GE and Mitsubishi at it again over wind turbine patents.

Posted on February 12, 2010 by morgan

Here we go again!

From the Wall Street Journal –

FEBRUARY 11, 2010, 5:50 P.M. ET

GE Sues Over Wind Turbine Patent

General Electric Co. is taking a new legal route in accusing Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. of violating GE’s patent rights on wind turbines.

GE, in a complaint filed in a U.S. District Court in Dallas, said the Japanese company is infringing on some of its 148 U.S. patents related to wind energy.

The complaint argues that Mitsubishi’s wind-turbine products violate GE’s patent for technology that helps wind turbines stay connected to the electricity grid when grid voltage drops to zero. The Fairfield, Conn.,-based conglomerate also cited its patent for a bed frame that supports the weight of the rotor, gearbox and drive shaft of a wind turbine.

GE is asking for a trial by jury and wants to be awarded compensation for the infringements.

The civil lawsuit comes a month after the U.S. International Trade Commission determined Mitsubishi’s 2.4 megawatt variable-speed wind turbines don’t infringe on GE’s wind-turbine patents. GE Energy spokesman Daniel Nelson said the company is appealing that ruling.

Tom Aiyama, a spokesman for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in New York, said the two patents at issue in the Dallas suit are different from the three patents involved in the ITC dispute.

He said the company has received the latest complaint and will decide how to respond. Regarding the ITC dispute, Mr. Aiyama said, “We believe there is no patent infringement,” .

Mitsubishi has made wind-turbine parts in Japan and Mexico and shipped them to the U.S. where the machines are assembled. But Mr. Aiyama confirmed the company might build a $100 million turbine plant in western Arkansas in 2011. Mitsubishi had roughly 10% of the U.S. market for wind turbines in 2008.

GE has the largest installed base for wind turbines in the U.S., with 43% of the newly installed capacity in 2008 according to the American Wind Energy Institute in Washington D.C. GE had 48% of the more than 5,000 wind turbines installed in 2008 and was followed by Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems A/S and Germany’s Siemens AG in the rankings.

Write to Paul Glader at paul.glader@wsj.com

Posted in Wind Energy Shenanigans | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

“When it comes to greenhouse gases, Denmark is not much of an environmental leader.”

Posted on February 11, 2010 by morgan

Gee, but what about all those wind turbines???

(image courtesy of Windtoons)

From the Copenhagen Post Online:

Denmark’s environmental standards dismal

FRIDAY, 29 JANUARY 2010 13:46 RC CLIMATE

Agricultural practices and high reliance on coal, oil and gas gives the country a poor environmental ranking

Denmark is ranked a modest 32nd in the ‘Environmental Performance Index 2010’, compiled by researchers from American Ivy League universities Yale and Columbia.

The index ranks 163 countries, measuring factors such as greenhouse gas emissions, protection of habitats for fauna and flora, general pollution, aquatic environments and sanitation.

Although many of the countries that are ranked ahead of Denmark are not industrialised, many others are, including its Scandinavian neighbours Sweden and Norway, which place fourth and fifth respectively. Another Nordic country, Iceland, tops the list as the most environmentally respectful country.

Christine Kim, one of the researchers behind the project, said Denmark wasn’t the pioneer it claimed to be when it came to the environment.

‘When it comes to greenhouse gases, Denmark is not much of an environmental leader,’ she said. ‘And it’s mainly due to the way the Danes use and produce energy.’

The report showed that Denmark’s reliance on coal, oil and natural gas offsets its use of wind power, where its 20 percent share of the overall energy produced is the world’s highest.

Coal is still responsible for half of the country’s energy production, and that results in a very high emission of carbon dioxide and other pollutants.

The Liberal-Conservative government has stated that at some point the country will drop its reliance on coal, oil and gas, but has not said when that will happen.

Experts and environmental organisations have argued that Denmark has the ability to considerably raise its level of ambition for clean energy.

‘We have to renovate our homes, invest more in collective transport and put more money into renewable energy,’ said Christian Ege, president of The Ecological Council. ‘The past few years we’ve allowed our CO2 output to grow and grow.’

Ironically, the Environmental Performance Index ranked Denmark eighth in the category of ‘Outdoor Air Pollution’. But the country’s ranking of 67th in the ‘Sulphur Dioxide Emissions’ category – and a dreadful 136th with regard to nitrogen oxide emissions – dragged its overall pollution rating down.

Denmark also received relatively low marks for its Environmental burden of Disease, its Water Stress Index and for its efforts in Critical Habitat Protection.

‘Our agriculture is simply too laden with pesticides and nitrogen from the animals,’ said Ege. ‘And that means our nature is dominated by just a few species such as nettles, which can grow in that kind of harsh environment.’

Denmark’s other poor area, according to the study, is fishing, where the country ranked 112th – a figure primarily affected by the widespread use of trawl fishing.

But Eva Kjer Hansen, the Food and Agriculture Minister, called the study’s figures ‘biased’, saying the report clearly reflected its being done ‘at a desk thousands of kilometres away’.

To view the report and rankings click on: http://epi.yale.edu/

Copenhagen Post Online article ends!

From the Yale Report – Country Rankings – Click on the links to see country details:

MAP RANKINGS METRICS

FILES SEE 2008 SITE

The 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranks 163 countries on 25 performance indicators tracked across ten policy categories covering both environmental public health and ecosystem vitality. These indicators provide a gauge at a national government scale of how close countries are to established environmental policy goals. The EPI’s proximity-to-target methodology facilitates cross-country comparisons as well as analysis of how the global community is doing collectively on each particular policy issue.

EPI SCORES

100–85

1Iceland93.5

2Switzerland89.1

3Costa Rica86.4

4Sweden86.0

EPI SCORES

85–70

5Norway81.1

6Mauritius80.6

7France78.2

8Austria78.1

9Cuba78.1

10Colombia76.8

11Malta76.3

12Finland74.7

13Slovakia74.5

14United Kingdom74.2

15New Zealand73.4

16Chile73.3

17Germany73.2

18Italy73.1

19Portugal73.0

20Japan72.5

21Latvia72.5

22Czech Republic71.6

23Albania71.4

24Panama71.4

25Spain70.6

EPI SCORES

70–55

26Belize69.9

27Antigua and Barbuda69.8

28Singapore69.6

29Serbia and Montenegro69.4

30Ecuador69.3

31Peru69.3

32Denmark69.2

33El Salvador69.1

34Hungary69.1

35Croatia68.7

36Dominican Republic68.4

37Lithuania68.3

38Nepal68.2

39Suriname68.2

40Bhutan68.0

41Luxembourg67.8

42Algeria67.4

43Mexico67.3

44Ireland67.1

45Romania67.0

46Canada66.4

47Netherlands66.4

48Fiji65.9

49Maldives65.9

50Australia65.7

51Philippines65.7

52Morocco65.6

53Belarus65.4

54Malaysia65.0

55Slovenia65.0

56Syria64.6

57Estonia63.8

58Sri Lanka63.7

59Georgia63.6

60Paraguay63.5

61United States of America63.5

62Brazil63.4

63Poland63.1

64Venezuela62.9

65Bulgaria62.5

66Israel62.4

67Thailand62.2

68Egypt62.0

69Russia61.2

70Argentina61.0

71Greece60.9

72Brunei Darussalam60.8

73Macedonia60.6

74Tunisia60.6

75Djibouti60.5

76Armenia60.4

77Turkey60.4

78Iran60.0

79Kyrgyzstan59.7

80Laos59.6

81Namibia59.3

82Guyana59.2

83Azerbaijan59.1

84Uruguay59.1

85Viet Nam59.0

86Moldova58.8

87Ukraine58.2

88Belgium58.1

89Jamaica58.0

90Lebanon57.9

91Kazakhstan57.3

92Sao Tome and Principe57.3

93Nicaragua57.1

94South Korea57.0

95Gabon56.4

96Cyprus56.3

97Jordan56.1

98Bosnia and Herzegovina55.9

99Saudi Arabia55.3

EPI SCORES

55–40

100Eritrea54.6

101Swaziland54.4

102Côte d’Ivoire54.3

103Trinidad and Tobago54.2

104Congo54.0

105Guatemala54.0

106Dem. Rep. Congo51.6

107Kenya51.4

108Malawi51.4

109Ghana51.3

110Myanmar51.3

111Tajikistan51.3

112Mozambique51.2

113Kuwait51.1

114Solomon Islands51.1

115South Africa50.8

116Gambia50.3

117Libyan Arab Jamahiriya50.1

118Honduras49.9

119Uganda49.8

120Madagascar49.2

121China49.0

122Qatar48.9

123India48.3

124Yemen48.3

125Pakistan48.0

126Tanzania47.9

127Zimbabwe47.8

128Burkina Faso47.3

129Sudan47.1

130Zambia47.0

131Oman45.9

132Guinea-Bissau44.7

133Cameroon44.6

134Indonesia44.6

135Rwanda44.6

136Guinea44.4

137Bolivia44.3

138Papua New Guinea44.3

139Bangladesh44.0

140Burundi43.9

141Ethiopia43.1

142Mongolia42.8

143Senegal42.3

144Uzbekistan42.3

145Bahrain42.0

146Equatorial Guinea41.9

147North Korea41.8

148Cambodia41.7

149Botswana41.3

150Iraq41.0

151Chad40.8

152United Arab Emirates40.7

153Nigeria40.2

EPI SCORES

40–25

154Benin39.6

155Haiti39.5

156Mali39.4

157Turkmenistan38.4

158Niger37.6

159Togo36.4

160Angola36.3

161Mauritania33.7

162Central African Republic33.3

163Sierra Leone32.1

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“Friends of the Highland Mountains” fighting Maine’s largest industrial wind complex.

Posted on February 11, 2010 by morgan

From Maine Public Broadcasting Newtork:

Residents and property owners living near the Highland Mountains in Somerset County are leading a fight against what could be the state’s largest industrial wind complex.

At a news conference in Portland today, the group “Friends of Highland Mountains” said that the 48-turbine project in Highland Plantation proposed by Highland Wind LLC would degrade local habitat and residents’ quality of life, and ruin the beauty of a ridgetop familiar to hikers of the Appalachian Trail.

Daniel Bell is a former state park manager who owns a camp in Highland Plantation. “I believe that it is vital that we protect and preserve as much as possible the natural character of this portion of our western Maine mountains.”

The group is requesting a public hearing from the state on the project, and is circulating an online petition.

MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING ARTICLE ENDS!

Friends of the Highland Mountains mission statement:  Our mission is to protect and preserve, for current and future generations, the unique quality of place and the scenic and natural character of the mountains of Highland Plantation and its surrounding areas. We wish to encourage a preference for traditional uses of the mountain resources and to recognize and publicize the vital role they play in the identity and livelihood of our communities.

PLEASE SUPPORT THEIR EFFORTS!

Contact information for the Friends of the Highland Mountains:

Email:

highlandmts@gmail.com

Mail:

Friends Of The Highland Mountains

PO Box 111

New Portland, ME  04961

Telephone:

(207) 399-4850

Posted in Friends and Citizens Groups | Tagged , | 3 Comments

First Energy to buy rival Allegheny Energy

Posted on February 11, 2010 by morgan

From the Charleston (WV) Gazette:  FirstEnergy buying power rival Allegheny Energy

“FirstEnergy said Thursday it is buying Allegheny Energy in a $4.7 billion stock deal that will bring together two neighboring rivals to form one of the biggest power companies in the country.”  Full article at the link above.

For your convenience:  “First Energy to Combine with Allegheny Energy Presentation” follows:

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Wyoming legislators want more state/county control over industrial wind – set minimum standards.

Posted on February 11, 2010 by morgan

The PUSH BACK continues!

The Bill “would give counties permitting authority over wind farms and set minimum standards for development, regardless of whether counties have planning or zoning laws.

The bill would not limit counties from holding developers to more stringent requirements, but would also allow counties that can’t handle a permit application to defer to the state Industrial Siting Council, regardless of the project’s size.”

From Canadian Business Online:

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – Wyoming legislators presented two bills Wednesday that would establish statewide standards for wind energy development and expand county and state permitting authority over such development in the state.

The Legislature’s Joint Mineral Committee took no formal action on the proposals Wednesday morning because both bills were awaiting introductory approval in their chamber of origin.

The bills are the product of a legislative task force that met over the past eight months to set the state’s priorities for governing wind development as more companies take interest in harnessing Wyoming’s wind resource and selling the power to populous markets.

Rep. Tim Stubson, R-Natrona County, outlined House Bill 72. It would give counties permitting authority over wind farms and set minimum standards for development, regardless of whether counties have planning or zoning laws.

The bill would not limit counties from holding developers to more stringent requirements, but would also allow counties that can’t handle a permit application to defer to the state Industrial Siting Council, regardless of the project’s size.

“We, I think, have a pretty well balanced bill that recognizes the interests of local government, that recognizes the need of industry to have certainty and to be able to prosper into the future, and that recognizes the rights of landowners who don’t have wind farms to have some protection of their own property rights,” Stubson said.

The bill spells out rules for the county permitting process and requirements such as road, emergency and waste management plans. It also requires companies to make plans to take down and clean up their project sites when the wind farm’s life is over.

The bill requires that a wind turbine be placed at least 110 percent of its height from any public road, and it sets minimum setbacks of one-quarter mile from houses and one-half mile from city or town limits.

Representatives of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association spoke up in favor of the bill.

Sen. Drew Perkins, R-Natrona County, outlined a bill to expand the state’s Industrial Information and Siting Act to cover more wind farms and related collector transmission lines. The Industrial Siting Division of the state Department of Environmental Quality issues permits for projects with construction costs of at least $175.5 million.

Senate File 66 would expand the act to cover any wind farm consisting of at least 30 turbines. It also lowers the threshold for transmission lines subjected to the act from 500 kilovolts to 160 kilovolts. However, the act would not cover major export transmission lines or their substations.

Perkins’ proposal would also require the Industrial Siting Council to make rules for decommissioning and reclaiming spent wind farms, as well as require financial assurance for the clean-up.

Posted in Industrial Wind and Local Governments, Wind Energy Legislation | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The uncontrolled expansion of industrial wind and the resulting “cumulative impact” on birds.

Posted on February 10, 2010 by morgan

The following email was sent to the US Fish and Wildlife Service for consideration at the Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee Meeting to be held March 2 – 4, 2010.  The purpose was to express concern for the cumulative impact the uncontrolled expansion of industrial wind in the United States.  The meeting details are provided at the embedded link above for your convenience.  The meeting is open to the public and we at Allegheny Treasures urge you to attend, or send your thoughts and recommendations to the attention of:

Rachel London
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Division of Habitat and Resource Conservation
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Room 840
Arlington, VA  22203

Phone:  703-358-2161
rachel_london@fws.gov

Email follows:

As we began this post, we received an article courtesy of National Wind Watch titled Wind energy a threat to birds.  The article serves as a harsh reminder that the vast consumption of land and air by these ill conceived monstrosities is impacting bird populations all over the world.  The article, discussing industrial wind in South Africa is published again here for your convenience:

Credit: Times Live, www.timeslive.co.za 10 February 2010

The expansion of wind energy in South Africa could have a “cumulative impact” on the country’s birds, an environmental group says
Current Font Size:

“Cumulative impacts may be the greatest threat posed by wind energy developments to avifauna [birds],” said Endangered Wildlife Trust manager Jon Smallie in a statement.

The cumulative impact referred to the effect that multiple wind farms in the same area would have on birds.

“While a particular site may be acceptable for development from an avifaunal point of view if viewed in isolation, when neighbouring areas are also subsequently developed, the combined impact of these multiple developments on certain bird species could be significant,” said Birdlife SA executive director Mark Anderson.

Smallie said that while environmental impact assessments were done for individual wind farms, they did not measure the cumulative impact of multiple farms in an area.

“The environmental impact assessment process does not take these cumulative impacts into account adequately.

“We are concerned that more and more wind farms are under application, often in close proximity to one another, particularly in the Eastern and Western Cape,” said Smallie.

According to the organisation, only seven commercial wind farms were in operation, making knowledge of their impact difficult to come by.

ARTICLE ENDS!

We’ll take advantage of this opportunity to repost this important commentary from Mr. Wayne Wegner, linked here – Industrial wind calls it NIMBY. Perhaps! But “this problem runs from the arctic to the tip of South America — and that is one helluva big backyard!”

Mr. Wegner’s excellent work is presented here, for your convenience:

This attack on wildlife for the sake of an unreliable and costly energy source is unacceptable.  Your help is needed to raise awareness to your elected officials and state and federal agencies to your concerns for the ills of industrial wind.

Posted in Bat/Bird Kills, Environment | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Industrial wind plants “are the energy equivalent of the fallout shelter craze of the 1950s and 60s.”

Posted on February 10, 2010 by morgan

Great little piece by Bruce Chapman at Discovery News – Hot Air and Cold Wind Turbines

Go over and have a look!

Posted in Wind Energy Legislation | Tagged | Leave a comment

“Legislators and other officials from Jefferson and Oswego (NY) counties will begin mounting opposition” to industrial wind.

Posted on February 10, 2010 by morgan

Seems to be a trend!

From the Industrial Wind Action Group:  Opponents organizing to fight wind plans

Legislators and other officials from Jefferson and Oswego counties will begin mounting opposition to New York Power Authority’s proposal to put 500 megawatts of wind energy development in Lake Ontario. Jefferson County Legislature Chairman Kenneth D. Blankenbush, R-Black River, said they first will find out more about the proposal and then organize to oppose a widespread project.

February  9, 2010 by Nancy Madsen in Watertown Daily News

NYPA solicits projects in lakes Ontario, Erie

Legislators and other officials from Jefferson and Oswego counties will begin mounting opposition to New York Power Authority’s proposal to put 500 megawatts of wind energy development in Lake Ontario.

Jefferson County Legislature Chairman Kenneth D. Blankenbush, R-Black River, said they first will find out more about the proposal and then organize to oppose a widespread project.

The Board of Legislators voted to approve the Galloo Island Wind Farm payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement Feb. 2, which helped pave the way for that 252-megawatt project.

“Having them on an island is one thing, but scattered along the shoreline is totally different,” Mr. Blankenbush said.

NYPA asked developers in December to submit proposals to build up to 500 megawatts of wind power, possibly spread out over several potential sites, including 10 sites in Lake Ontario and 13 sites in Lake Erie. Those sites were chosen in part because they have average wind speeds of at least 16.8 mph, have water depths of less than 150 feet and lie 2.3 miles or farther offshore.

One site spreads from Galloo Island north to Grenadier Island and another stretches from Galloo Island south along the eastern shore in Oswego County.

“We’ll figure out what we can do and listen to what is the project they’re talking about,” Mr. Blankenbush said. “But what I’ve heard, I don’t like.”

NYPA’s proposal energized local opposition to wind power and helped the Coalition for the Preservation of the Golden Crescent and Thousand Islands Region to coalesce. Legislator Barry M. Ormsby, R-Belleville, organized the first meeting for Thursday night in Henderson Harbor.

“We will get something organized,” Mr. Ormsby said. “We’ll know how to strategize moving forward.”

He expects another meeting with NYPA officials soon. The deadline for a project proposal from a developer is June 1. NYPA will contract with the operator to buy all of the power from the wind farm or farms through long-term power purchase agreements.

Web link: http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/2010020…

Posted in Friends and Citizens Groups | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Daily Tech: For industrial wind – “Another major obstacle is public sentiment.”

Posted on February 10, 2010 by morgan

From Daily Tech, more evidence of the growing citizen backlash against industrial wind:  “Part of wind power’s problem is the need for new high power transmission lines stretching to the remote stretches of land ideal for wind farms.  The nation’s largest wind project, a Texas wind farm championed by billionaire T. Boone Pickens, fell apart when the funding for its transmission lines fell through.

Another major obstacle is public sentiment.  Across the country citizens have been moving to block local wind project, citing a variety of concerns .”

Read full article here:  Native Americans Fighting to Stop MA Wind Farm, Locals Fight Farm in MI

Related posts here:

Hey! You can’t just go around setting standards for industrial wind! Next thing you know, you’ll want them to product electric! and Battle lines being drawn? – Montana joining Maryland in legislation to establish standards for industrial wind.

Posted in Friends and Citizens Groups, Industrial Wind and Local Governments | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Battle lines being drawn? – Montana joining Maryland in legislation to establish standards for industrial wind.

Posted on February 10, 2010 by morgan

The lines form:  Note that “A third, less contentious bill would create minimum standards — such as buffer zones between wind turbines and other existing facilities — and require developers of wind farms with 30 or more turbines to provide bonding or other financial assurances to ensure decommissioning and reclamation.”

Capitol digest: Wind talk will heat up

Gazette News Service | Posted: Tuesday, February 9, 2010 10:20 pm

CHEYENNE — Several wind energy proposals made by Gov. Dave Freudenthal will likely be taken up by state legislators today or Thursday, said House Majority Leader Ed Buchanan, R-Torrington.

Perhaps the most controversial of the proposed bills, which would create a $3-per-megawatt-hour tax on electricity generating from wind turbines, was submitted on Tuesday with five co-sponsors each from the House and Senate.

Another controversial proposal would impose a one-year moratorium on wind energy companies’ eminent-domain powers.

In addition, Sen. John Schiffer, R-Kaycee, has submitted a bill independently of the governor that would go even further by permanently limiting eminent-domain powers for power lines only to public utilities, electric co-ops and transmission line associations.

A third, less contentious bill would create minimum standards — such as buffer zones between wind turbines and other existing facilities — and require developers of wind farms with 30 or more turbines to provide bonding or other financial assurances to ensure decommissioning and reclamation.

ARTICLE ENDS!

Related link:  Hey! You can’t just go around setting standards for industrial wind! Next thing you know, you’ll want them to product electric!

Posted in Friends and Citizens Groups, Industrial Wind and Local Governments | Tagged , , | Leave a comment