Earlier this month in letters to the editor of various local newspapers, Avram Patt of Washington Electric Co-op cheered on his partner, UPC Vermont Wind, in ruining the NEK. He claimed that affiliation with UPC in Sheffield/Sutton would make the co-op independent of foreign energy markets. In the first place, the amount of foreign anything that goes into our electric energy supply is practically nil. Moreover, the turbines themselves – the largest expense of the proposed project – are outsourced to Spain. Independence?

One might ask to whom Patt is writing. Patt credits Sheffield residents with looking harder than any other community at where electricity is generated. However, it was the Sheffield people who voted "no" who have done their homework. The yes votes came from people who would sell out their town and the NEK in hopes that UPC's corporate welfare would trickle down to them and pay their taxes.

The co-op has determined that new renewable energy should be built close to home – but not in Mr. Patts' viewshed! Maybe that's what he meant when he said "...someone's backyard, almost never our own."

Mr. Patt is correct about people in Sheffield having courage. But it was the Ridge Protectors who showed courage, the people who voted "no."