A Free-Market Energy Blog

Wind Energy Company Sues To Keep Bird Kill Data Out Of Public’s Hands

By Michael Hutchins -- October 26, 2016

“American Bird Conservancy (ABC) strongly believes that the public and environmental groups should have access to reliable data about how many of these birds and bats are killed by the facility, and that the company’s attempt to use the legal system to block access would set a dangerous precedent if it succeeds.”

In the battle for hearts and minds, the one issue that seems to annoy the wind industry like a burr under a frisky pony’s saddle blanket is the wholesale slaughter of millions of birds and bats. It’s an inconvenient truth to be sure. But, as with everything that the wind industry does, if you can’t keep a straight face while lying about it any more, then pull out all stops and cover it up.

An Ohio wind-energy facility doesn’t want to reveal how many birds it kills, and has gone to court to keep that information secret.…

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Wind Power: Our Least Sustainable Resource?

By Craig Rucker -- October 25, 2016

“A single 1.7 MW wind turbine, like the 315 Fowler Ridge units, involves some 365 tons of materials for the turbine assembly and tower, plus nearly 1,100 tons of concrete and rebar for the foundation. Grand total for the entire Fowler wind installation: some 515,000 tons; for Roscoe, 752,000 tons; for Shepherds Flat, 575,000 tons. Offshore installations of the kind proposed for Lake Erie would likely require twice the materials needed for their onshore counterparts.”

The alter ego of climate change in these renewable energy debates is sustainability: the argument that wind and other “renewable” energies are sustainable, whereas oil, gas and coal are not.

This assertion may have had some merit a few years ago, when it could plausibly be claimed that the world was running out of fossil fuels.…

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Energy & Environmental Newsletter: October 24, 2016

By -- October 24, 2016

The Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED) is an informal coalition of individuals and organizations interested in improving national, state, and local energy and environmental policies. Our premise is that technical matters like these should be addressed by using Real Science (please consult WiseEnergy.org for more information).

A key element of AWED’s efforts is public education. Towards that end, every three weeks we put together a newsletter to balance what is found in the mainstream media about energy and the environment. We appreciate MasterResource for their assistance in publishing this information.

 

Some of the more important articles in this issue are:

Peer-reviewed Study: Four Decades of Wind Turbine Noise and Human Health

Green Overload

An examination of Future Energy Scenarios – Cost of Supply

Vermont Wind Project Needs Votes, So Company Offers to Pay Voters

Iowa Wind Project Generates More Tax Credits than Electricity

$25k (EU) = Renewable Energy Cost for Each German Family of Four

US Offshore Wind Facility costs $17,600 per Home Powered

PV Solar, Increasing Everybody’s Electricity Costs

Green Energy Reforms Will Hurt the Poor

Dr.…

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‘The Case Against A U.S. Carbon Tax’ (Murphy, Michaels, Knappenberger)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 20, 2016
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Lake Erie Wind Turbines? (Part 2: Environmental Issues)

By Sherri Lange -- October 19, 2016
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Lake Erie Wind Turbines? Complaints Pour In (Part I: Overview)

By Sherri Lange -- October 18, 2016
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Julian Simon on Hillary’s Incredible Commodity Deal (mid-1990s revisited)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 17, 2016
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Regulatory Reform at the Texas Railroad Commission (Part II in a series)

By Mark Miller -- October 14, 2016
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Fossil Fuels: Abundant, Chemically Stable, Energy-dense

By Mark Miller -- October 13, 2016
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Texas Railroad Commission: A Libertarian Candidacy

By David Hutzelman -- October 12, 2016
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