TransAlta, one of Alberta's largest power generators, has cancelled a proposed wind farm development and is putting a hold on three other power projects, citing provincial rule changes and a lack of certainty in the market. In February, Alberta's government announced new rules on the development of renewable power in the province. They imposed a new 35-kilometre buffer zone around areas deemed "pristine viewscapes."
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland struggled to answer basic questions about a major wind farm development in Idaho during a Thursday hearing on Capitol Hill. Republican Idaho Sen. Jim Risch asked Haaland to list the names of people or groups that support the Lava Ridge wind farm development, a major wind project in the southern, central part of the state. Haaland suggested that there is local support for the project, but she did not name a single entity or individual supporting the project in response to multiple inquiries from Risch.
A document connected to the Horse Heaven wind and solar project in Washington state remains under wraps. The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council declined to release a document detailing its reasons for recommending Washington Gov. Jay Inslee approve the contentious Horse Heaven wind and solar project. The council voted 5-2 on April 17 to send a report to Inslee that supports allowing up to 222 turbines and more than 5,000 acres of solar panels on rolling hills, mostly farmland, near the Tri-Cities.
Four generations of the Sandison family have farmed land in Caithness they now fear could be overshadowed by wind turbines. They are members of a small community fighting plans for green energy projects they say would harm their way of life. Wind2 wants to install two 150m high turbines and a battery energy storage system at Bower.
The Shaftsbury Solar Project is in Shaftsbury, Vermont, saddled between Hale Mountain and Harrington Cobble, on a property with 182 acres of mostly gently rolling fields and forests. Approximately 104 acres have been proposed for development into a solar electric generation facility. Solar panels for 20 MW electric generation will be placed on 80 acres. Further clearings of forests, fields, and soils are called for to remove shade-casting trees, create temporary laydown yards, onsite graveled access roads, temporary new access for heavy-duty vehicles, and a stormwater management system that includes scraping soil to build berms and installation of five gravel wetlands.