The Vermont Legislature has now passed S.209 with amendments objected to by Northeast Kingdom Senators Coppenrath, Kitchel, and Starr and by several other senators with industrial wind energy proposals in their districts. As Sen. Coppenrath noted in consideration of an amendment to S. 209, recorded in the Feb. 26, 2008 Journal of the Senate, "I vote No because, although there are many very good provisions in this bill, I believe that Section 25 clearly allows the destruction of our mountain tops and ridgelines while providing subsidies for wind developers at the expense of the Vermont resident property tax payers."

Dear Governor Douglas:

Thank you for your continued opposition to the industrialization of Vermont's Ridgelines through the installation of wind turbines. We believe that such developments will destroy the natural beauty of the Northeast Kingdom, and will harm our second/retirement home and tourism-based economy. In exchange these monstrosities, up to 430 feet tall, will produce an insignificant amount of unreliably available, high cost electric energy. Clearly, the tradeoff is not worth it.

The Vermont Legislature has now passed S.209 with amendments objected to by Northeast Kingdom Senators Coppenrath, Kitchel, and Starr and by several other senators with industrial wind energy proposals in their districts. As Sen. Coppenrath noted in consideration of an amendment to S. 209, recorded in the Feb. 26, 2008 Journal of the Senate, "I vote No because, although there are many very good provisions in this bill, I believe that Section 25 clearly allows the destruction of our mountain tops and ridgelines while providing subsidies for wind developers at the expense of the Vermont resident property tax payers."

We agree with Sen. Coppenrath and feel strongly that this section is a "poison pill" in a bill which has many good provisions. By providing unneeded and unfairly favorable tax treatment for industrial wind developments, it signals to the wind developers that Vermont is open for the wind energy business. In addition to the Sheffield wind project, the Northeast Kingdom has five other proposals that are in various stages of being planned-Lowell, East Mountain, East Haven Mountain, Brighton, and Ferdinand. In accumulation these projects and other similar projects in Vermont will forever change the natural character and the "Vermont Brand" of the state and will
do so at the expense of our already oversubscribed Education Fund.

As you did last year with H.520, we ask you to veto S.209 and send the Legislature back to the drawing board to remove Section 25 from an otherwise good bill.

Sincerely,