www.windaction.org

Wind farm gets thumbs-up on final 3 criteria

2009-05-28T13:32:38Z

A proposed $275 million wind park in Coos Country has meet the statutory criteria to go forward. The Site Evaluation Committee yesterday agreed the project proposed by Granite Reliable Power LLC did not adversely affect the natural environment, water and air quality or public health and safety, but will decide what conditions will be placed on the project at a later date. ...The evaluation committee also voted yesterday to give itself another month to make a final determination on the project. The deadline is now June 30.

Wind farm deliberations to wrap up on April 29

2009-04-24T22:13:05Z

Dr. Kent also said he believed it would be important for the state Fish and Game Department and scientists from the Appalachian Mountain Club to verify - ground-truth - the condition of the 1,700 acres that would be set aside as a mitigation package to compensate for habitat loss on Mt. Kelsey and Dixville Peak. "We need to know the details, what's really on the ground, to understand if it's "tit-for-tat" - that is, the same spruce-fir habitat that will be lost on those ridgelines," Dr. Kent said. "No evidence has been presented."

Wildlife concerns voiced at wind park hearing

2009-04-21T12:54:56Z

Concerns about the safety of birds and bats were voiced at a state hearing yesterday on a proposal to construct a wind-energy park in Coos County. ...A subcontractor for the developer conducted a study of the birds and bats in the project area, but Don Kent, a member of the site committee and the Natural Heritage Board, said it was inadequate.

State to hear plans for new wind farm in Coos County

2009-03-05T02:58:47Z

On Monday New Hampshire's Site Evaluation Committee is going to begin evaluating a proposed renewable energy project for Coos county. Granite Reliable Power wants to put up 33 wind turbines on nine miles of ridgeline across Millsfield, Dixville and Dummer. The project would go a long way to increasing the state's renewable energy portfolio. But as NHPR Correspondent Chris Jensen reports, it has a great deal of opposition.

Army Corps of Engineers seeks input on wind energy project

2009-02-11T22:21:18Z

Granite Reliable Power, LLC, a subsidiary of Noble Environmental Power, is seeking a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for work in waters of the United States in conjunction with the development of a 100-megawatt wind energy facility in CoÃ¶s County. The applicant proposes to place fill material in approximately 14 acres of waters and wetlands in conjunction with the development of the proposed facility, which has numerous project elements. ...Public comments regarding this permit request (File # NAE-2008-410) should be submitted no later than February 27 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Northern wind farm raises habitat worry

2009-02-09T11:34:47Z

Biologists for Fish and Game said the project of Granite Reliable Power LLC to build 33 turbines in the Dixville Peak and Mount Kelsey area would permanently bisect habitat of at least four wildlife species and will have "severe and unmitigated adverse effects on the natural community," which is host to about 60 others. AMC has filed as an intervenor on the project, expressing concern about the siting of half of the 33 turbines for the same reasons.

Turbines, protected species intersect; Plans for wind farm face a legal dilemma

2009-02-05T13:34:45Z

Granite Reliable Power's plan to erect 33 wind turbines on peaks in Coos County might be good for Gov. John Lynch and his goal of making 25 percent of the state's energy renewable by 2025. It would not be so good, according to Fish and Game officials, for the American marten or the three-toed woodpecker, threatened species that depend on the high-altitude forests that the project would disrupt.

US Fish and Wildlife Service comments on Noble Environmental's proposed wind facility in Coos County

2009-03-12T19:10:59Z

This letter to the US Army Corps of Engineers details the deficiencies in Noble Environmental Power's application to build a 99-megawatt wind energy facility in Coos County, New Hampshire. The US Fish and Wildlife Service makes a powerful case for why a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) should be undertaken in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

US EPA comments on Noble Environmental's proposed wind energy facility in Coos County

2009-03-11T20:22:26Z

This letter to the US Army Corps of Engineers details the deficiencies in Noble Environmental Power's application to build a 99-megawatt wind energy facility in Coos County, New Hampshire. The US Environmental Protection Agency makes a powerful case for why a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) should be undertaken in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Nature Conservancy of NH comments regarding Coos County wind proposal

2009-03-10T20:05:17Z

The Nature Conservancy of New Hampshire submitted the below comments to the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee in response to a proposal pending before the committee. The proposal, known as the Granite Reliable Power (GRP, LLC) Wind Park, seeks to erect thirty-three 3.0MW turbines along the Kelsey, Owlshead, and Dixville peaks located in Coos County, NH. GRP, LLC is owned by Noble Environmental Power.

Audubon Society of NH comments regarding Coos County wind proposal

2009-02-27T11:44:55Z

The Audubon Society of New Hampshire submitted comments to the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee in response to a proposal pending before the committee. The proposal, known as the Granite Reliable Power (GRP, LLC) Wind Park, seeks to erect thirty-three 3.0MW turbines along the Kelsey, Owlshead, and Dixville peaks located in Coos County, NH. GRP, LLC is owned by Noble Environmental Power.

NH Fish and Game comments on proposed wind facility

2008-12-11T23:07:13Z

Noble Environmental, operating under the name Granite Reliable Power, LLC is proposing to erect a 99 MW wind energy facility in northern New Hampshire. The New Hampshire Fish and Game has submitted prefiled testimony to the State's Site Evaluation Committee expressing its concerns with the impacts to wildlife.

FWS letter responds to Lempster Wind (NH) preconstruction studies

2008-01-31T16:25:47Z

Bird and Bat Studies Conducted at Proposed or Existing Windpower Facilities

2007-03-01T00:00:00Z

This document includes studies in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.

Lempster Mountain Wind Power Project: Direct Pre-filed Testimony of Lisa Linowes

2007-02-07T22:22:48Z

Why did you petition to become an intervenor in this matter before the NH SEC?

With New Hampshireâ��s recent reinstatement of PILOT agreements and legislative efforts to a Renewable Portfolio Standard, the regulatory groundwork is being laid for more wind facilities to enter the state. Yet, New Hampshire, like many states, has no consistent regulatory process in place for reviewing these projects to ensure our environmental, societal, and economic interests are protected. The work the NH SEC has agreed to undertake in reviewing this application is precedent setting. How the committee approaches its review and the weight it places on arguments presented by all sides will impact other developments in the State as pertains to renewable energy projects.

There are a multitude of conflicting issues at play when considering any wind project. My commitment to this process is to help provide, to the best of my ability, valuable and timely information that will assist the Committee in making an informed decision on this application.

Avian Risk Assessment - Various

2006-08-07T13:50:27Z

Below are two Phase I Avian Risk Assessments reports, prepared by Paul Kerlinger, for Vermont's East Haven Wind Farm (July 2003) and New Hampshire's Lempster Mountain Wind Power Project (June 2005). Phase I assessments have proven inadequate in assessing mortality at several sites in the U.S. including Mountaineer in West Virginia and Meyersdale in Pennsylvania. The US Fish and Wildlife Interim Wind/Wildlife Guidelines calls for multi-year evaluation of avian and bat activity using remote sensing.

Lempster Wind Project: USFWS Letter to Community Energy

2006-07-28T15:01:40Z

Starting with our first interagency meeting on April 8, 2005, we have generally discussed three broad categories of activities that pose a potential concern for fish and wildlife resources. These include the potential for bird and bat collisions with turbines, habitat fragmentation effects on wildlife and impacts to waters/wetlands. At the April 8, 2005 interagency meeting, we recommended that CEI collect three (3) years of radar data on spring and fall bird/bat migrations to document the spatial and temporal use of the airspace by these flying vertebrates. Three years of radar data should be sufficient to gather information on the spatial and temporal distribution of birds in the airspace, including the year-to-year variability in migration patterns at this site, and represent our normal request for these data at wind projects. We have consistently requested that this data be collected at our meetings and field visits and continue to make this request for radar information.

John Harrigan: Wind towers, tree-huggers, and trout in the pan

2009-03-01T13:35:56Z

Last week came news that Fish and Game and the Appalachian Mountain Club had agreed not to contest the mitigation package proposed to make up for the wetlands and 58 acres of high country that will be affected by the roads and towers. This was a sorry day for New Hampshire's conservation community and is probably another good reason for circumventing the state's permitting procedure and instead moving to the federal level, the Army Corps of Engineers.

John Harrigan: Smoke and mirrors on wind power

2009-02-22T13:10:27Z

If all goes to an outside developer's plan, hikers on the Cohos Trail, and just about anyone else visiting the vast Phillips Brook and Nash Stream tracts, will soon be looking at a string of horizon-dominating 400-foot wind towers, supported by a massive construction and support infrastructure (i.e., roads and concrete bases), along the ridgelines of one of New Hampshire's last great wild places. ...this proposal is an abomination, the selling of a priceless resource for little or no direct return, a hop-on-the-bandwagon case of bad supposedly "green" decision-making if ever there was one.

Wind towers vs. birds and bats – information is controversial

2006-01-04T15:16:35Z

My viewpoint was, and still is, that the huge towers (260 feet high), gigantic blades (add another 150 feet), blinking strobe lights, permanent removal of wind-hindering vegetation, and highly visible road and transmission infrastructures are totally inappropriate for wild, undeveloped, scenic and highly visible settings. And I said I thought that opponents should focus on those issues, as well as the small return in electricity for the massive public price paid, aesthetically and otherwise, and should perhaps stay away from the issue of bird mortality caused by the rapidly spinning blades. The jury is still out on that, I said, and conventional wisdom is that vastly more birds are killed by high-rise windows and free-running cats......Well, so much for conventional wisdom.

Editor's Note This opinion piece was written in response to a letter received from Lisa Linowes that is available via the link below.