Windmills on Ice Mountain - Gamesa Wind Turbines

[My2Cents]

cruiser1,
This is exactly what this company is known for. They cause confusion and turmoil throughout the communities... the minute they see opposition arising that's when they start to try to pacify, ie; offering more money and other incentives, etc. They have pitted neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend. In most cases, the damage done has been irrepairable.
Hang in there, keep the faith.

[Ice Man]

Planners: Logan needs tighter turbine rules

By Kay Stephens, kstephens@altoonamirror.com POSTED: April 23, 2008

Logan Township should adopt tighter rules governing wind turbines, the township Planning Commission agreed Tuesday.

“I feel this is more restrictive, which is good,” commission member David Rhoa said.

The township recently advertised revisions to its ordinance governing turbine construction and placement, with action scheduled for the May 8 supervisors meeting.

If the revisions are approved, turbine developers will be required to commission an environmental impact study identifying noise and other issues that could surface for nearby property owners. The changes also specify that turbines can be no taller than 270 feet.

Representatives for Gamesa Energy USA, which has shown interest in building turbines on Altoona City Authority land in the township, have not commented on the proposed revisions.

A representative at a recent township meeting said comments may be offered during a public hearing at the May 8 meeting. The company has invited township officials to tour the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm next week.

Supervisor Ed Frontino, who attended the planning commission’s meeting, said the ordinance changes were suggested in response to issues that have cropped up after turbine construction.

Since last year, some Juniata Township residents have complained about noise from the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm.

Supervisors there have hired a noise consultant to determine if the level exceeds ordinance limits. If it does, the township can tell the company to reduce the noise or face fines and a possible shutdown.

The revisions to Logan’s ordinance are an attempt to head off this type of scenario.

“We’re trying to learn from other areas,” Frontino said.

Planning Commission Chairman Dennis Murray said while the revisions require a pre-construction environmental study, there is no requirement for post-construction assessment.

To date, Logan Township has not received plans for a wind farm inside its borders.

Under its zoning ordinance, the township designated Chestnut Flats, a former strip mine, for turbine construction.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.

[ardean]

I truly believe that everybody has done just about everything possible, both for or against the wind farms. I regret that it took me so long to jump into the wind farm issue but I guess it is just not at the top of my priority list. That is until I noticed how it seems to be really dividing our community. If I had to put myself in councils position on this and the best outcome was a richer community at odds with one another, then I'd rather be a poor well-bonded community that enjoyed time together. I'm not sure why this has been happening, but has anybody else noticed how, in just like the past 10 years, that people are very easilly offended. I remember when republicans and democrats were not so very far apart when it came to certain issues. I remember when road rage wasn't an issue. I remember when not almost everybody I know was not addicted to prescription painkillers. I remember when young people would not have thought twice about swearing in front of adults for fear of those adults telling their parents. I also remember when parents could talk to one another if their children did something wrong. Now parents are quick to say "not my kid". You know what? I guess I also remember gas under a dollar a gallon. With all that said, I must say that I will not give up in seeing the best in people and cherishing the good times that we in the small community of Tyrone had and will continue to have. :h

[Ice Man]

Is wind energy environmentally sound?

Posted by HERB FIELD, Of The Harrisburg Patriot-News

It's automatic to assume that windmills are a clean, environmentally sound form of energy. And not only have we come to think of wind as clean, but also as free in terms of its fuel source. But like many a good thing, it also can be misused. And that's what's occuring in Pennsylvania in too many instances.

Two new studies that warn that biofuels production could actually contribute to global warming, not abate it, may very well apply to wind energy, as well, in certain circumstances. But we haven't done the serious scientific studies necessary to weigh all aspects of wind power to draw sound conclusions. Rather, the Rendell administration has barreled ahead as if this were all a settled matter, which it clearly is not. So instead of actually being a force for coming to terms with climate change and formulating a sound energy policy, there is reason to believe the administration could well be aggravating global warming with its pro-wind-at-cost policies.

The two studies which are described in a Washington Post article, bring to the equation issues for consideration that have been largely ignored - the impact of these activities on forests, grasslands and fertile croplands and their lost or diminished ability to sequester carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas.
The initial wave of windmill farms in Pennsylvania has focused on the state's famed ridge tops, where blowing winds are strongest and most frequent. This is an attempt to maximize the ability of individual windmills and farms to produce energy, which doubtless translates into the best ecnomic model. That is unitl you start counting the cost of litigation to deal with the growing opposition to clearing Pennsylvania's signature landscape and creating a "scenery" laced with windmills.

And it likely doesn't hold up if you add up the lost forests and vegetation that is sacrificed in the process of clearing acres of trees for the turbines and the roads necessary to build and service them. Add in the carbon emissions associated with manufacturing, transporting and servicing windmills, and there is a carbon cost of some magnitude. We just don't know what that is and there is no evidence to indicate that the Rendell administration has done its homework to establish what that contribution is, or if it even wants to know.
The other side of the equation is that building windmills in Pennsylvania is an economic plus, with associated jobs, and that factor may well be paramount in the administration's thinking, rather than any negative impact on the envrionment - including disturbing or killing bats, raptors and other species of animals and plants - and global warming.

In my view, windmills have an important role to play in addressing climate change, but only within the parameters of sensible environmental standards. We need to sacrifice maximizing windmills' ability to generate energy in order to site them more appropriately. But if the state had such a siting methodology on the books, including requiring a review of any particular location's carbon contribution as well as overall environmental impact, I believe Pennsylvania would be able to build many more windmills, do it sooner and do it with far greater public support than is now the case.

If we continue to ignore the global warming implications of what are perceived to be benigh forms of energy, we are only digging our whole deeper, losing valuable time and creating a far more difficult challenge, one that by any measure is difficult enough.

[Something to say]

It just doesn't get any better/clearer than that Ice Man. I think that article expresses the opinions held by most on this thread. Location, Location, Location.

[Ice Man]

If I had to put myself in councils position on this and the best outcome was a richer community at odds with one another, then I'd rather be a poor well-bonded community that enjoyed time together. :h

"A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to leave alone."

Henry David Thoreau

[sandstone]

I have recently dug into quite abit of info on wind energy and it does seem good. But, do I want to see the monstrousities on the mountain I love...NO.

You have stated the position of the Moshannon Group of the Sierra Club, The Little Juniata River Association, Juniata Valley Audubon, and the Sinking Valley Watershed Association. Only it's not just because we love Ice Mountain. It is because Ice Mountain is certified as a "unique" Blair County Natural Heritage Area of exceptional significance.

[My2Cents]

You don't have to be a Snyder Township resident to have a voice at their Board of Supervisors meetings.
The township building is on Old Route 220 in Vail. Give the Township a call at 684-1048 (Anne Dillon is the township secretary) to find out when the next Board of Supervisors meeting will occur. Let us know, too. Then attend and just ask them to adopt the Antis Twp ordinance.

I spoke to Anne Dillion today;
The next Snyder Township Board Of Supervisors Meeting is on Monday, May 5th at 7 P.M.

There is a meeting tonight (Monday 28th) of Tyrone Borough Council at 6:30 P.M. I'm not sure if it is for the public though... will try to find out.

[Ice Man]

You don't have to be a Snyder Township resident to have a voice at their Board of Supervisors meetings.
The township building is on Old Route 220 in Vail. Give the Township a call at 684-1048 (Anne Dillon is the township secretary) to find out when the next Board of Supervisors meeting will occur. Let us know, too. Then attend and just ask them to adopt the Antis Twp ordinance.

I spoke to Anne Dillion today;
The next Snyder Township Board Of Supervisors Meeting is on Monday, May 5th at 7 P.M.

Hope to see y'all there!!!

[sandstone]

For those who'd like to become more educated regarding energy issues:

Colloquium on the Environment Keynote Speaker Amory Lovins

Tuesday April 29th at 5:00 p.m. in the HUB-Robeson Auditorium, University Park

Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute Co-founder, Chairman, and Chief Scientist, will give the keynote lecture
"Whole System Thinking and Radical Energy Efficiency."

All events are free and open to the public. For more information please visit:

http://www.psiee.psu.edu/news/colloquium.asp

The Colloquim on the Environment is a joint venture between PSIEE and the University's Finance and Business Environmental Stewardship Strategy. The Colloquium is held annually — usually in April . The event features in-depth presentations about Penn State's environmental initiatives, from both operational and academic units. The day's activities culminate with a nationally-known speaker discussing a current topic related to energy or the environment. This year's Colloquium on the Environment is sponsored by also supported by the Center for Sustainability and Penn State Outreach.

Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute Cofounder, Chairman, and Chief Scientist, is a consultant experimental physicist educated at Harvard and Oxford. He has received an Oxford MA (by virtue of being a don), nine honorary doctorates, a MacArthur Fellowship, the Heinz, Lindbergh, Right Livelihood ("Alternative Nobel"), World Technology, and Time Hero for the Planet awards, the Benjamin Franklin and Happold Medals, the Nissan, Shingo, Mitchell, and Onassis Prizes, and honorary membership of the American Institute of Architects.

He has lately led the redesign of $30 billion worth of facilities in 29 sectors for radical energy and resource efficiency. He has briefed nineteen heads of state, held several visiting academic chairs (most recently the 2007 MAP/Ming Professorship at Stanford), written twenty-nine books (including Natural Capitalism <www.natcap.org> and his Pentagon-cosponsored 29th book Winning the Oil Endgame <www.oilendgame.com>)and hundreds of papers, and consulted for scores of industries and governments worldwide.

The Wall Street Journal named Mr. Lovins one of thirty-nine people worldwide "most likely to change the course of business in the '90s"; Newsweek has praised him as "one of the Western world's most influential energy thinkers"; and Car magazine ranked him the twenty-second most powerful person in the global automotive industry.

[Ice Man]

For those who'd like to become more educated regarding energy issues:

Colloquium on the Environment Keynote Speaker Amory Lovins

Tuesday April 29th at 5:00 p.m. in the HUB-Robeson Auditorium, University Park

Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute Co-founder, Chairman, and Chief Scientist, will give the keynote lecture
"Whole System Thinking and Radical Energy Efficiency."

All events are free and open to the public. For more information please visit:

http://www.psiee.psu.edu/news/colloquium.asp

The Colloquim on the Environment is a joint venture between PSIEE and the University's Finance and Business Environmental Stewardship Strategy. The Colloquium is held annually — usually in April . The event features in-depth presentations about Penn State's environmental initiatives, from both operational and academic units. The day's activities culminate with a nationally-known speaker discussing a current topic related to energy or the environment. This year's Colloquium on the Environment is sponsored by also supported by the Center for Sustainability and Penn State Outreach.

Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute Cofounder, Chairman, and Chief Scientist, is a consultant experimental physicist educated at Harvard and Oxford. He has received an Oxford MA (by virtue of being a don), nine honorary doctorates, a MacArthur Fellowship, the Heinz, Lindbergh, Right Livelihood ("Alternative Nobel"), World Technology, and Time Hero for the Planet awards, the Benjamin Franklin and Happold Medals, the Nissan, Shingo, Mitchell, and Onassis Prizes, and honorary membership of the American Institute of Architects.

He has lately led the redesign of $30 billion worth of facilities in 29 sectors for radical energy and resource efficiency. He has briefed nineteen heads of state, held several visiting academic chairs (most recently the 2007 MAP/Ming Professorship at Stanford), written twenty-nine books (including Natural Capitalism <www.natcap.org> and his Pentagon-cosponsored 29th book Winning the Oil Endgame <www.oilendgame.com>)and hundreds of papers, and consulted for scores of industries and governments worldwide.

The Wall Street Journal named Mr. Lovins one of thirty-nine people worldwide "most likely to change the course of business in the '90s"; Newsweek has praised him as "one of the Western world's most influential energy thinkers"; and Car magazine ranked him the twenty-second most powerful person in the global automotive industry.

http://www.eponline.com/articles/61227?recipid%3B=

Analysis: Efficiency Could Curb Need for New Power

April 28, 2008

Energy efficiency improvements in the U.S. electric power sector could reduce the need for new electric generation by an additional 7 to 11 percent more than currently projected over the next two decades, according to a preliminary analysis of potential energy savings released April 21.

"This study demonstrates the potential of energy efficiency to offset some of the projected need for new electric generation as cutting-edge technologies become available and are adopted," said Michael Howard, Ph.D., senior vice president at EPRI. "We think a 7-percent efficiency improvement is realistic – and gains of 11 percent or more are technologically feasible – depending on the degree to which various obstacles can be overcome."

The draft findings were presented by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) during an Edison Foundation conference, "Keeping the Lights On: Our National Challenge," which examined strategies to meet the growing demand for electricity. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, demand is expected to soar 30 percent by 2030.

That demand growth projection would be even higher without the implementation of existing building codes, appliance standards, and market-driven consumer incentives, which will shave electricity consumption by 23 percent, according to the study. However, additional efficiency gains could be achieved only by overcoming major market, regulatory, and consumer barriers, the analysis found.

Essential steps include increased consumer education; adoption and enforcement of aggressive building codes and appliance standards; creation of utility business models that promote increased efficiency within the power sector; and adoption of electricity pricing policies that more accurately reflect the cost of providing electricity to consumers – and give them the information they need to use it wisely.

"Achieving efficiency improvements going significantly beyond those already in the pipeline will be a major undertaking," said Diane Munns, EEI executive director. "No matter how you slice it, we'll have to build significant new generation to ensure that we meet demand. The greater gains we make in energy efficiency, the better off everyone will be, because we'll have more cost-effective options for serving our customers," she said. "But if we overestimate what can be accomplished, we could find ourselves without an adequate supply of electricity to meet consumer needs."

Optimal electricity savings can be achieved only if the best available technologies are deployed throughout the U.S. economy, EPRI and EEI said. Much of the research involved in realizing more efficiency is being conducted by EPRI at its Living Laboratory for Energy Efficiency in Knoxville, Tenn.

EPRI's programs and collaborations that evaluate cutting-edge technologies have identified numerous opportunities to markedly improve energy efficiency through use of "smart" and highly efficient electrical devices. For example, direct energy feedback devices, such as household thermostats that respond automatically to electricity price or demand signals, can cut energy use and save customers money.

At the same time, consumers' ever-increasing appetite for electricity-hungry devices – even with continuing efficiency improvements – will keep electricity demand on a steady upward trajectory. A 42-inch plasma television consumes two-and-a-half times more energy (250 watts) than a standard 27-inch TV (100 watts).And while many large household appliances have become more efficient over the years, many smaller devices have not. Two 30-watt set-top television boxes, for example, may consume as much electricity as a large refrigerator.

[sammie]

Lawsuit over wind turbines. Details at 11PM. Channel 10 News.

[sandstone]

Lawsuit over wind turbines. Details at 11PM. Channel 10 News.

Hi folks,

Dr. Todd Stull, and his wife Jill, have filed a nuisance lawsuit against Gamesa and the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm (ARWF), due to excessive noise problems. Hooray for the Stulls!! It is too bad that rural residents must suffer from these industrial energy facilities, but thank goodness some people are willing to battle Goliath. A short announcement was on channel 10 news (Altoona) this morning.

Mike and I walked a road in the ARWF last weekend – the place was crawling with ATV riders – very loud and dusty! We continued to document areas where the watershed has been affected by improper drainage controls.

Laura

[muttonhead]

Hi all,

My family happens to be one of the groups affected by the Allegheny Ridge farm, and I have heard the annoying turbines first hand. I remember my parents' property to be so peaceful and home to so many song birds. Not so anymore. The noise of the turbines drown out the sound of the creek running through their property, and there are markedly fewer song birds present in their back yard. The turbines sound like planes that never land, and the best part about it - the turbines are almost a full 1.5 miles from their home!!

It really is a tragedy that my parents worked so hard for so long for a peaceful place to call home. They've lived there for over 30 years - away from everyone on a big hunk of property. Now, some money hungry organization completely ruins their peace of mind, and peaceful home all to line their pockets even thicker.

If you think this is clean energy - you're wrong. It's not the right way to go about pushing the green movement. Gamesa/B&B gets astronomical tax shelters from these turbines due to politicians blindly supporting the "green" movement.

I urge those in Tyrone to fight all you can to stop the development of wind turbines. Instead of people having the attitude of "oh, it's not in MY backyard, so I don't care", you all need to care about your neighbors. If it's bothering them, and causing them noise, flicker, etc - it should bother you.

It's too late for my parents, mainly because the residents of Portage and Juniata townships couldn't care less about their neighbors. Please don't let the same happen to you.

If anyone has any questions about the first hand observations and effects of turbines, just reply. I'm more than happy to tell you the honest version of somebody who lives close by. Granted, I don't live there, but I visit my family on a very regular basis.

[sandstone]

Hi all,

My family happens to be one of the groups affected by the Allegheny Ridge farm, and I have heard the annoying turbines first hand. I remember my parents' property to be so peaceful and home to so many song birds. Not so anymore. The noise of the turbines drown out the sound of the creek running through their property, and there are markedly fewer song birds present in their back yard. The turbines sound like planes that never land, and the best part about it - the turbines are almost a full 1.5 miles from their home!!

It really is a tragedy that my parents worked so hard for so long for a peaceful place to call home. They've lived there for over 30 years - away from everyone on a big hunk of property. Now, some money hungry organization completely ruins their peace of mind, and peaceful home all to line their pockets even thicker.

If you think this is clean energy - you're wrong. It's not the right way to go about pushing the green movement. Gamesa/B&B gets astronomical tax shelters from these turbines due to politicians blindly supporting the "green" movement.

I urge those in Tyrone to fight all you can to stop the development of wind turbines. Instead of people having the attitude of "oh, it's not in MY backyard, so I don't care", you all need to care about your neighbors. If it's bothering them, and causing them noise, flicker, etc - it should bother you.

It's too late for my parents, mainly because the residents of Portage and Juniata townships couldn't care less about their neighbors. Please don't let the same happen to you.

If anyone has any questions about the first hand observations and effects of turbines, just reply. I'm more than happy to tell you the honest version of somebody who lives close by. Granted, I don't live there, but I visit my family on a very regular basis.

More than 60 families have come forth to let everyone know how they have been harmed by the noise of the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm. It's not just the 6 turbines around Dr. Todd Stull's home. It's a problem through this windplant. Even worse, this 40-turbine industrial complex is only half complete. It is slated to have 90+ turbines when Gamesa's finished with it.