Offshore Wind Wire

Commissioners in Oceana County, Michigan, decided yesterday to effectively block a wind project off their shores in Lake Michigan, the Muskegon Chronicle reported.

County commissioners voted 4-2 not to move forward with studies on a 500 megawatt offshore wind farm proposed by Scandia Wind.  Scandia had asked local counties to decide if the visual presence of the wind farm would be acceptable.   The company wanted support from local governments before moving ahead with feasibility studies.

Scandia officials have said they would respect local decisions against the wind farm.

Rochester Newspaper Accuses NYPA of Secrecy

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle yesterday publicly accused the New York Power Authority of failing to respond to a Freedom of Information request about offshore wind project proposals.

The NYPA said it received five formal proposals by June 1 as part of its plan to develop offshore wind in New York’s portion of the Great Lakes.  According to the Democrat and Chronicle, the agency has refused to provide details on the proposals or to answer a request for that information.

The NYPA “has failed to fully respond to a legal request made two months ago by the Democrat and Chronicle for information about the proposals,” the paper wrote.  “Local officials and activists have also expressed interest in obtaining the information sought in the request. An authority lawyer is nearly four weeks overdue in answering an administrative appeal filed by the Democrat and Chronicle. The appeal seeks reversal of a decision by a different authority official to deny public access to any documents from the wind-farm proposals.”

According to the paper, the Power Authority should have responded by July 16 but has said the appeal “is still under review.”

Texas Will Hold Offshore Wind Conferences

The Texas Offshore Wind Energy Roundtable and the Offshore Wind Law conferences will be held in Houston on Oct. 19-22, according to a press release from the German American Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Wind Energy Clearinghouse.

The events also have the support of the state’s General Land Office, according to the release.