While paper mills close and Cabletron spins off its remnants out of state, power plants from the Seacoast to Whitefield enjoy the perks of a poorly understood, $100-million subsidy program just for energy producers. It has a bureaucratic name: the forward capacity market. ...An unidentified 600-megawatt, gas-fired power plant project somewhere in Rockingham County is blocked behind half a dozen North Country renewable energy projects in the ISO-New England regulatory queue. The waiting list policy is first-come, first-served. A plant like that would typically pay its host community $4 million or more in property taxes, with few smokestack emissions. But those wind- and wood-fired projects at the front of the line are all in limbo. The Public Service power lines in the region are too small. Most of the players can't even bid into the upcoming ISO auction, because yet-to-be-built plants have to ante millions of dollars as a sort of performance bond. And the ISO doesn't make forward capacity payments for transmission line upgrades.

The state is part way through its half-million-dollar effort to gauge Vermonters' opinion on how electricity should be generated. Three of five polling workshops have been held -- and a more elaborate process, called "deliberative polling," which aims to tap the knowledge of a broad cross-section of the state's population, will be held this weekend. ...Vermont's energy mix has given the state the lowest "carbon footprint" in the nation, according to O'Brien. ...Generally speaking, energy efficiency and hydro-electricity are heavily supported, Raab said. Wind is also "pretty well" supported; people who live in Burlington and Montpelier, however, are typically more likely to tolerate a wind farm that can be seen from their home than people who live in the Northeast Kingdom, he said. ... Since anyone can register online to attend the workshops, the participants are self-selected and often come to advocate for or against a particular type of power

The commission charged with finding how the state should reduce its contribution to global climate change - and profit from concerns worldwide about the issue - released its final report Friday calling for more energy efficiency, renewable energy development and the creation of an alliance between the state, nonprofit groups and Vermont's colleges and universities. ...Crombie said all recommendations and possibilities will be considered. But that does not necessarily mean Douglas will change his mind about large wind turbines on the state's ridgelines or bend to the Legislature's proposal of last year. "The governor's position is that we have to be careful about how we approach wind," Crombie said, adding that such wind projects may have other effects on the state - including impacts on the economy and recreation. "We may find that in Vermont we are using a lot of renewable energy already," Crombie said. "Already Vermont is one of the greenest economies in the United States."

As part of their energy plan the town of Manchester is considering investing some of its money in "green" or environmentally-friendly funds. ...There are two definitions for green funds, O'Keefe said. One is a company that produces green products - such as wind turbines - but does not produce them in a green way. The other are companies that produce products that are not green, but produces them in a way consistent with environmental values - automobiles being an example. ...The possibility of investing in such funds is still in its infancy as O'Keefe said ..."It's not a done deal," said O'Keefe. "We have to be careful with public money and make sure that we're not playing social politics with it."

Concerned citizens of the Deerfield Valley, and as far away as the Berkshires, have come together to form "Save Vermont Ridgelines." The current proposal before the public service board, to allow or deny construction of an industrial wind power plant on 80 acres of highly visible United States Forest Service- controlled ridgelines, has brought us together to consider the scope and consequences of these 17 410-feet tall machines, with flashing lights stretched across one of the area's most prominent ridgelines. ...The goal of our group is to inform the public of the full intent and consequences of this proposed wind experiment.

When this year's renewable energy conference got under way in Burlington on Wednesday there were, by some estimates, as many as 500 people at the event. Gov. James Douglas was not among them. "I was disappointed to not be invited," Douglas said Thursday. Douglas has been at the gathering of advocates, manufacturers and politicians involved in renewable power in the past - it is the sixth year of the conference. But this year other political leaders were invited and Douglas' name didn't come up, said Andrew Perchlik, executive director of Renewable Energy Vermont. It was not an intentional decision made because of Douglas' outspoken opposition to wind, he said.

Residents upset about recent state approval for a wind power project in a neighboring town have launched a petition drive to change the town plan to prohibit commercial wind power development. “This petition basically reinforces that we don’t want to look at the ones at the end of Crystal Lake, and we don’t want the construction coming through,” said Liz Butterfield, owner of the Barton Village Corner Store. “And in the future, we don’t want wind development in the town of Barton.” ...“I think a 420-food wind tower at the end of a state park is a travesty,” Butterfield said.

So many people packed the town's municipal office Wednesday night to learn about a possible wind turbine project at Grandpa's Knob that officials were forced to move the meeting to the Lothrop Elementary School. Brad King, of Noble Environmental Power, a wind energy developer based in Essex, Conn., met with the Select Board and residents to speak about wind turbines.

The petition basically duplicates the concerns the USFWS raised two months ago. It says that studies at existing wind facilities "have shown high mortality rates for birds and, especially so, for bats. Not mentioned in the hearings nor in any developer studies is the fact that ducks, geese, and other water fowl migrate over these ridge lines and stop over in the wetlands in the Sheffield project area. Threatened species of interior forest birds come north to live here for the warmer months. We are very concerned that their habitat and nesting will be severely interrupted. "Given the political pressure in Vermont and New England to construct renewable electric generation developments, particularly industrial-scale wind plants, we are concerned that otherwise thoughtful biologists and wildlife experts are being compelled to ignore their best judgment," it says. "We encourage you and your colleagues in EPA and the Corps of Engineers to exercise your authorities to the fullest and hope that our state and federal officials will encourage you as well.

Tensions were high Wednesday night as an audience of 50 residents and interested parties met in Memorial Hall to ask questions regarding the Searsburg and Readsboro wind project. Neil Habig, a representative from PPM Energy, which is heading the project, was booed when he did not fully respond to various questions or provided answers that did not satisfy the crowd.

While the panel provided insights on alternatives to the wind project, the question and answer session was more engaging. Many in the audience had concerns and doubts regarding the Deerfield Wind Project. Susan Haughwout, of Wilmington, said she had heard rumors that they were no longer building small wind turbines and the ones currently on site in Searsburg may be replaced by taller ones. Neil Habig, project manager for the Deerfield Wind Project, could not confirm or deny the rumors but said for the time being it did not fit into the current plans. Lynne Matthews, also of Wilmington, asked if Habig could provide the the wind speed of the turbines and describe what category they would fall into. Habig responded that the wind speeds of the turbines were proprietary and that he was not familiar with the category chart itself. Many in the audience laughed at Habig's response as one person shouted back, "You don't want us to know the truth." But for Matthews, ignorance was no excuse. "You should know that," she said to a round of applause.

Grandpa's Knob, a craggy mountain top between Castleton and West Rutland, made history 66 years ago this month. That's when a 110-foot wind tower began producing electricity. ...Today, a Connecticut-based company hopes to install much larger, 410-foot tall turbines on the site.

The company looking to expand the wind power facility in Searsburg has specified its intentions of building 17 wind turbines on the hills of Searsburg and Readsboro.

Small-scale energy production and efficiency measures could create more than 6,000 jobs in Vermont, according to a study released Tuesday by the Vermont Council on Rural Development.

"The USFWS has indicated that inadequate preconstruction data has been collected to evaluate risk to birds and bats," according to the Army's letter to UPC requesting more information. "Briefly discuss the data that has been collected and what additional data may be necessary to resolve the concerns of USFWS."

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a letter saying it would not authorize a permit for the Sheffield Wind Farm without further review of environmental impact. Concerns over waterways, wetlands, wildlife and habitat fragmentation are key issues with the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, according to Michael S. Adams, a senior project manager with the Department of the Army New England District Corps of Engineers. ... "The Corps of Engineers permission is required under the Clean Water Act for the construction of the project," Adams said. "At this time it is likely that an individual permit process is going to be required."

When the state Public Service Board granted permission this month for 16 big wind turbines atop a ridge in Sheffield, the three regulators did more than approve Vermont's first commercial wind development in 10 years. They also dispelled some developers' fear that no mountaintop project involving 400-foot-tall structures could ever win a permit. Most important, experts said last week, the board's 119-page decision in the case of UPC Vermont Wind gave wind developers a road map through the long, hilly terrain of Vermont's review process.

Still pending, and waiting in the wings at this moment, are the project's opponents, which include the citizens' group known as the Ridge Protectors and the Town of Sutton. The deadline to ask the board to reconsider its decision will arrive on Saturday, ten days after the order was released. But opponents may be looking to take a bigger step by filing an appeal with the Vermont Supreme Court. In an interview Tuesday night, Paul Brouha of Sutton said there was little interest among opponents to give the board a chance to refine its decision. Rather, he said, opponents are looking to bring issues before the state Supreme Court that have "a chance to change the outcome." The group has 30 days to file an appeal. One of those issue that may come up for appeal, noted Mr. Brouha, is the board's finding that the project would not interfere with the region's orderly growth. To give their appeal greater weight before the high court, opponents are hoping to enlist the aid of surrounding towns like Westmore and Barton.

MONTPELIER - State regulators on Wednesday approved the 16-turbine UPC Wind project to be built in the Northeast Kingdom town of Sheffield, although they also required a series of accommodations by the company before it can put up the project. If built the project would be the first commercial wind power station in Vermont since the Searsburg facility was completed a decade ago.

Ridge Protectors is extremely disappointed in today's decision by the Vermont Public Service Board to issue a certificate of public good (CPG) for UPC Vermont Wind's Sheffield project. Given the political pressure on the PSB to demonstrate that a wind project can be approved in Vermont, however, their decision did not come as a surprise.