http://blog.nwf.org/2006/05/waking-up-america/ The National Wildlife Federation's blog Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:40:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://blog.nwf.org/2006/05/waking-up-america/comment-page-1/#comment-11664 Janis Kucas Fri, 16 Jun 2006 17:43:15 +0000 http://blog.nwf.org/nwfview/2006/05/29/waking-up-america/#comment-11664 I am concerned that in our haste to slow and reverse the impacts of global warming, many will fall for the too-good-to-be true rhetoric about industrial wind power and push for its development rather than for less expensive, more effective, and less environmentally harmful approaches.
In Pennsylvania, where industrial wind power development is being highly promoted yet PA has no state-level siting guidelines or state-level requirements for environmental assessments for it, our forested ridgetops are being highly targeted by private wind energy developers for placement of industrial wind power facilities.
Industrial wind power lacks the capacity, potential, and reliability to add more than a tiny amount of electricity to the PJM grid and it is not an effective way to offset fossil fuel use. It would take over 2700 giant turbines to produce even 1% of PJM’s annual production. (Existing turbines in PA rarely achieve even 30% of their rated capacity.)
State renewable energy policies that focus heavily on wind, outrageous government financial incentives for industrial wind power, and the lack of regulations for industrial wind power development have created a feeding frenzy for forested ridge tops. Four to five acres of forest will be lost per turbine plus what is removed for access roads.
It makes absolutely no sense to sacrifice highly valuable natural areas for an energy source having costs that far outweigh its advantages.
Janis Kucas
Bedford, PA
(WPC member)

]]> http://blog.nwf.org/2006/05/waking-up-america/comment-page-1/#comment-11665 Janis Kucas Fri, 16 Jun 2006 17:43:00 +0000 http://blog.nwf.org/nwfview/2006/05/29/waking-up-america/#comment-11665 I am concerned that in our haste to slow and reverse the impacts of global warming, many will fall for the too-good-to-be true rhetoric about industrial wind power and push for its development rather than for less expensive, more effective, and less environmentally harmful approaches.
In Pennsylvania, where industrial wind power development is being highly promoted yet PA has no state-level siting guidelines or state-level requirements for environmental assessments for it, our forested ridgetops are being highly targeted by private wind energy developers for placement of industrial wind power facilities.
Industrial wind power lacks the capacity, potential, and reliability to add more than a tiny amount of electricity to the PJM grid and it is not an effective way to offset fossil fuel use. It would take over 2700 giant turbines to produce even 1% of PJM’s annual production. (Existing turbines in PA rarely achieve even 30% of their rated capacity.)
State renewable energy policies that focus heavily on wind, outrageous government financial incentives for industrial wind power, and the lack of regulations for industrial wind power development have created a feeding frenzy for forested ridge tops. Four to five acres of forest will be lost per turbine plus what is removed for access roads.
It makes absolutely no sense to sacrifice highly valuable natural areas for an energy source having costs that far outweigh its advantages.
Janis Kucas
Bedford, PA
(WPC member)

]]>