NIMBY

Industry Discussions Renewable Energy
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Opposition rising against gigantic windmill turbines
https://rivercountry.newschannelnebraska.com/story/46373806/…
NEBRASKA CITY – Otoe County commissioners appeased an overflowing crowd Tuesday with passage of a one-year moratorium on accepting applications for wind turbine permits.

The action comes after the Federal Aviation Administration began an impact study on a proposed wind farm between Panama in Lancaster County and Douglas in Otoe County. The proposal includes 18 to 56 turbines with a height up to 650 feet, which is nearly twice as a high as the 362-foot Nebraska Capitol building.

DB2

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These farmers are wacko by claiming:

“We need to stop these wind farms. These wind farms are a massive problem. They are causing property values to crush. They are causing illness. They are causing problems with livestock.”

This is all undocumented and frivolous claims.

Jaak

3

Los Angeles lives on the edge of a desert. However…

Plan for controversial Huntington Beach desalination plant rejected
www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/vote-likely-thursday-on-cont…
The California Coastal Commission Thursday unanimously rejected a controversial plan to build a desalination plant in Huntington Beach…Back in 2017, the California State Lands Commission unanimously approved the $1 billion private project which has been planned along Pacific Coast Highway.

DB2

4

Indiana experiment highlights wind siting challenge
www.eenews.net/articles/ind-experiment-highlights-wind-sitin…
Driving along State Highway 63 through this rural landscape, a large white plume looms large, bleeding into puffy clouds overhead. The billow comes from the 575-foot-tall smokestack at Duke Energy Corp.’s Cayuga Generating Station along the Wabash River — a mark of the coal that has powered Indiana for decades. This area is primed to sport new symbols of homegrown energy, in the form of wind turbines. But officials in Vermillion County effectively outlawed wind energy last year, squashing overtures from renewable energy developer Apex Clean Energy.

The county is hardly alone. About a third of the Hoosier State is off-limits to wind because of similar restrictions. Indeed, across the United States, rural communities have become a flashpoint for siting for wind and solar energy projects…

Wind and solar are considered “linchpins” for helping the U.S. reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by midcentury, according to a study from Princeton University last year on a “Net-Zero America.” Wind energy alone would have to grow at least sixfold, with turbines built across 240,000 to 1 million square kilometers, depending on which of five decarbonization pathways is chosen. The larger area would span the states of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Iowa combined.

DB2

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But officials in Vermillion County effectively outlawed wind energy last year, squashing overtures from renewable energy developer Apex Clean Energy.

And guess who must be paying off the politicans to put a stop to the Wind Turbines?

Plus the cost for a barrel of oil and a BTU of Natural Gas have reached what record prices?

I am sure the people of Vermillion County are enjoying their nice high electric bills.

OTFoolish

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I am sure the people of Vermillion County are enjoying their nice high electric bills.

Below average, it would seem.

“Residential electricity rates in Indiana average 10.53¢/kWh, which ranks the state 34th in the nation.”
www.electricitylocal.com/states/indiana//

DB2

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I live in Northern Indiana…yep NIMBY is alive and well here in Indiana…I put enough solar panels on my garage that i only pay to rent the meter…i do mention that i get no electric bill every chance i get…Marshall…Fulton…Cass and Carrol County have fought wind and solar…you can still get solar but not on a large scale…

Starke County has a very large solar farm coming in that is an Israel company …Notre Dame is buying the Electric from AEP that is generated from their solar farm along the toll road…Notre Dame generates their own electricity…coal at one time now Natural Gas with the addition of solar…

Notre Dame is also replacing a Hydro Dame on the St. Joe River in downtown South Bend…

Please remember the sign at the Indiana border when you enter the state that says " Welcome to Indiana Turn your Clocks Back 200 Years"…

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Clicking on your link shows that your data is from 2012 and places Indiana at 24th for the US Residential rates or right in the MIDDLE of the pack. This doesn’t mean that they have cheap electric bills only AVERAGE electric bills.

OTFoolish

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Indiana at 24th for the US Residential rates or right in the MIDDLE of the pack. This doesn’t mean that they have cheap electric bills only AVERAGE electric bills.

You are correct. However, average cost (some $0.13/kWh, IIRC) does not fit well with your statement that “I am sure the people of Vermillion County are enjoying their nice high electric bills.”

DB2

10

There is also increased resistance to wind turbines in Germany. From 2019:

German wind energy stalls amid public resistance and regulatory hurdles
www.dw.com/en/german-wind-energy-stalls-amid-public-resistan…
The German Economy Ministry has held a summit to discuss a dramatic slowdown in the wind energy sector that’s threatening agreed climate goals. The problems are due to policy mistakes and growing public resistance…

All over Germany, only 35 new windmills with a combined output of a mere 290 MW were installed in the first half of 2019 — a decline of more than 80% compared with the same period last year and the lowest total in almost two decades…Until a few years ago, licenses were granted within 10 months. But the process now takes over two years as many wind projects are held up by legal disputes…

Local pressure groups are suing because they find some of the new projects are being built too close to residential areas. In the southern German state of Bavaria, for example, the regional government has imposed a so-called 10H ban on new installations, which stipulates that the distance between a turbine and a settlement must be a minimum of 10 times the height of the turbine. Often public resistance is supported by environmental campaigners who are worried about the turbines’ impact on wildlife. According to BWE findings, about 300 turbines with a total capacity of 1,200 MW are currently being blocked by legal objections based on alleged threats to endangered birds and bats.

DB2

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Residential electricity rates in Indiana average 10.53¢/kWh, which ranks the state 34th in the nation."

I’m not sure that statistic is meaningful to people in Indiana. Comparing their rates with those of, says California or New York doesn’t have the same impact as seeing your bills for your same house with the same occupants increase 50% over the past 15 years (which they have.)
‘
People in Indiana don’t get Georgia power bills, they get their own, and they know that rates have increased pretty dramatically. And if they are tied to fossil fuels that may/will continue as supply disruptions, wars, and increased costs change the pricing calculus. On the other hand, wind and sunshine will most likely be priced the same in 5, 10, and 50 years. (I know I’m going out on a limb here, but the price of sunshine hasn’t changed in 100,000 years, so I’m going with the trend.)

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German wind energy stalls amid public resistance and regulatory hurdles

Europe’s Bid to Kick Russian Natural Gas Faces Opposition
www.wsj.com/articles/europe-wants-to-kick-russian-energy-loc…
In Germany, Europe’s biggest buyer of Russian gas, wildlife protection groups routinely challenge wind farms, stretching their approval time to more than five years. In Italy, Europe’s second-biggest Russian gas consumer, authorities reject 90% of all wind energy projects. Permitting obstacles have slowed the development of utility-scale solar farms across the continent. Regulations and public opposition in Poland, France and Hungary have shut off large areas of the countries from wind-energy development…

In France, rules that forbid wind turbines near military radar and flight paths exclude them from large parts of the country. New requirements to examine the impact on the landscape have slowed permitting. In Poland and Hungary, laws passed in 2016 made it nearly impossible to build new wind parks in both countries.

Italy’s bureaucracy has put the brakes on hundreds of renewable-energy projects in recent years…Even when companies get approval from local and regional governments, their plans often get tied up with the Ministry of Culture, which is in charge of approving projects that impact the landscape. Almost 600 renewable energy projects are currently being reviewed by the ministry…

DB2

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I’m sorry but I don’t know anyone that thinks their electric bills are still really cheap. Our electric bills for our vacation home are just $0.08/kWh and our fulltime home is $0.15/kWh.

$0.08 we call cheap but $0.15, No.

OTFoolish

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Once again the link provided takes us to an old, 2019, article. The total energy program for ALL of Europe has changed with the start of Putin’s War against the Ukrainians and the loss of Russian oil and gas supplies.

The IEA and the UN both have websites with more up to date numbers.

OTFoolish

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On our last trip to Europe, (Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and Italy), we saw more onshore installations of rooftop solar panels than any wind turbines. It has been my understanding that large scale wind farms have been and continue to be situtated offshore.

If you travel through Europe, either Great Britian or the Mainland, most development is clustered around the cities, towns, and villages, and whatever open space they have is devoted to agriculture plus recreation. Placing giant wind turbines in these areas is really not practicle and offshore sites take advantage of more and stronger winds.

OTFoolish

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Denser cities could be a climate boon – but NIMBYism stands in the way
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/22/cities-climate-chang…
Drawing people into cities could cut emissions and combat housing crises. But even progressives are hard to convince

DB2

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And in New England…

Maine voters reject $950M transmission line for hydropower
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/579887-maine-v…
According to The Associated Press, 59% of residents voted against the western Maine power project…The proposed transmission line was slated to deliver 1,200 megawatts of power — about the same size as a large nuclear power reactor — from Canadian-based company Hydro-Quebec.

The NIMBY Threat to Renewable Energy
www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2021-4-fall/feature/nimby-threat-r…
In Vermont, everyone loves clean energy—when it comes from someplace else…In 2012, Vermont had at least a dozen wind projects in development. Today, there are none. No industrial-scale wind or solar projects are underway anywhere in the state. “I love Vermont dearly and admire its conservation ethic,” Bill McKibben told Sierra. "But there are moments, faced with a global crisis, when it feels like the state motto should be ‘Don’t change a thing until I die.’

DB2

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18

German wind energy stalls amid public resistance and regulatory hurdles

Germany still isn’t building nearly enough wind farms to replace the nuclear power plants they continue to shut down. Below are the wind power capacities installed at the end of each year, given in gigawatts. For 2022, the capacities at the end of May are listed. Also listed are the yearly additions from 2017 through 2022 (so far).

         Wind      Wind     Combined   Added from
Year   On Shore  Off Shore  Capacity   previous yr
----   --------  ---------  ---------  --------
2016    45.28      4.15      49.43         
2017    50.17      5.41      55.58      6.15
2018    52.45      6.40      58.85      3.27
2019    53.19      7.53      60.72      1.87
2020    54.84      7.74      62.58      1.86
2021    56.27      7.77      64.04      1.46
2022*   56.88      7.77      64.65      0.61

* As of 31 May 2022

https://energy-charts.info/charts/installed_power/chart.htm?..

In 2021, nuclear power in Germany produced 65,400 GWh.

https://energy-charts.info/charts/energy/chart.htm?l=en&…

To be generous, they are adding 2 GW a year in new wind power capacity. That new wind power, at a 21% capacity factor, will produce…
(2 GW) x (24 h/d) x (365 d/y) x (0.21) = 3679 GWh per year. This is far short of the 65,400 GWh produced by nuclear power last year. At the end of 2021, the German government forced the permanent closure of 4 GW of nuclear capacity. At the end of this year, they will shut down the remaining 4 GW.

As can be seen, off-shore wind additions have stalled since 2019. On-shore additions are a little better, but construction is much slower than it was before 2017.

Germany will be completely free of nuclear power at the end of 2022, but they will continue to burn coal and natural gas to keep the lights on. The additions of wind and solar power are far short of what is needed to replace the nukes. I didn’t include numbers for solar power in this thread, but if you do the math, you can see the new solar power added isn’t very much, since the capacity factor for solar power in Germany is only about 11%.

From what I can tell, power generation from coal is up about 15% this year compared to last. We will see what the final year numbers show, but obviously reducing the emission of CO2 is a low priority.

  • Pete
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19

In the western United States…

As miners chase clean-energy minerals across the West, tribes fear a repeat of the past
www.seattletimes.com/business/as-miners-chase-clean-energy-m…
But in the rolling headwaters of central Idaho, where mining interests have long overrun tribal rights, the administration’s promise is colliding with another priority: starting a renewable energy revolution…

The Biden administration has warned that failing to expand the nation’s supply of rare-earth minerals, including antimony, could present a risk to the nation’s energy and military preparedness. But most deposits of antimony in the United States, unlike the one in Idaho, are small…

Across the West, tribal nations are on the front lines of a new debate over how to balance the needs and costs of clean energy. Extracting the fuels of the future is often far from clean.

DB2

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Across the West, tribal nations are on the front lines of a new debate over how to balance the needs and costs of clean energy. Extracting the fuels of the future is often far from clean.

DB2

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Extracting coal from Wyoming is super dirty. I hope that is stopped by the need to fight climate change and save the environment.

Clean energy mining is peanuts compared to coal mining.

Jaak

1 Like