** On Monday, after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced massive oil production cuts, the White House issued a joint statement with the European Union reaffirming that clean energy adoption is critical for enhancing energy security. The statement was a status update on the U.S.-EU Task Force on Energy Security formed amid …
Category: Wind Energy
Kansas legislators await Governor’s decision on controlling wind farm flashing lights
All it takes for the state of Kansas to eliminate flashing red lights atop wind turbines is the signature of Gov. Laura Kelly. The legislature passed Senate Bill 49 and sent it t o her to b e signed into law, requiring wind farm operators to use light-mitigating technology on new and existing …
Oklahoma utilities recover from wind storm damage
Power has been restored to most OG&E and PSO customers following Friday’s wind storm that brought 75 mile an hour gusts, outages, dozens of snapped power line poles and the wind-driven wildfires that destroyed dozens of homes and structures near Edmond. At one point on Friday, OG&E reported more than 16,000 customers lost power …
Kansas legislators debate blinking wind tower lights and blocked railroad crossings….sound familiar?
Kansas legislators are dealing with two issues common across Oklahoma—blinking red lights from wind towers across the land and trains blocking street crossings. As for the blinking wind turbine lights, legislators were told this week, “These blinking red lights drive people crazy,” as Rep. Carrie Barth put it. Senate Bill 49 would require the installation …
Quick reads of other energy stories
** An oil tanker owned by a major U.S.-traded transportation company appears to be taking on Iranian crude oil in a key Asian maritime strait in violation of American sanctions, an advocacy group alleges. The firm allegedly involved, Euronav, said Wednesday it will “take appropriate action when necessary.” ** North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has …
Recycling wind turbines is a growing challenge to lawmakers
A bill to study how best to recycle old solar panels and wind turbines passed unanimously out of the Indiana House on Monday. The U.S. hasn’t found a cost-effective way to recycle panels and turbines yet. And that could mean a lot of waste in the next 20 to 30 years as the less …
Quick energy reads
** The Iowa Supreme Court temporarily blocks a state law that had given incumbent utilities first rights to build new transmission projects, a case that could have high stakes amid plans for a major transmission buildout. ** A federal judge rules BNSF Railway violated terms of an easement agreement by running 100-car oil trains across the Swinomish Indian Tribal …
Grain Belt transmission line close to getting final approval in Kansas and Missouri
Optimism is growing that the four-state Grain Belt Express transmission line, one designed to carry wind-powered electricity from Southwest Kansas to Indiana might get final approval this year. Regulators in Kansas and Missouri initially approved the large project and now must finalize their decisions reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Missouri Public Commission has …
More fast energy reads
** The Sierra Club alleges in a lawsuit that a major Illinois coal plant has operated “illegally” for more than a decade without an operating permit from the state as required under the Clean Air Act. ** The Biden administration is finalizing more stringent efficiency requirements for both window air conditioners and portable air cleaner, the first set of …
Kansas legislature considers control over wind tower blinking lights
With 44 wind farms in the state of Kansas, the Kansas legislature continues working on possible legislation to do something about the growing complaints of the blinking red wind tower lights at night. Residents don’t like them and want controls about when and how often they blink, disturbing the night-time sky above the state. …