"...Merits of the zoning case aside, there are some important facts about Wind Energy that simply cannot be ignored. Wind has long been promoted as a viable, clean alternative to fossil fuels and people have been conditioned to unconditionally embrace it. In fact, the moral justification for wind as the answer to greenhouse emissions has pitted conservationist against conservationist. And this fight has shamelessly been fueled by the misinformation on wind that the wind developers and their advocates promote."

Letter to the Editor

New England Energy Alliance Survey Finds Consumer Concern about Future Electricity Supplies, Desire to Choose Electricity Supplier and Support for Addressing Global Warming

If New England's nuclear energy plants had to be replaced by other non-emitting sources of electricity to meet the RGGI goals, the region would be looking at large-scale wind projects, with weather-dependent output, spread over some 650,000 acres of land or water at a cost of more than $10 billion.

The nuclear industry will pay for a new campaign involving Moore and Whitman. No doubt anti-nukes will accuse them of “selling out.” But that is hard to do here. Both individuals have a strong record of environmentalism.

As you can see most green schemes collapse pretty quickly when you apply numbers to them. The problem, of course, is that the media is so politically biased, professionally incurious, and scientifically illiterate that they accept this sort of spurious pabulum without ever engaging their critical faculties.

Following numerous and heated public hearings, the zoning board approved a height variance for a meteorological tower on Tuttle Hill after just more than an hour of deliberation. Chairman John Kendall was the sole negative vote on the variance, which approved the construction of a 196-foot met tower on ridgetop property owned by resident Michael Ott. The decision will be effective at the end of the 30-day appeals period, but resident Richard Block has no intention of letting that happen. "It will be appealed, on a number of levels," said Block after the meeting.

Rep. Fred King, a Colebrook Republican and a member of the county planning board, which oversees land use in the unincorporated areas, said the county delegation and commissioners have endorsed the wind project. But, he said, he has made it his "mission in life" to see the transmission line upgraded so biomass plants, which would create more long-term jobs and sustain the region's history of logging, can be built, too. "It's safe to say, if we did get to vote on it and we had the two to pick from (biomass and wind), my guess is we'd probably vote for the biomass plant," he said.

A citizen, Lisa Linowes, from New Hampshire testifies for the House Science and Technology Committee on NH Bill 1568 Here are excerpts from that testimony.

Editor's Note: Lisa Linowes is a Director of National Wind Watch.

One would not think it difficult to reconcile support of renewable energy with the love of the environment, yet this summer we found ourselves in exactly this situation. After years of living with conservation as a mantra, we could never imagine being opposed to a "green" energy project, but ironically that's what has happened. ...After months of research, we've learned that wind power is just not the "green" energy source we've all been told it is. If applied on a small residential scale, it can be very effective; however on an industrial level, there are enormous problems.

Energy efficiency is by no means a permanent solution, but it should be a permanent part of the solution. Sensible energy use, combined with new power resources, is the only workable answer for New England.

A proposal to place a meteorological tower on Antrim's Tuttle Hill to study whether the spot is ideal for wind turbines to generate electricity has ruffled some feathers. The debate in Antrim is just one example of the controversy blowing across the country over the placement of wind farms as the focus on renewable energy sources grows. Last month, the Antrim zoning board gave Antrim Wind Energy LLC permission to place a temporary 196-foot tower on privately owned property off Route 9.

In the first of a two day series, NHPR Correspondent Hilary McQuilkin is going to take us to the state's first commercial windfarm....in Berlin.

But in the second of our two-part series looking at wind power in the Granite State, we shift to the southwestern part of the state, to Lempster. There a large 24 megawatt wind farm has been proposed for Lempster Mountain. But, unlike in Berlin, this proposal has sparked a great deal of controversy.

Abutters and area residents of the Tuttle Hill area in Antrim rallied against the proposal of a temporary meteorological (met) tower at the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) meeting on Tuesday. The tower would collect wind and weather information to assess whether wind turbines would be practical in the area. Chairman John Kendall, faced with a growing amount of information for board members to consider for a height variance, continued the meeting to Sept. 15.

CONCORD (AP) - Gov. John Lynch has signed the proposal that promotes expanding renewable energy in New Hampshire, a move that's expected to reduce pollution and expand the alternative energy industry. The legislation requires electric utilities to buy a growing percentage of their energy from sources such as wood-fired plants, wind farms and hydro power. The goal is to have 25 percent of the state's electricity coming from renewable sources by 2025. As he signed the bill on Friday, Lynch said the plan will help lessen the need for foreign oil and expensive natural gas, build a stronger state economy and protect the environment.

A decision by the Zoning Board of Adjustment to deny an appeal for a permit to erect three wind turbine generators at 22 Hickory Drive has landed the board in court. ... At issue is whether the town's zoning ordinances prohibit the windmills.

The Antrim Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) unanimously voted on Tuesday to close the public hearing on the height variance for a meteorological (met) tower on Tuttle Hill, and begin deliberations at their next meeting on the issue, which will be Oct. 13. ...Including three company officials from Eolian Renewable Energy, the parent company of Antrim Wind Power LLC, those attending the meeting numbered thirty. The majority of opinions heard by the board were against giving the height variance for the met tower.

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 Coös 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.