www.windaction.org

Supplemental impact statement in the works

2009-10-29T18:44:59Z

The US Forest Service is one step closer to issuing a decision on the Deerfield Wind Project. The Manchester Ranger District of the Green Mountain National Forest has reviewed the Public Service Board's approval and the public comments it received regarding last year's Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Now the forest service is ready to release a supplemental report on their latest findings. But despite the new information, some state officials are urging the forest service take extra precautions before they make a final decision.

Windmill project churns through permitting

2009-05-07T11:20:26Z

Although the Public Service Board granted the Deerfield Wind Project a certificate of public good, there remains a lot of work ahead. Now the wind project must obtain approval from federal and state agencies, and officials say it may be another year before construction of the wind turbines can commence. ...According to U.S. Forest Service supervisor Meg Mitchell, the forest service is reviewing the PSB decision. Mitchell said the forest service is also looking at submitted comments from the draft environmental impact statement.

Turbines need Forest Service approval

2009-04-26T08:11:22Z

The Vermont Public Service Board has issued a certificate of public good for the Deerfield Wind Project, but the work must still be approved by the U.S. Forest Service. "They've cleared a major hurdle, but there's still a good bit of the race left to run," Meg Mitchell, supervisor of the Green Mountain National Forest, said Tuesday.

Two hearings scheduled on wind project

2008-10-31T16:20:31Z

Two public meetings on the proposed Deerfield Wind Project have been scheduled in November, according to Robert Bayer of the U.S. Forest Service. The first will be held on Nov. 5 at the Readsboro Elementary School and the second will be held on Nov. 6 in the Franklin Conference Center at the Howe Center. Both are from 6 to 8 p.m. Bayer said the sessions are part of the Forest Service's application process, which is in progress for Deerfield Wind, LLC, a limited liability company created by Iberdrola Renewable.

RELEASE: Wind turbines planned for Green Mountain National Forest

2008-03-28T23:41:16Z

In what could be a national precedent, the Vermont Public Service Board is reviewing a plan to build 17 industrial wind turbines on more than 80 acres of the Green Mountain National Forest. Known as Deerfield Wind, the turbine project would be located along a prominent ridgeline in the towns of Searsburg and Readsboro, Vermont. ...Deerfield Wind would be the first industrial wind-energy facility in a national forest anywhere in the country ...The Green Mountain National Forest is one of only two national forests in New England. The U.S. Forest Service has designated nearly 20,000 acres at 37 sites within the Green Mountain National Forest as "potentially both viable and suitable" for wind power development. Recently, a proposal for a second industrial wind-energy facility within the Green Mountain National Forest was initiated.

Sanders, Leahy push pollution reduction bill

2007-01-16T00:36:37Z

BRATTLEBORO -- There is no place for the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Sen. Bernard Sanders' plan to combat greenhouse gas emissions. Monday, Sanders announced he was reintroducing an ambitious bill to reduce pollution associated with global warming. The bill was first introduced by his predecessor, Jim Jeffords. Sanders is co-sponsoring the bill with fellow Vermonter, Sen. Patrick Leahy. When asked how nuclear power fits into the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act, Sanders replied, "it doesn't." "Our bill focuses on energy efficiency and it focuses on sustainability. It doesn't deal with nuclear power," said Sanders, in a telephone interview Monday night. Sanders said there was one major reason why nuclear power doesn't belong in the act. "We are dealing with highly toxic radioactive substances and we don't know of a way to dispose of them safely," he said.

Okemo owners to switch to 'green' energy

2006-08-20T14:12:22Z

LUDLOWâ�� When it comes to addressing the worldwide problem of greenhouse gas emissions, Okemo Mountain Resort Owner Tim Mueller said, you've got to start somewhere. That's why Mueller and wife, Diane, are purchasing enough renewable energy certificates from Sterling Planet, a retail renewable energy provider, to power all the electrical needs of their three ski resorts, which include Okemo, Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Colorado and Mount Sunapee Resort in New Hampshire.

Wind on Little Equinox - PC looks at Impact on Bats and Birds

2005-12-03T17:08:29Z

In the continuing dialog between Endless Energy Corp. and people interested in the proposed five turbine wind farm, Monday's meeting focused on ecological issues.

Sheffield cozies up to wind

2005-12-02T20:17:13Z

SHEFFIELD â�� Residents here by a 27-vote margin backed construction of the Sheffield wind energy project in a nonbinding paper ballot to assess sentiment on the controversial proposal.

Sheffield Voters Support UPC Project By A Narrow Margin

2005-12-02T18:50:39Z

SHEFFIELD -- The majority of voters at a special town meeting in Sheffield Thursday night said they were in favor of a commercial wind farm in town.

Vermont town to vote on divisive wind project

2005-12-01T19:45:10Z

Wind Opponents Want Changes - NEK Gets Another Chance To React To Regional Plan Draft

2005-11-29T00:34:28Z

NORTHEAST KINGDOM -- Kingdom residents will have another opportunity to comment on a proposed regional plan that supports wind power as a renewable energy source but leaves decisions up to individual towns. A second hearing on the draft plan is Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. in the Lyndon Institute cafeteria. The deadline for written comment is also Dec. 6.

Sheffield readies for wind farm vote

2005-11-29T00:14:24Z

SHEFFIELD â�� Residents here are gearing up for a public showdown to determine how registered voters feel about the proposed Sheffield Wind Farm.

wind farm referendum - Will this straw vote have any clout?

2005-11-24T13:23:48Z

Legally, referendums in Vermont are non-binding and carry none of the punch they do in some other states.

USFWS comments on DEIS prepared for Deerfield Wind proposal, Green Mountain National Forest

2008-11-25T17:21:10Z

Iberdrola has proposed a wind energy facility to be erected on national forest lands in the Green Mountain National Forest located in Vermont. The Forest Service released the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) in September 2008. The full DEIS can be accessed at http://www.windaction.org/documents/17983. The US Fish and Wildlife Service submitted comments on the DEIS. These comments can be downloaded by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.

Draft Environmental Impact Statement proposed Deerfield Wind Project abstract

2008-09-11T00:38:10Z

The Deerfield Wind Energy facility is the first wind plant to be proposed for US National Forest lands. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement released by the US Forest Service can be accessed by clicking on the link(s) below. Comments will be accepted through until the end of November 2008.

The Wind Does Not Always Blow Freely- The Economics of Industrial Wind Energy

2007-03-01T00:00:00Z

For those who think developers' feverish promotion of wind energy is about saving the planet, think again. The old adage follow the money explains their zeal much more than do its purported benefits. Worse, the enormous investment returns available to wind developers for an unreliable energy source that offers negligible emissions benefits stem largely from federal and state subsidies paid for by taxpayers and rate payers. Go figure.

Why energy conservation trumps windmills

2005-02-01T00:00:00Z

If you really want to cut energy consumption, reduce pollution, improve public health and protect our environment, itâ��s time to contact your elected officials, educate them about the lessons of Denmark, Germany and elsewhere, and tell them you want tougher energy efficiency measures instead of wind power plants.
Otherwise, in the next few years, youâ��ll be looking at wind turbines in some of your favorite places, with the knowledge that theyâ��re doing little more than funneling your tax dollars to a few lucky corporations and landowners, and away from better solutions.

Adam Kelly: Direct Testimony to Vermont Public Service Board on behalf of Vermont Agency of Natural Resources

2004-12-22T13:00:04Z

...additional radar studies would be required to see if spring migration patterns are different than those measured in the fall. Typically spring migration is shorter than fall migration with fewer numbers in the shorter period of time. How this will affect the numbers of birds passing through the rotor swept volume is unknown. It is important to determine the seasonal timing, altitude and numbers of migrant birds passing over the proposed project site and the effects of weather upon their passage over a greater part of the whole year. In addition, it is possible to determine some of the bird and bat species passing through the project site by accoustical sensors to determine which species, that make vocal calls, are migrating through the site.

Review by Hugh Kemper of REPP's 'The Effect of Wind Development on Local Property Values'

2004-06-01T04:00:00Z

It is noteworthy that this study does not answer the basic question of how wind turbines affect property values. George Sterzinger, executive director of REPP, admitted as much in response to critics who stressed that the study contains no proof that wind farms were the reason for the changes in property values: â�� We have no ideaâ��â�¦noting REPP did not have enough time or money to answer that question. (Cape Cod Times 6/20/03).