“… the very reason minimum setbacks for industrial wind energy machines are in place today is a result of the unusually tall machine heights relative to all other kinds of machinery, their massive exposed moving parts, and the prospect of visual, audible and physical imposition those characteristics dictate.”
“The unique circumstance here is one of permitting not only a sprawling industrial presence, the visual, audible and safety effects of which extend a great distance from each machine in the collection, but that the machinery is high in the air with exposed moving parts which are not even housed within a building. This industrial presence bears no resemblance to agriculture or even to most conventional mechanized industrial machinery applications….”
The following comments were offered to the Ohio Power Siting Board in a workshop held last week.…
Continue Reading“Audubon’s equivocal policy on wind power ostensibly calls on wind energy developers to consider planning, siting, and operating wind farms in a manner that avoids bird carnage and supports ‘strong enforcement’ of laws protecting birds and wildlife. On the other hand, the same Audubon policy speaks about ‘species extinctions and other catastrophic effects of climate change’ and ‘pollution from fossil fuels’.”
The cover of the January-February 2016 issue of Audubon Magazine proclaims: Arctic on the Edge: As global warming opens our most critical bird habitat, the world is closing in. In reality, it is the magazine’s writers and editors who have gone over the edge with their misleading reports on the Arctic.
This magazine is so awash in misstatements of fact and plain ignorance of history, science, and culture, that they must not go unchallenged – especially since they epitomize the false and misleading claims that have characterized far too much of the U.S.…
Continue Reading“As you can see, with larger turbines coming on line, we now have understandings of the effects over distances longer than previously assumed, and that requires us to rethink setbacks. The Shirley Wind Project [in Wisconsin] has engendered such severe health problems that the Public Health Unit declared the wind project a “human health hazard.”
The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) has consulted with interested parties to update requirements for industrial wind turbines in the state regarding siting, wildlife impacts, health and safety, construction impacts, decommissioning, shadow flicker, ice throw, and noise (including infrasound).
Governor Kasich has instituted five year re-evaluations of the regulations and statutes under the Common Sense Initiative (Executive Order 2011-OlK). The consultation described here is carried out under the OPSB’s second finding and order in case number 12-1981-EL-BRO, finding 17, which welcomes further consideration of concerns expressed by the Stakeholders.…
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