Opinions
Turbine bill steamrolls towns
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.
June 21, 2009
by Eleanor Tillinghast
in The Berkshire Eagle
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... [continue via Web link]
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