On this page you will find editorials and opinions regarding wind energy. Local as well as national views on the impact of the wind industry in local, state, and national politics are covered in the news, opinions, and letters.
Editorials -
Oregon's BETC Debacle: Nobody's sorry, responsible or taking the fall
The Oregonian
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Thanks to the Enron scandal, most of the great titles - "Conspiracy of Fools" comes tomind - for the tell-all book about the BETC debacle already have been hijacked. But while we await the final verdict on these massively inefficient tax breaks, the preliminary conclusions are clear: No one is particularly sorry. No one is responsible. And no one is taking the fall. complete story >>
Steens wind farm plan signals push to remote, cherished lands
The Oregonian
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Drive out Interstate 84 through the Columbia River Gorge and when
you come out the other side, well past where lush green fores give
way to golden bald bluffs, you'll see something in place of the
trees: horizons dotted by white wind turbines. While wind
farms on either side of the Columbia Rifer barely existed a decade
ago, they have become part of the visual vocabulary of the land.
Complete story >>
Noise Contaminated home assessed at 50%
WindAction Editorial
January 19, 2010
Canadian Hydro Developers, Inc.1 ('CHD') and Ontario have a problem, or at least they should.
Prior to CHD's 67.5 MW Melancthon I Wind Plant coming online in March
2006, concerns about turbine noise and property value impacts were
raised by residents in Melancthon Township two-hours northwest of
Toronto. CHD assured officials the concerns were unfounded but almost
immediately after the project went online complaints were filed.
Nonetheless, CHD was back before both Melancthon Township and
neighboring Amaranth that same month with a proposal for its Melancthon
II project to include an additional 132 MW, 88 turbines.
With complaints coming in on Melancthon I, CHD conceded in July 2006
that it would delay Phase II for up to 12 months to accommodate
community requests for a higher-level scrutiny of the proposal. Toronto
Sun's environmental reporter Tyler Hamilton bemoaned CHD's
decisionciting NIMBY and arguing: "Given the dramatic environmental
benefits of wind when compared to fossil fuel or nuclear plants, it
seems unreasonable to submit these projects to the same level of
scrutiny".
complete story >>
Don't Assume, Get the Facts, Consider the Risks
Hood River, OR Document
January 15, 2010
Brian Shortt
Financial Risk. Environmental Risks.
Scenic
Risks. Health Risks.
complete story >>
Renewable Energy and the Oregon Trail
The Oregonian, guest editorial
Friday, December 11, 2009
"Most of us agree that the pursuit of renewable energy sources is a necessity. We may not agree on the justifications,..." complete story >>
Taxpayers can't tolerate abuse of Oregon renewable energy program
The Union-Bulletin Editorial
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
New rules aimed at curbing
a state program that grants lucrative tax credits for wind, solar
and other renewable power plants are welcome.
complete story >>
Wind turbines show how costly free energy can be
Minnesota Public Radio
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Most of what the public knows about wind turbines comes from the
media.
Without a grounding in the sciences of thermodynamics and economics,
the average person, eager to be politically and environmentally
correct, fixates on the concept of “free energy,”....The public
believes, more than it really knows,"
complete story >>
Tax dollars blowin' in the wind
The Oregonian
Sunday August 30, 2009
"As Oregon’s tax subsidies for green energy projects, mainly wind turbines, climb higher and higher, and are now projected to increase by nearly $100 million over last biennium, Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s veto of a bill reining in the credits seems ever more a costly mistake." complete story>>
It's time to treat wind power like a grown-upThe Oregonian editorial
Friday, August 28, 2009
For the past decade, Northwest policymakers have treated wind energy like anewborn, lavishing it with political love and bathing it in tax credits and other incentives. complete story>>
Beauty of the Blues is worth more than some give it credit
The East Oregonian
Sunday, August 22, 2009
The final of three meetings on the
highly-controversial issue of wind turbines in the Blue Mountains
takes place Thursday before the Umatilla County Planning Commission.
We've said it before and we'll say it again: The commission should
recognize the "significant resource" in our Blue Mountains and its
foothills. Frankly, we don't see how the commission members
could decide otherwise.
complete story>>
The Examiner
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Our concept of energy and our definition of wilderness seem to go hand-in-hand more and more these days; whether we are speaking about natural gas extraction methods or mountaintop coal mining or concentrating solar arrays in the desert or windfarms or biofuel agriculture, the value that we place upon wilderness is essential to defining our path forward in terms of sustainable energy for our growing global population. complete story>>