Memo from the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities Chairman, Paul Hibbard, to the ISO New England. Chairman Hibbard expresses his concerns over the push to regionalize costs for building expensive transmission lines to service renewable projects (wind) built far from load centers. Current FERC rules are unclear on how to justify distribution of the costs across all ratepayers within the region unless it can be shown such transmission is needed to ensure the reliability and integrity of the grid.

The Minerals Management Service released the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) on the Cape Wind offshore wind energy facility proposed for Nantucket Sound. The DEIS can be accessed by downloading the file from the below link.

In July 2007, the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee (SEC) permitted, with conditions, the Lempster Wind LLC project owned by Iberdrola. The project will consist of twelve 2 MW Gamesa turbines along five miles of access roads. Iberdrola is now shopping around its neighbor agreement to non-participating landowners asking them to waive noise protections the SEC conditioned in the permit, among other protections. Iberdrola's agreement can be downloaded from the link below.

The Cape Cod Commission (CCC) has asserted that the Cape Wind energy project qualifies as a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) under Section 12(i) and 13(b) of the Cape Cod Commission Act. The CCC staff report can be accessed from this page.

On Jun 12, MA DOER granted Hydro Quebec approval for 108MW of wind to be eligible for the MA Rec market. There is an additional 212MW of wind that is already operating and may soon follow. DOER's decision is attached. A number of folks familiar with the New England REC market believe this decision, to be followed by others, will seriously depress REC values.

These public comments were filed with the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee in reference to the Lempster Wind proposal (NH SEC Docket 2006-01 - Lempster, NH). Ms. Martin's comments were prepared following interviews she had with residents living near the Mars Hill, Maine commerical wind project. The Mars Hill wind project went on line in early 2007; problems of noise were reported as early as December 2006.

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

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.