Originally published December 29 2005
New legislation does not please U.S. proponents of wind power projects
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Renewable Energy Access reports on major developments on Capitol Hill, in the form of two provisions added to pending bills, that could make things extremely difficult for developers looking to establish wind power projects in the U.S.
Laws that would have been damaging to an already struggling offshore wind power business in the U.S. almost made it into the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and now, two new provisions in two pending bills in Congress are reigniting the fight.
Green Power 5 The Coast Guard already has the authority to review offshore wind projects on the issue of navigation -- it does not need to be asked to do its work twice.
According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the wind power industry's major trade association, two new anti-wind energy provisions in two pending bills in Congress would create unnecessary and costly hurdles for wind development at a time they say is particularly important for the country to diversify its energy mix.
Both provisions -- one in Coast Guard legislation and the other in Defense Legislation -- offer harmful bureaucratic "solutions" for nonexistent problems, says AWEA.
An amendment inserted by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) into H.R. 1815, the Defense Authorization Bill, calls for a study of how wind energy projects might affect military radar systems, even though previous studies have already shown that radar interference is not a problem.
As justification for his unilateral action, Sen.
Warner cites concerns in the United Kingdom about possible impacts on military radars, but, ironically, the British Ministry of Defense (MOD) recently announced that "actually it really isn't a problem for the air defense community."
Language in the manager's amendment to H.R. 889, the Coast Guard authorization bill, calls for the Guard Commandant to review offshore wind energy projects -- an unnecessary provision that adds a wasteful and redundant layer of red tape to a thorough permitting process in an attempt to delay proposed clean energy wind projects.
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