On Friday the 15th June, members of Yes 2 Renewables paid a visit to the Victorian township of Rokewood to celebrate Global Wind Day with landholders and residents at the local solar-powered pub. We took the chance to have a … Continue reading Y2R chats to Robbie from Rokewood about renewable energy & Golden Plains wind farm proposal
National environment group Friends of the Earth have criticised a deal struck between Environment Minister Greg Hunt and fringe cross-bench senators to regulate the wind energy sector. “The commitments made by Minister Hunt in this deal kowtows to anti-wind interests … Continue reading MEDIA RELEASE: Abbott govt fuels scare campaign by kowtowing to anti-wind interests
Have you ever wanted to see a wind turbine up close?… How about having a yarn with a wind farmer?… Well here’s your chance: Yes 2 Renewables are pleased to announce a tour of the Waubra wind farm on Saturday, 11 July. Wind … Continue reading Yes 2 Renewables’ Wind Farm Tour – July 11
There has been a tsunami of support for wind energy and renewables since the review of the Renewable Energy Target commenced. Unlike some politicians (such as Treasurer Joe Hockey), we’re proud of Australia’s wind energy sector and the contribution it … Continue reading Global Wind Energy Day picnic at Parliament – You’re invited!
Friends of the Earth (FoE) have released a new report detailing the economic and environmental costs of Ted Baillieu’s anti-wind farm laws to Victoria.
The analysis shows that anti-wind farm laws introduced by former Premier Ted Baillieu has hit the wind energy sector hard, costing jobs and investment opportunities for regional Victoria.
The findings of the report – The Biggest Losers
The report findings raise fresh questions about the government’s wind farm laws as the state heads to the polls for a November election.
Voters will be paying close attention to where the parties stand on renewable energy. All available polling shows Victorians want more wind farms. The government’s anti-wind farm laws are an electoral liability.
The Labor party has already pledged to ‘rip up’ the Baillieu anti-wind laws. Will Premier Napthine act to restore fair laws for wind farms before it’s too late? Continue reading “New report: Baillieu’s anti-wind farm laws cost Victoria jobs and rob regions of investment”
In Australia the noisy and misleading petitions of the anti-wind farm lobby, and the politicians who echo these claims, tend to drown out the quiet successes that have been accumulating across the country since the industry’s inception.
It is for this reason that stories like those of Ararat farmer Graeme Maconachie’s (see video below produced by our friends, the Victorian Wind Alliance) can still provide a potent reminder of wind power’s ready benefits to struggling rural economies, but also to the prospects of future generations.
Projects like the 52.5MW Challicum Hills wind farm featured in the video, which has supplied the region with much needed employment, investment and emissions abatement (140,000 tones p.a) opportunities since 2002, however, are at risk.
In September, independent filmmaker Neil Barrett released a short documentary presenting the views of people living near one of Australia’s largest wind farms, located in Waubra, Victoria. The personal accounts Mr Barrett documents in The Way the Wind Blows demonstrates … Continue reading Waubra Wednesday #11 – Locals tell their story about wind energy
Senator John Madigan is well-known for his anti-wind farm crusade. The Senator was lauded by the fringe website Stop These Things as a key speaker at an anti-wind farm rally that flopped in Canberra last June.
Earlier this week, Senator Madigan received a visit from representatives of the Waubra community who are calling on the anti-wind lobby group, the ‘Waubra’ Foundation, to give their town’s name back.
The real Waubra community hand delivered Senator Madigan a copy of the 300-strong petition supporting the case for reclaiming the name.
“We are pleased that the Senator listened to our plea and understood how strongly we feel about Waubra’s good name,” said Waubra resident Kerryn Gallagher. “We are passionate about our town and it hurts when this group drags our name through the mud.” Continue reading “Pollie Watch: Petition to reclaim Waubra name hand delivered to Sen Madigan”
Published by Union of Concerned Scientists. View original article.
I noted in my recent post on wind turbines and tourism that a related issue, wind farms and property values, was also important to consider. A new study does just that, and finds “no statistical evidence” of effects.
The study is A Spatial Hedonic Analysis of the Effects of Wind Energy Facilities on Surrounding Property Values in the United States, from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The author team included LBL experts, researchers from Texas A&M and San Diego State, and others.
The “hedonic” in the study title refers not to hedonism in the colloquial sense (think college students living it up during spring break), but to the amount of pleasure — or displeasure — that comes from a certain amenity, like a nearby park, or disamenity, like a garbage dump.
In this case, the question is where wind farms sit on the amenity-disamenity spectrum. Continue reading “Do Wind Turbines Affect Property Values? No — or at Least “No Statistical Evidence” — Says New Hedonic Study”
Published by Grist. View original article. Michigan now has nearly 900 wind turbines, and that lit a lightbulb in the entrepreneurial mind of retired teacher Gene Jorissen. Last summer, he started leading hour-long bus tours of the turbine-dotted Lakes Winds … Continue reading Turbine tourism: Bus tours of a wind-energy park are a big hit
yes2renewables.org 