I hadn’t heard about this before, but apparently the FAA has been blocking the development of new wind farms in the Midwest. This came about because of a Congressional amendment requiring an inquiry into whether wind farms interfere with military radar. So, several Democratic senators (including both of my senators, Durbin and Obama, and the redoubtable Russ Feingold of Wisconsin) are calling for the ban to be removed. Revive
wind farms, senators ask | Chicago Tribune
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Six Democratic U.S. senators are urging federal officials to quickly resolve a dispute that has blocked construction of more than a dozen wind farms in the Midwest. In letters sent Friday to the Defense Department and the Federal Aviation Administration, the senators said the moratorium is a “considerable setback for efforts to increase our country’s energy independence.”
OHHhhhhh, but the reason behind the original amendment
leads back to that NIMBY dispute going on in Cape Code over the big proposed offshore wind farm that threatens to screw up the views of rich, powerful vacation homeowners:
The federal government has stopped work on more than a dozen wind farms planned across the Midwest, saying research is needed on whether the giant turbines could interfere with military radar. But
backers of wind power say the action has little to do with national security. The real issue, they say, is a group of wealthy vacationers who think a proposed wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts would spoil the view at their summer homes.
OH, for hell’s sake! The Eastern elites who don’t want to look at the windfarm generating free power are screwing up our projects. That just chaps my ass, people. Electric power is generated in this part of the country with a combination of coal-powered
and nuclear-powered plants. So those assholes back East are demonstrating they don’t give a damn about air quality, rising asthma and bronchial disease rates, and the risk of nuclear contamination anywhere else in the country, just so they can have a big sweeping view of empty ocean. Have they ever seen a wind farm? I have – when David and I were on our way back from our big road trip. We passed a big farm out in Wyoming, and let me tell you, they are impressive and even beautiful. They look like gigantic kinetic sculptures from afar.
