Sierra Club sues Pentagon for holding up new wind farms
The Sierra Club is suing the Defense Department for effectively halting new development of wind farms in the name of homeland security. The suit charges that the department failed to complete a congressionally mandated study on how wind turbines affect military radar by a May 8 deadline; at least 15 new wind projects await completion of the study. “If the military can have windmills and effective radar at Guantanamo, why can’t we have both in the Midwest?” asked Sierra Club attorney Kristin Henry, who noted that delayed construction could make wind developers ineligible for federal tax credits that expire after 2007. Meanwhile, the administration pursues security-risky nuclear power like there’s no tomorrow — which, in their defense, there might not be. The feds were breezily unconcerned about the potential impacts of terrorist attacks when conducting environmental reviews of nuke plants until ordered to consider those impacts by a recent court decision.
