The state's highest court will hear arguments involving a proposed wind farm in the town of Antrim.  It's the latest development in a years-long battle for the Antrim Wind project, which has been under development since 2009.

Legal New Hampshire

ANTRIM NH - Antrim select board members renegotiated an agreement made between the town and a wind energy company during a public hearing on Monday evening.

Taxes & Subsidies New Hampshire

What does Apex Clean Energy really care about your health?  

General New Hampshire

The board estimates it has spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000 in legal fees since the wind energy project was proposed in 2009.  ...“With these changes and stuff, all of this is going to be even more legal costs, so the bills are going to continue to rise,” Genest said. “And throughout this whole process and the next 20 years I’m sure there are going to be a few more legal costs.”

General New Hampshire

Opponents of a small proposed wind farm in Antrim are asking the state's highest court to rule on the project.

Legal New Hampshire

In this capacity, the Attorney General’s Office represents the public in N.H. Site Evaluation Committee proceedings by making sure the environment is protected and that there is adequate energy supply, according to state law. The main argument in the three motions, each filed during the past month and a half, is that the N.H. Site Evaluation Committee broke its own rules to approve the project.

Legal New Hampshire

A controversial wind turbine project is again on hold after opponents filed motions asking a state committee to rehear and reconsider its approval of the facility last year. The main argument in the three motions, each filed during the past month and a half, is that the N.H. Site Evaluation Committee broke its own rules to approve the nine-turbine installation.

Legal New Hampshire

“There were a number of glaring instances during the Antrim proceedings where the committee appeared to set aside its own rules in favor of granting the permit to Antrim Wind,” Lerner said in a news release. “It was especially disappointing to observe several committee members held only a cursory understanding of what the rules required.”

Legal New Hampshire

There was no time-frame yet for EDP to return to the communities, said Nemeth, who downplayed the significance of what opponents said was Spruce Ridge’s demise when it was taken out of the ISO-NE queue. ...“There is not a community here that wants their 500-foot turbines,” said Goodman, who wondered why EDP Renewables would “voluntarily start over again on a wind plant that has been resoundingly rejected by voters. 

General New Hampshire

The withdrawal of the project, known as Spruce Ridge Wind, marks a victory for environmental groups and wind-power opponents who felt the project threatened the aesthetic value and wildlife on the mountain, a popular hiking spot.

General New Hampshire

Antrim residents struck down an article that would have authorized the select board to acquire a 100 acre conservation easement as part of the Antrim Wind Energy agreement.

General New Hampshire

At Tuesday night’s Board of Selectmen meeting, it was announced that EDP had withdrawn a financial commitment — a bond — for a meteorological tower in Alexandria, which was planned to help the company decide if it should continue with the project, company officials said.

General New Hampshire

ANTRIM NH -- Antrim select board members agreed to ask Antrim Wind Energy for a one-time payment of $100,000 to recover any legal and administrative costs it has spent since the inception of a nine turbine wind project slated to be built on Tuttle Hill and Willard Mountain during a meeting on Monday night.

General New Hampshire

The town of Antrim has spent more than $100,000 in administrative and legal fees for the nine-turbine wind project slated to be built on Tuttle Hill and span to the north flank of Willard Mountain.

General New Hampshire

The Antrim Conservation Commission said it does not want to be included in a copy of a proposed warrant article regarding the acquisition of the Charles S. Bean property easement as part of the Antrim Wind Energy project agreement.

General New Hampshire

“I think that would take some coordination among the New England governors to begin with. And I think it would take a real tough look at what got us here," Monahan says. "Did we overbuild the system? And then unwinding those investments is going to be particular challenging. You can’t just up and disrupt that process in the middle.”

Energy Policy New Hampshire

In 2015, neighbors living within 3,800 feet of an industrial wind project on Vermont's Georgia Mountain filed a motion for relief. They reported sleep disturbance and other health impacts caused by the operations of the 440-foot-tall turbines. Vermont's Department of Public Service found the neighbors' complaints to be credible and serious, and concluded that turbine operations could be "indicative of a significant impairment of the quality of life for some nearby residents." 

General Connecticut New Hampshire

With the SEC approval, an ugly statewide precedent has now been set that undermines the integrity and work of local volunteers who develop these important land-use plans. The undeveloped forests in this area are now more vulnerable to future development. ...Green project or not, the AWE farm is located on the wrong site. Because the Site Evaluation Committee dismissed this, its decision must be reversed.

Impact on Wildlife New Hampshire

No matter where kilowatts come from when generated by utility-scale energy projects, there are impacts on the natural world as evidenced by this roadway for the Granite Reliable wind project, New Hampshire’s second big wind development. The state’s fourth, Antrim Wind Energy’s project in Antrim, was approved Monday.

Impact on Birds Impact on Landscape New Hampshire

“New Hampshire Wind Watch, who was very active in the SEC rulemaking process, had a keen interest in how the committee applied its new rules in the Antrim Wind case,” Lerner said. “Unfortunately, what we observed raises serious concerns that several rules were arbitrarily ignored or even violated to the benefit [of] the applicant. We will be reviewing the written decision closely before we announce our next steps.”

General New Hampshire