Mount Washington -- Hundreds of industrial wind turbines could be built in the Berkshires under a bill being fast-tracked through the state legislature.

The Wind Energy Siting Reform Act establishes an unprecedented process for opening public and private land in the Berkshires to industrial wind development. It allows the state's Energy Facilities Siting Board -- which has never rejected a power plant application -- to override decisions by local zoning boards about the permitting of wind facilities. It replaces existing state environmental laws with standards to be set by the EFSB for the permitting of those facilities.

In January, the governor declared a goal of 2,000 megawatts (MW) of wind power by 2020. Right now, the state has about 7 MW of wind turbines. In April, the state released a study showing that more than half that goal could be met with industrial wind turbines in the Berkshires. Examining locations with enough wind and acreage for five or more 1.5 MW wind turbines, it identified public and private properties that could collectively support 559 and 191 turbines, respectively.

The study did not review the many places where fewer than five turbines could be built. Under the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act, every Berkshire town is required to review the permit application for a wind facility of 2 MW or more. Once it issues a permit or denial, the developer may go to the EFSB to override the town's denial or its approval with conditions, and to seek a single state permit.

If a wind developer proceeds under the Act, the EFSB is the only state agency that can issue a permit. It establishes standards that override all local and state environmental laws, on private or public land. This means that state agencies can no longer apply state environmental laws to permit projects or enforce those permits. Towns, groups, and neighbors can no longer appeal violations of local and state environmental laws. You as a homeowner must comply with all local and state laws; under this Act, wind developers are exempt.

Under the Act, the EFSB has wide latitude to apply or waive its standards. Once it issues an approval, no other state or local law shall prevail, and no state agency or local government can require or enforce anything else.

Towns hoping for financial windfall are sure to be disappointed. The Act requires the state to set a schedule of fees. If a town requests more benefits, the EFSB can dismiss those if the developer asserts they would delay or prevent the project.

Towns shouldn't count on lots of new jobs. While clearing forests and ridgelines for roads and turbine sites provides temporary jobs, typically one permanent maintenance job is created for 20 wind turbines.

The potential impacts of this act on the Berkshires are alarming. Industrial wind turbines now being proposed in Massachusetts are as tall as 500 feet. In Germany, 673-foot turbines are in operation. That's 80 feet shy of the height of the Prudential Tower in Boston. If this act is adopted, the Berkshires could see more skyscrapers on our mountains than in downtown Boston.

The best wind resources are on ridgelines. Access roads must be extensive. The 20 turbines of the proposed Hoosac project require four miles of new roads through forests to the mountaintops, over 12 streams, with clearcuts in some places wider than 100 feet. Public roads are also affected: stone walls, shade trees, and curves blocking transportation of the massive turbine components are exempted from local zoning control.

Under this act, wind facilities can impact scenic trails and vistas, habitats of endangered species, bird and bat populations vulnerable to wind-turbine operation, and wetland resources ordinarily protected by state law. Our regional economy depends upon tourism and second-home owners. Residents, too, appreciate our extraordinary natural environment. The effects of industrial wind turbines constructed without control by our town boards could be devastating.

The Green Communities Act, adopted last year, requires that our electricity needs must first be met by all energy efficiency and conservation measures that are cheaper than buying or building new electricity supply. From 2007 to 2008, Massachusetts dropped from 4th to 7th place in state rankings on energy efficiency. Clearly, there's more we can do.

What will we achieve with the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act? Using the most recent federal and state figures, 750 wind turbines will reduce the state's carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity sector by an estimated 5 percent; for all emissions, the number is a minuscule 1.5 percent.

The governor has made this legislation a top priority. It will be enacted unless our business leaders, cultural directors, and town boards join to oppose it. Please contact your elected officials, speak out at the governor's "public listening session" on Wednesday, June 24, at Berkshire Community College, and visit our Web site www.greenberkshires.org

Eleanor Tillinghast is the executive director of Green Berkshires.