Grassroots Opposition to Clean Energy

When Tea Party and Environmentalism Meet

by Keith SchneiderApril 20, 2010September 9, 20100

Quick. Who said this? A leader of the Tea Party or an extremist environmentalist? “You make a tragic mistake characterizing the new grassroots environmental movement blossoming in the resistance to the horrific idea of burning the life on planet earth whether it be trees, whales or crops for fuelÂ as “blowback.” Unless you mean blowback to the corporate funded environmental movement and their paid lobbyists, marketers, and “experts.” The public clearly understands the physics of …

Wood Biomass Projects Advance in U.S.

by Keith SchneiderApril 18, 2010September 9, 20100

Just as the Traverse City Record-Eagle aims another editorial broadside to block the local utility’s decision to pursue a right-sized, state-of-the-art, clean, renewable 10 mw wood biomass plant, evidence of public support emerges from other states where the technology is being pursued with vigor. The new wood biomass projects are a clear indication that momentum for the technology and fuel source is pushing ahead despite misplaced public opposition in a number of states, including Michigan. …

Cape Wind Awaits Federal Approval

by Keith SchneiderApril 14, 2010September 9, 20100

As the 40th anniversary of Earth Day draws closer, wind energy developers in Massachusetts are awaiting word from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar about a permit to proceed. Cape Wind, which wants to build the nation’s first offshore wind farm near Nantucket, earlier this month reached agreement with Siemens to purchase 130 turbines, a move praised by Massachusetts Democratic Governor Deval Patrick and Ian Bowles, the Massachusetts secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It’s difficult to …

Blocking Wood Biomass, Blocking Coal in Michigan — Does it Make Sense?

by Keith SchneiderApril 9, 2010June 29, 20111

Eartha Jane Melzer, one of the reporters in Michigan whose work merits close attention, posted a piece a week ago on Michigan Messenger that described the legal work the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council are doing to block a big new coal-fired power plant in Bay City. Here is one of the important events associated with the transition to the clean energy economy. On one hand environmental organizations are pursuing legal suits …

“Precedent Setting Achievement”

by Keith SchneiderApril 8, 2010September 9, 20100

The director of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth last week lauded Traverse City Light & Power for pursuing a renewable energy strategy that fits northwest Michiganâ€™s reputation as a green region, and â€œcomplements all the assets and progressive trends this region represents”. Stanley â€œSkipâ€ Pruss, who is one of Governor Jennifer Granholmâ€™s closest advisors and a nationally known clean energy leader, also supported the utilityâ€™s proposal to generate a portion of …

Opposition to Biomass Impedes Clean Energy Development

by Keith SchneiderApril 4, 2010September 9, 20102

Mode Shift has reported the clean energy transition is being impeded by civic opposition to wind projects, solar projects, new transmission lines, and geothermal projects.Â This post is the latest in the series and focuses on wood biomass. The Portland Oregonian, in an article in March, counted 18 states where wood biomass energy proposals are encountering stiff civic resistance. One of those states is Michigan, where a plan by Traverse City Light & Power to …

Diving Deep for Geothermal Energy Finds Acceptance and Political Heat on Surface

by Keith SchneiderMarch 30, 2010September 9, 20104

One of the potential success stories of clean energy development on private and federal lands in the West involves NV Energy, which announced in February that it will purchase 32 megawatts of renewable energy from a planned Central Nevada geothermal plant. The Ram Power Corporation is developing the Clayton Valley Geothermal Project, which is scheduled to begin construction in 2012.Â It is one of five geothermal leases that Ram Power has acquired from the Bureau …

New Transmission Lines Invite Public Uproar in 7 States

by Keith SchneiderMarch 29, 2010September 9, 20100

On March 2 more than 60 residents of Canyon City, Idaho appeared at a public hearing to consider a new 500-kilovolt transmission line that might run through their county. Most weren’t happy about it. “They brought us in late and they haven’t fulfilled their public involvement responsibilities,” said Ken Holliday, a rancher. The public concern that residents displayed about Idaho Power’s 250-foot corridor, and the 150-foot tall towers that would command its route, is a …

Resistance to Solar Energy in California, Southwest

by Keith SchneiderMarch 28, 2010September 9, 20101

The Solar Energy Industries Association last week made public a national poll that found strong citizen support for adding the energy of the sun to the nation’s portfolio. The timing of the results was meant to coincide with the Federal government’s review of big solar thermal projects proposed on public lands in the West. The poll, though, masks another emerging clean energy trend in the desert. A good number of citizen activist groups are pushing …

Let Wind Energy Blow? Not In These Places

by Keith SchneiderMarch 24, 2010September 9, 20105

Next month Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is scheduled to rule on a proposal to build one of the most contentious clean energy projects in the country. It is a 420-megawatt offshore wind farm in Massachusetts called Cape Wind. Audra Parker, the young leader of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, has emerged as a local public interest celebrity as a result of her work to prevent developers from constructing 130 turbines five miles out in …