The company building the wind plant on Wolfe Island has withdrawn an appeal it had launched to avoid being held responsible for a diesel spill that occurred last fall. Canadian Hydro Developers Inc. had appealed to the Environmental Review Tribunal, an independent provincial agency, after failing to comply with a director's order the Ministry of the Environment issued as a result of the spill. The firm launched the appeal in an effort to have its name removed from the order.

BREWER - As wind power begins to blow into Maine, state regulators on Wednesday considered its potential to squeeze increasingly expensive - and less environmentally friendly - fossil fuels out of the region's energy mix.

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

With New Hampshire’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.

Rick Webb's presentation on October 17 at the Energy Virginia conference provides a thought provoking analysis of the costs and benefits of industrial wind energy.

September 2, 2005 City of Lackawanna Planning and Development Board Room 311, City Hall 714 Ridge Road Lackawanna, NY 14218 Attn: Joseph G. Geyer Re: Steel Winds Wind Farm Route 5, Former Bethlehem Steels works Lackawanna, NY Dear Mr. Geyer; The New York Sate Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) staff have performed an initial review of the information and material provided with the City of Lackawanna’s SEQR Notice of Coordinated Review and Declaration of Intent to Act as Lead agency. These materials include the Application for Site Plan Approval and Certain Area variances to Authorize Construction and Operation of a Wind Energy Facility on a Portion of the Former Bethlehem Steel Works Site in Lackawanna, New York (the Application), and the Analysis of Environmental Impacts pursuant to SEQR (The EA). Please be advised the DEC does not object to the City of Lackawanna assuming the role of lead agency, but the DEC does reserve the right to comment on this action if a positive determination is made. As indicated in the following text of this letter, DEC staff have concerns for the potential impacts of certain aspects of this project. Our comments and concerns are listed below under the appropriate topic.

BBC Research & Consulting's 2005 report for the National Wind Coordinating Committee that studies 9 wind plant sitings in an effort to identify circumstances that distinguish welcomed projects from projects that were not accepted by communities.