Foreign Policy Blogs

Wind Power – More Bad Craziness

A story last week in the Washington Post gave me a jolt:  Pentagon objections hold up Oregon wind farm.  Two weeks prior to breaking ground on an 845-megawatt, $2 billion project in Oregon, the Department of Defense has blocked construction owing to concerns about radar.  Two weeks!  The project has been on the drawing boards for nine years.  This is beyond shameful.  It is, though, but one more chapter in the inglorious and ongoing story of how the United States shoots itself in the foot over renewable energy.

One comment at the WaPo story noted “… renewable energy sources will do more for our national defense than a radar installation in Oregon.”  Hear, hear.  Another commenter said “There are many available radar systems that would not only eliminate wind turbine interference issues, but also provide much better protection from America’s enemies. A great example is the Lockheed TPS-77 that is being installed in England to improve air defense and compensate for impacts from wind development. A $20 million radar system upgrade would clear the way for several billion dollars worth of job-creating, energy-producing investment.”  What is the government thinking?!

This story today from SolveClimate says “Software and hardware upgrades can eliminate the problems.”  According to the American Wind Energy Association, more than 9,000 MW of wind power have been held up, deferred or abandoned due to radar issues.  (I’m trying to stay calm here.)

Caithness Development, which is building the project, says that DOD’s concerns threaten “…to crater literally billions of dollars of renewable energy in the United States and tens of thousands of jobs in renewable energy.”  Let’s really hope that the White House figures this out quickly and does the right thing.

 

Author

Bill Hewitt

Bill Hewitt has been an environmental activist and professional for nearly 25 years. He was deeply involved in the battle to curtail acid rain, and was also a Sierra Club leader in New York City. He spent 11 years in public affairs for the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation, and worked on environmental issues for two NYC mayoral campaigns and a presidential campaign. He is a writer and editor and is the principal of Hewitt Communications. He has an M.S. in international affairs, has taught political science at Pace University, and has graduate and continuing education classes on climate change, sustainability, and energy and the environment at The Center for Global Affairs at NYU. His book, "A Newer World - Politics, Money, Technology, and What’s Really Being Done to Solve the Climate Crisis," will be out from the University Press of New England in December.



Areas of Focus:
the policy, politics, science and economics of environmental protection, sustainability, energy and climate change

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