Washington Hunter
Well-known member
BY JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
STAMFORD, Conn. — Giant windmills are popping up on farms, scenic mountain ridges, prairie grass and now an Indian reservation, dramatically changing the nation’s landscape and spinning a debate about where they belong.
Wind power grew rapidly in 2005, becoming more competitive as natural gas prices jumped and crude oil prices reached record highs. Improved technology, a federal tax credit and pressure on utilities to use clean energy sources helped fuel the growth from coast to coast.
While windmills might evoke quaint images of yesteryear, they’re sparking growing debate, particularly as the first offshore projects are proposed in popular tourist areas, such as Cape Cod, Long Island, N.Y., and the New Jersey shore. Critics, including a member of the influential Kennedy family, worry that some projects could harm national treasures.
“All of a sudden you’re transferring an asset used by 5 million people into the hands of private industrial speculators,” said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmentalist who has objected to the Cape Cod proposal.
In September, a report by the Government Accountability Office urged federal officials to take a more active role in weighing the effect of wind power farms on bird and bat deaths, saying local and state regulators sometimes lack the necessary expertise.
Wind projects have sparked complaints around the country that the windmills cause noise, obstruct scenic views and kill wildlife, including thousands of federally protected birds in California.
In Maryland, state officials have sought to limit 420-foot windmills atop the state’s highest mountain ridge because of concerns about the effect on rare species.
A wind farm planned in a small town in Vermont has sparked criticism that the nearly 400-foot towers would ruin the rural landscape and hurt tourism.
Proponents say bird kills have been minimal at most wind farms, though Gray acknowledged some bird kills. They say the visual impact is far less severe than other forms of energy such as oil drilling.
Wind power helps lower skyrocketing home heating and electric bills by reducing the demand for natural gas and brings new jobs, rural economic development and tax revenue to cash-strapped states, proponents say.
In McCamey, Tex., Mayor Sherry Phillips said the population has dwindled over the decades from about 10,000 to 1,800 as oil dried up. But these days the area is remaking itself as the wind farm capital of Texas, collecting millions of dollars in taxes and creating 40 to 50 jobs from 860 wind turbines, she said.
The wind power added this year will offset the emission of about 7 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, equivalent to keeping nearly 500,000 SUVs off the road, the association said.
“If we could just find a way to make them invisible,” Gray said, “we’d have something everybody could get behind.”
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
STAMFORD, Conn. — Giant windmills are popping up on farms, scenic mountain ridges, prairie grass and now an Indian reservation, dramatically changing the nation’s landscape and spinning a debate about where they belong.
Wind power grew rapidly in 2005, becoming more competitive as natural gas prices jumped and crude oil prices reached record highs. Improved technology, a federal tax credit and pressure on utilities to use clean energy sources helped fuel the growth from coast to coast.
While windmills might evoke quaint images of yesteryear, they’re sparking growing debate, particularly as the first offshore projects are proposed in popular tourist areas, such as Cape Cod, Long Island, N.Y., and the New Jersey shore. Critics, including a member of the influential Kennedy family, worry that some projects could harm national treasures.
“All of a sudden you’re transferring an asset used by 5 million people into the hands of private industrial speculators,” said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmentalist who has objected to the Cape Cod proposal.
In September, a report by the Government Accountability Office urged federal officials to take a more active role in weighing the effect of wind power farms on bird and bat deaths, saying local and state regulators sometimes lack the necessary expertise.
Wind projects have sparked complaints around the country that the windmills cause noise, obstruct scenic views and kill wildlife, including thousands of federally protected birds in California.
In Maryland, state officials have sought to limit 420-foot windmills atop the state’s highest mountain ridge because of concerns about the effect on rare species.
A wind farm planned in a small town in Vermont has sparked criticism that the nearly 400-foot towers would ruin the rural landscape and hurt tourism.
Proponents say bird kills have been minimal at most wind farms, though Gray acknowledged some bird kills. They say the visual impact is far less severe than other forms of energy such as oil drilling.
Wind power helps lower skyrocketing home heating and electric bills by reducing the demand for natural gas and brings new jobs, rural economic development and tax revenue to cash-strapped states, proponents say.
In McCamey, Tex., Mayor Sherry Phillips said the population has dwindled over the decades from about 10,000 to 1,800 as oil dried up. But these days the area is remaking itself as the wind farm capital of Texas, collecting millions of dollars in taxes and creating 40 to 50 jobs from 860 wind turbines, she said.
The wind power added this year will offset the emission of about 7 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, equivalent to keeping nearly 500,000 SUVs off the road, the association said.
“If we could just find a way to make them invisible,” Gray said, “we’d have something everybody could get behind.”
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