Select Board members decided to wait for more information Tuesday before forming a position on a wind turbine proposed for Little Equinox.

The project, which is going before the state's Public Service Board, would involve construction of a temporary 80-foot residential wind turbine on the mountain for testing purposes. It is being proposed by Earth Turbines with Endless Energy Corp. and NRG Systems as joint applicants.

Chairman Ivan Beattie said he would have been inclined to support the project, as recommended by the Planning Commission, had it not been for a decision made at town meeting in 2006 that gave the town $150,000 to oppose a much larger wind project on the mountain. The former project, proposed by Endless Energy, would have put five 390-foot turbines on the mountain and generated 30 million killowatt-hours a year.

Beattie called the two projects "different animals," but he wanted to err on the side of caution. "The integrity of a town meeting vote," he said, "is one of the most important elements of local government."

The 2006 project never went before the Public Service Board but is still in the works, according to Harley Lee, president of Endless Energy, a wind farm development company based in Yarmouth, Maine.

Although the Select Board discussed the issue, the Public Service Board has the ultimate say through the state's Act 248j permit process. The process is designed for projects, such as power plants or hospitals, that are essential but would often be turned down by local communities.

In the process, the Select Board and Planning Commission have the opportunity to act as parties in the public hearing, but no more so than an adjacent property owner.

Board members agreed with Beattie that the project seemed far different than the one opposed by voters in 2006. However, they also agreed that it would be better to hold off forming an official opinion until more information is received. They passed a motion, 5-0, that instructed Town Manager John O'Keefe to contact the companies involved, which tabled the decision to the next meeting.

Earth Turbines is a start-up in Williston that develops residential wind turbines. David Blittersdorf, CEO and president of the company, said the proposed turbine, which would be 8 inches in diameter, have 7-foot blades and generate 2.5 killowatts, would be used to test the product in extreme conditions. The relatively small turbines are meant for residential uses, such as rural homes.

"You should hardly notice this on the mountain," he said recently. "It's not a wind farm type machine."

The company has built 12 test turbines in northern Vermont and has plans for 15 more.

Little Equinox has had turbines on it before. In the early 1980s, four wind turbines were erected on its peak. In 1989, they were removed and two new ones were built by Green Mountain Power that acted as tests for the larger project in Searsburg. They were removed when the Searsburg project went up in 1997.

The current proposal uses the existing foundation and access roads to construct the project. The companies are looking to renew a Certificate of Public Good, which would also allow them to continue to use the 100-foot wind measurement tower already on the mountain.

Blittersdorf said the permit process usually takes 30 to 45 days, and he is hoping the project would be completed before winter.

The project's land is owned by the Carthusian monks. The electricity from the turbine, which is expected to be up for two years, will power instruments on site and go back to the grid.