“Wind turbines and associated MET towers are encroaching on aviation air space, and safety concerns are growing worldwide.”
Editor’s note: This is the fifth (of six) in a series examining opportunities of the Trump Administration to correct harmful wind energy-related policies.
Last month, a single engine plane collided with a wind turbine in Germany killing the pilot and shattering the aircraft. The appalling tragedy was reported as a rare occurrence, but few realize that in the U.S. alone at least ten people have lost their lives in fatal aviation accidents involving collisions with U.S. sited wind turbines and meteorological (MET) towers.
The table below lists these accidents, six in all.
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U.S. Fatal Aviation Accidents |
|||||||||
| Date | Location | Fatality | Activity | Information | |||||
| Dec 15, 2003 | Vansycle, OR | Yes, 2 | Transport (MET) | NTSB Accident ID SEA04LA027 | |||||
| May 19, 2005 | Ralls, TX | Yes, 1 | Ag Spray (MET) |
NTSB Accident ID DFW05LA126 | |||||
| Jan 10, 2011 | Oakley, CA | Yes, 1 | Ag Spray (MET) | NTSB Accident ID WPR11LA094 | |||||
| Aug 5, 2013 | Balko, OK | Yes, 1 | Ag Spray (MET) | NTSB Accident ID CEN13FA465 | |||||
| Apr 27, 2014 | Highmore, SD | Yes, 4 | Transport (Turbine) | NTSB Accident ID CEN14FA224 | |||||
| Aug 19, 2016 | Ruthton, MN | Yes, 1 | Ag Spray (MET) | NTSB Accident ID CEN16LA326 | |||||
Wind and Collisions
The most well-known incident occurred the night of April 27, 2014, just ten miles south of the airport in Highmore, South Dakota.…
Continue Reading“Despite no demonstrated adverse effects of fracking, opponents of fossil fuels—in the spirit of “keep it in the ground”—continue their well-funded campaigns impugning the industry and anyone else who dares challenge them. It is incumbent on the mainstream media to pursue the truth wherever it leads and accurately inform readers about fracking.”
You’ve read about a process that’s bringing abundant natural gas and petroleum to market while reducing costs to US consumers. Expect more developments soon, as President Trump’s energy plans emerge.
Hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells, “fracking” for short, applies horizontal drilling techniques followed by pumping high-pressure liquid into petroleum-rich shale deposits, typically at depths more than a mile beneath the surface. The slurry, containing grains of sand, forces apart thin layers of shale (resembling a deck of playing cards) releasing hydrocarbons locked in the dense matrix. …
Continue Reading“While the ITC option eliminates the uncertainty of performance, it is also consistent with the view of Warren Buffett, considered one of the outstanding investors of all-time. He has said, ‘[O]n wind energy, we get a tax credit if we build a lot of wind farms. That’s the only reason to build them. They don’t make sense without the tax credit.’”
“Responding to his critics about the economics of Deepwater Wind, CEO Jeffrey Grybowski said: ‘We’re building clean energy for the next generation here. And I think there are always small-minded opponents who like to find conspiracies.’ But I doubt most Rhode Islanders consider themselves either ‘small-minded’ or conspiracy-theorists.”
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