receiving federal tax credits. Currently energy companies are not obligated to remove wind turbines from leased land once they are decommissioned, putting the onus on landowners — typically farmers and ranchers — to remove the turbines. According to the United States Geological...

The speed by which wind farms are being constructed across the U.S. is going faster than a spring wind in Casper. In about 20 years, the wind turbines put into operation today will be nearing the end of their lifespan. The ones built 20 years ago are nearing it now. Since the blades are very difficult to recycle, the waste stream created by the retired blades is a mounting problem. According to a 2017 study published in the scientific journal Waste Management, the world’s wind industry will be producing 43 million tons of blade waste annually by 2050.

Bloomberg Business Week, no foe of green energy, headlines: Wind Turbines Taller Than the Statue of Liberty Are Falling Over.” The article beneath the headline reports on a variety of alarming disasters involving wind turbines, including collapses of very tall sructures.On a calm, sunny day last June, Mike Willey was feeding his cattle when he got a call from the local sheriff’s dispatcher. A motorist had reported that one of the huge turbines at a nearby wind farm had collapsed in dramatic fashion. Willey, chief of the volunteer fire department in Ames, 90 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, set out...

Scotland’s green-obsessed left-separatist government has been left with egg on its face by revelations that dozens of gigantic onshore wind turbines are having to be hooked up to diesel generators, leaking thousands of litres of hydraulic oil into the countryside. Scottish Power — led by a Spaniard, Ignacio Galan, and actually a subsidiary of Spanish firm Iberdrola — conceded that some 71 of its turbines had to be hooked up to diesel generators to keep them warm in December, according to the Sunday Mail, with a whistleblower telling the left-leaning newspaper that problems with the turbines are deep-seated.

The UK’s grid operator asked three coal-fired power units to be ready to generate on Monday as it boosts electricity supplies during a cold snap. It would be the first time this winter National Grid Plc uses the reserve. The units are warming up and will be ready to generate electricity early Monday if needed. Demand is set to surge during a spell of freezing weather in the UK just as wind speeds drop — curbing supply. It will also use a new tool that pays homes to reduce consumption between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Monday, when forecasts show...

HERMAN, WI (AP) — A company that operates a southern Wisconsin wind farm is investigating what caused part of a wind turbine and its blades to plummet to the ground, leaving debris strewn across a field. No one was injured Wednesday night when the blades and top portion of a wind turbine collapsed in Dodge County, near the town of Herman. The turbine, which is part of the Butler Ridge wind farm, stands about 400 feet above the ground, according to the National Weather Service. Mark Dietrich, whose father owns the property where the collapse occurred, told WISN-TV that a...

Like much of the world, Western Europe is in a major energy bind — but an ongoing wind drought is making things so much worse. As gas prices continue to soar, many are resorting to cleaner means of renewable energy. But as of recently, barely even a breeze has made its way through the through the winter air. This has drawn serious concerns for power generation. Now many are looking to other energy alternatives.

Utilities are paying more for natural gas, which means many Colorado customers will see higher bills starting Oct. 1. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission approved fuel rate adjustments Wednesday for Xcel Energy-Colorado and Atmos Energy Corp. Regulations allow the utilities to pass through higher fuel costs to customers. Although Xcel Energy customers will see monthly increases in the single digits, they could end up paying nearly 54% more in December than they did in December 2021, according to a notice sent by the company. The PUC’s action on the companies’ fuel-cost adjustment is separate from pending decisions on proposed increases...

Wind turbines require massive amounts of rare earths for their generators and motors. A single wind turbine eats up tons of rare earth metals. Rare earth mining carried out in China is horrifyingly destructive to people and the environment. One story described radioactive lakes, high cancer rates and villagers whose "teeth began to fall out" and "hair turned white at unusually young ages". "Children were born with soft bones and cancer rates rocketed." A recent Associated Press story about rare earth mining operations in Burma told of a world where "birds no longer sing, and the herbs no longer grow....

The turbine was torn apart by the raging winds and collapsed to the ground . Families in a nearby village in South Wales said the bang sounded like thunder . Manufacturers Nordex launched an investigation after it went into overdrive. ... The turbine, which was almost the height of St Paul's Cathedral, was torn apart by the raging winds and eventually collapsed to the ground ... The energy generators are supposed to automatically switch off after it detects winds of 55mph. ... villagers said they were worried over the safety of the turbines following the collapse.

Russian gas giant Gazprom has announced a 40% reduction in natural gas deliveries to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline, blaming German engineering giant Siemens for failing to return key turbines “on time”. The Nord Stream pipeline running across the Baltic Sea to Germany is the largest remaining route for carrying Russian gas to Europe, as volumes being sent via the Ukraine transit pipeline network have been reduced greatly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. The reduction in Nord Stream flows comes less than a month before operations are scheduled to halt completely on 11 July for the pipeline’s...