A wind farm is a large array of wind turbines designed for providing wholesale bulk electricity to utilities or an electricity market. This differs from a single or small handful of windmills typically setup to serve an individual or small enterprise.

Wind farms are usually owned by independent power producers which traditionally have sold their electricity to or by electric utilities. These facilities are grid-connected, meaning they are interconnected to the nationwide electricity transmission system. Wind farms vary in generating capacity from five to several hundred megawatts and may consist of wind turbines of the same or different models. The turbines are mounted on towers and often placed in arrays or clusters along ridge tops.

The committee is writing their preliminary report to be presented to the Planning Board. The intent is to prove the work done so far in order to approve an extension to the moratorium. This is needed in order to collect more facts.

(Translated from German)

February 19, 2002

WKA accident in Javenloch at the ostfriesischen coast.

Parts of the rotors flew up to 235 meters far, measured by pacing down, according to an observer from Jever.

Because no roads were in the proximity, nobody was injured.

NYSERDA wants wind power in New York. In order to help get it, they're spending taxpayer money for a wind study of the entire state. However, that study has not yet been released.

I spoke with someone at AWS/Truewind some time ago. I was told that the study had been completed months ago, but NYSERDA wanted some 'tweaking' of the data. Mr. Briggs is perhaps a better person to ask about that than I -- I'm no meteorologist. Still, I am a computer scientist and 'tweaked' means to me that NYSERDA wants the data adjusted favorably for their preferred outcome. I'm sure that AWS will only tweak it within an acceptible range of variables, but still -- would you rather have 'tweaked' data or the original?

"WASHINGTON - A new global wind power map has quantified global wind power and may help planners place turbines in locations that can maximize power from the winds and provide widely available low-cost energy. After analyzing more than 8,000 wind speed measurements in an effort to identify the world's wind power potential for the first time, Cristina Archer and Mark Jacobson of Stanford University suggest that wind captured at specific locations, if even partially harnessed, can generate more than enough power to satisfy the world's energy demands. Their report will be published in May in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, a publication of the American Geophysical Union."

I was talking to my husband the other night about some of the health studies in the UK, where wind turbines have been up for some time.

Registered users may now click on links below any story to subscribe to the story or the topic(s) in which it is listed.

You will receive an email whenever a new article is posted in your topic(s). Subscriptions can be managed from the My Account page.

If you have any trouble with subscriptions, please contact our webmaster -

(Apologies for the poor-quality image; scanned from the Herald, June 23, 1994)

The Alameda County Zoning Administrator approved strict new measures Wednesday to prevent grass fires sparked by Altamont Pass windmills, just as firefighters battled a searing windmill blaze off Vasco Road.

County officials in Hayward could not have known how timely their decision was.

An afternoon grass fire sparked by a turbine charred 10 acres in southeastern Contra Costa County, melting the windmill's machinery. At one point, the turbine itself burst into flames and had to be doused by several helicopter passes.

PORTLAND, Maine -- As a wave of wind power proposals sweeps across New England, researchers from the electric utility industry have concluded that it makes economic sense to look underwater for affordable electricity.

The Electric Power Research Institute contends underwater turbines powered by the tidal movement at three sites, including one in Maine, can produce electricity at a cost that competes with wind power and natural gas-powered power plants.

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- The developer of a wind project that has been rejected by the Vermont Public Service Board says wind power has no future in Vermont right now.

"Wind power in Vermont is dead," Matthew Rubin said in an interview on Vermont Public Radio Wednesday.

Rubin said his opinion was based on findings and decisions by the board and the administration of Gov. Jim Douglas, who has said he was opposed to industrial wind turbines on Vermont's ridge lines.