http://www.windaction.org/ facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts en-us Windaction hourly 1 http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.windaction.org/articles/1094 Thu, 01 Dec 2005 05:00:00 GMT http://www.windaction.org/articles/1094 http://www.windaction.org/articles/1106 Thu, 01 Dec 2005 05:00:00 GMT http://www.windaction.org/articles/1106 http://www.windaction.org/articles/240 Mon, 01 Aug 2005 04:00:00 GMT http://www.windaction.org/articles/240 http://www.windaction.org/articles/21742 Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:24:26 GMT The town's Select Board plans to file documents with the state Public Service Board opposing a wind farm proposal to be located in Clarendon, Ira and neighboring towns. Board members voted Monday to oppose Vermont Community Wind Farm's plan to develop an 80-megawatt wind facility and to erect a 197-foot temporary wind measurement tower on Susie's Peak in Clarendon. http://www.windaction.org/articles/21742 http://www.windaction.org/articles/21741 Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:13:15 GMT A proposed wind farm dominated discussion of updating the town plan Tuesday, with many residents asking if the town can put a stop to the development. Neither the Select Board nor the Planning Commission took any formal action Tuesday night, but commission member Tim Martin called the comments "very useful" and said the commission would work on revisions. He said the commission was not used to getting this amount of input. http://www.windaction.org/articles/21741 http://www.windaction.org/articles/21579 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:39:18 GMT A wind farm developer has reapplied for a permit to put up testing equipment after relocating a proposed site from Ira to Clarendon. ...VCWF spokesman Jeffrey Wennberg said consultants first identified the Suzie's Peak location during the winter. When they went back in the spring, they discovered it was close to a wetland. http://www.windaction.org/articles/21579 http://www.windaction.org/articles/21503 Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:16:37 GMT More than 150 people gathered tonight in Georgia to debate a proposed five-turbine wind farm on Georgia Mountain. Some 30 speakers and the broader audience seemed split on the project as they participated in a hearing before the state Public Service Board, which would have to approve the development for it to proceed. http://www.windaction.org/articles/21503 http://www.windaction.org/articles/21051 Tue, 05 May 2009 12:42:29 GMT The town might see its future if it looks to Lempster, N.H. The man who wants to build a wind farm in and around Ira appeared before the Select Board for the first time Monday. He told the 30 people who crowded into the Town Clerk's office the New Hampshire town's topography and wind turbines makes it a decent representation of what he wants to do. http://www.windaction.org/articles/21051 http://www.windaction.org/articles/20809 Sat, 18 Apr 2009 06:44:04 GMT The Vermont Public Service Board on Thursday issued a Certificate of Public Good to Deerfield Wind, LLC, for the construction 15 400-foot wind turbines. ...The project's impact on black bear habitat was a concern for the board. Board member John Burke was opposed to issuing the certificate. "I do agree with my colleagues' determinations that the project will have adverse impacts on black bears and bear habitat, and that as proposed, the project offers insufficient benefits to offset those adverse impacts," Burke said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/20809 http://www.windaction.org/articles/20785 Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:07:30 GMT The number of proposed wind farms under active development in Vermont has reached a new peak. If built as proposed - a big "if" - the five projects could provide up to nearly 7 percent of the state's electrical energy. ...Wind-energy projects are required to win a certificate of public good from the state Public Service Board, which weighs the impact of development on a long list of environmental factors, aesthetics, noise and more. Opponents can take part in the hearings and appeal the results. http://www.windaction.org/articles/20785 http://www.windaction.org/articles/20772 Thu, 16 Apr 2009 01:01:35 GMT The Vermont Public Service Board has approved a 15-turbine, 30-megawatt wind energy project in Searsburg and Readsboro. It is the second project in three years to win PSB approval. The order Thursday was signed by two of the board’s three members. http://www.windaction.org/articles/20772 http://www.windaction.org/articles/20684 Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:09:50 GMT A $100 million wind project by Kingdom Community Wind on the Lowell ridge line might provide renewable power, helping VEC and Green Mountain Power fill out renewable energy portfolios, he said. But it will not reduce electricity rates for co-op members, Hallquist said. Electricity prices are expected to climb across the U.S., even if utilities use renewable local sources, he said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/20684 http://www.windaction.org/articles/20646 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:22:34 GMT The developer behind a proposed wind farm did not have answers to all the questions put to him Monday, but said the permitting process would provide them. More than 160 people crowded into the Tinmouth Community Hall to hear Per White-Hansen of Charlotte describe his plan. http://www.windaction.org/articles/20646 http://www.windaction.org/articles/19800 Tue, 03 Feb 2009 05:06:35 GMT The Vermont Public Service Board has denied Ridge Protectors Inc.'s request for discovery and hearings on the certificate of public good being issued for a wind generation facility in Sheffield. ...The case relates to the Aug. 8, 2007, Public Service Board's issuance of a certificate of public good which granted conditional approval of a wind generation facility by Vermont Wind. http://www.windaction.org/articles/19800 http://www.windaction.org/articles/18588 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:17:47 GMT Chairman Ivan Beattie said he would have been inclined to support the project, as recommended by the Planning Commission, had it not been for a decision made at town meeting in 2006 that gave the town $150,000 to oppose a much larger wind project on the mountain. The former project, proposed by Endless Energy, would have put five 390-foot turbines on the mountain and generated 30 million killowatt-hours a year. Beattie called the two projects "different animals," but he wanted to err on the side of caution. "The integrity of a town meeting vote," he said, "is one of the most important elements of local government." http://www.windaction.org/articles/18588 http://www.windaction.org/articles/17816 Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:58:36 GMT Ridge Protectors is attempting to block Vermont Wind (formerly UPC Vermont Wind) from moving forward with the project which will see a series of towering, more than 400-foot tall wind turbines installed along the ridgelines here. The group believes there is new information since the certificate was issued last August, and that more hearings are needed to be sure the project is in the public's interest. In a motion submitted Aug. 8 to the Public Service Board, the Ridge Protectors appealed to the board in a Motion For Relief, seeking to have the Certificate of Public Good for the project either withdrawn or rescinded. http://www.windaction.org/articles/17816 http://www.windaction.org/articles/17339 Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:03:14 GMT "While wind power is a popular and growing source of electricity generation in the United States ... it continues to face regulatory obstacles and local opposition," stated the Vermont Energy Partnership report. "And while there is clear potential for an expansion of wind in the State of Vermont, even fully developed, wind can only meet a fraction of the state's electricity needs. To ensure that Vermont has a dependable supply of clean and low-cost electricity, base load providers such as Vermont Yankee and HydroQuébec must continue to serve our state into the future," stated the report. http://www.windaction.org/articles/17339 http://www.windaction.org/articles/14583 Sun, 09 Mar 2008 21:04:02 GMT State and regional regulators acknowledge the hurdles - especially in northern New Hampshire - but don't have ready solutions. A bill before the New Hampshire Senate would have the state be ready to act if no regional solution is forthcoming. ISO New England, which manages power for the region, is considering changing rules so more of the costs of transmission upgrades could be shared regionally. But as things stand now, backers of projects generally must pay for upgrades needed to connect them to the system. "None of this is a real speedy process," acknowledges Michael Harrington, senior regional policy adviser for the state Public Utilities Commission. http://www.windaction.org/articles/14583 http://www.windaction.org/articles/14528 Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:02:28 GMT Although the valley's smallest town often has the highest voter turnout, several controversial articles on the warning may have swelled the ranks at this year's meeting. In the evening's biggest upset, voters reversed last year's nonbinding resolution to oppose PPM Energy's proposed wind generation project in Searsburg and Readsboro. In a paper ballot, the town voted to support the project 29 to 16, a substantial margin. Moderator Gary Sage told voters that the secretary of state's office had advised the town that wording of the article was ambiguous. Article 16 asked voters to "see if the town will vote to determine whether the voters approve of, or are opposed to" the project. According to the secretary of state, the language could mean the town was holding a vote on whether to have a vote. http://www.windaction.org/articles/14528 http://www.windaction.org/articles/13917 Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:56:45 GMT UPC Wind plans to continue with its construction schedule for a wind farm in Sheffield, even though Ridge Protectors, a citizens group opposed to commercial wind on Vermont's rural ridgelines, has filed an appeal of the Vermont Public Service Board's decision with the Vermont Supreme Court. "We think the Public Service Board's decision will stand the test of time," said Matt Kearns of UPC, project manager for Sheffield, on Friday. The Supreme Court could overturn the PSB's decision, if it decides to hear the case. Kearns said UPC has faith that won't happen. ...Ridge Protectors suit, filed by attorneys Dan Hershenson of Norwich and Anthony Roisman of Lyme, N.H., argues that the wind farm will not have a substantial economic benefit to Vermonters, largely because it doesn't have stable power contracts. Kearns said UPC expects those to be in place this winter. http://www.windaction.org/articles/13917