The buzz is still being generated in Arkansas about the addition of an Oklahoma wind farm as part of the Southwestern Electric Power Company’s North Central Wind Project. As we reported last week, SWEPCO implemented the second commercial phase of the project in northern Oklahoma and eventually it will mean more than half of …
Category: Wind Energy
Energy news in brief
** Hurricane Ida shut down enough petroleum refineries and petrochemical plants to make a dent in national manufacturing activityand slow industrial growth to 0.4% in August. ** The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports as a result of the storm, 96% of crude oil production and 94% of natural gas production in the U.S. federally administered areas …
Wind farm moratorium adopted by County Commissioners at Hutchinson, Kansas
Reno County Commissioners in Hutchinson, Kansas stunned wind farm advocates and opponents by adopting a moratorium on the development of commercial wind farms through the end of the year. The move was made as a lawsuit filed last year by NextEra Energy against the county is pending in the Kansas Court of Appeals. The …
Maverick wind farm now serving PSO customers
The second of three new wind facilities serving Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) customers has begun commercial operation. Located southwest of Enid, the 287-megawatt (MW) Maverick facility is part of the 1,485-MW North Central Energy Facilities (NCEF) project. “PSO customers expect clean, renewable energy to be a growing part of our energy portfolio, …
Why Missouri’s largest wind farm is idle at night
The deaths of bats at the site of Missouri’s largest wind farm caused the owner to idle the operation so it wouldn’t kill more endangered and threatened bats. Now the move is playing a role in the company’s request to increase customers’ rates reported the Kansas City Star. Click here for Kansas City Star
Wind farm development takes a hit in SE Nebraska
County officials at Beatrice, Nebraska propose tougher restrictions on wind farm development. News Channel Nebraska reported the actions by Gage County officials might make it nearly impossible for the development of any wind farms in the northern part of the county. Click here for News Channel Nebraska.
County commissioner faces recall in Kansas wind-farm battle
A battle over a proposed southeast Kansas wind farm has a Labette County commissioner fighting for his job. His determined opponents may have accomplished the rare feat of getting legal permission and gathering enough signatures to put a recall to a vote. The technical justification that gives proponents a foot in the recall door …
Sandia uncovers hidden factors affecting solar farms during severe weather
Sandia National Laboratories researchers combined large sets of real-world solar data and advanced machine learning to study the impacts of severe weather on U.S. solar farms, and sort out what factors affect energy generation. Their results were published earlier this month in the scientific journal Applied Energy. Hurricanes, blizzards, hailstorms and wildfires all pose risks …
Fraud and lies weren’t intentional in Arkansas wind farm scam
One of the two men charged with fraud in a northwest Arkansas wind farm scam testified this week the lies he told were not intentional. The claim came from Jody Davis, CEO of the company who according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette tried to shift blame to others for bilking investors out of hundreds …
Prosecutors rest in Arkansas wind farm scam trial
Arkansas prosecutors rested this week after presenting their case against two men charged with defrauding investors in a failed wind farm deal. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported prosecutors showed how money moved through bank accounts and was ultimately spent by Jody Davis and Phillip Vincent Rirdings. Click here for Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.