Researchers who worked near the 400-foot high wind turbines on peaks above the proposed Balsams ski area say there is reason to be worried about people getting too close: They saw chunks of ice being thrown and found ice craters and broken saplings 930 feet from a turbine.

Safety Icing New Hampshire

For the first time under its new rules, a state committee could decide as early as next month whether to approve a controversial wind farm planned in Antrim.

General New Hampshire

It certainly wasn’t the biggest story to come out of last Tuesday’s election, but it was an important one nonetheless.

General New Hampshire Vermont

As the state’s Site Evaluation Committee decides whether to permit a proposed new wind farm in Antrim, New Hampshire Wind Watch is citing Groton Wind’s estimate four years ago that its facility would have a capacity factor of 33 to 36 percent. The capacity factor measurement is the average power generated divided by the rated peak power.

General New Hampshire

The projects have a nameplate capacity of 461.2 megawatts, but they will produce less power than that because the facilities typically operate at less than 35 percent of capacity. Approximately 306.4 megawatts come from solar projects and 154.8 megawatts from wind.

General Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island

Ambitious plans to build wind farms in northern and western Maine representing billions of dollars of investment were dealt a blow on Tuesday, after a coalition of utilities and state agencies in southern New England failed to select any Maine-based wind or transmission projects to meet the region’s clean-energy goals.

General Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island

County planners will discuss Wednesday evening whether to take action on a proposed wind overlay district that has been a source of contention for residents and officials for nearly eight months.

General New Hampshire

Ten property owners have asked the Select Board to negotiate a land buyout agreement with a wind farm developer should the project be approved.

General New Hampshire

Selectmen have unanimously backed the town conservation commission’s opposition to a proposed wind farm in neighboring Antrim. They said the project would harm the town without providing any benefit to residents.

General New Hampshire

Dixville Capital’s attorney is working out an safety plan to address the board’s concern about ice throw and other potential hazards around the Granite Reliable wind towers (owned by Brookfield Power) in the expanded high-elevation ski area, based on an engineer’s report, board attorney Bernie Waugh reported.

Icing Zoning/Planning New Hampshire

MILLSFIELD — Citing the “rocky relationship” with Coos County as well as the possible effects of a redeveloped Balsams Resort in nearby Dixville on their community, voters here recently decided to incorporate as a town.

General New Hampshire

Town officials say the battle likely isn’t over, but the selectmen Tuesday night formally refused to approve a permit request from a Portuguese wind-power developer for a 262-foot meteorological tower to test the winds in town for wind-farm suitability.

Zoning/Planning New Hampshire

But SEC lawyer Michael Iacopino told NHPR if Brookfield Renewable wants to allow skiers within 1,300 feet “it needs to ask the SEC to change that condition.”

Safety New Hampshire

The 20-year power purchase agreement with Antrim Wind, LLC was carried out by disenfranchising NHEC members. It also introduced an expensive source of inefficient and inconsistent energy that ratepayers will pay for in higher electric rates for many years to come. Last but not least, this agreement is environmentally destructive to sensitive ridgeline ecosystems, watersheds, and the health and well-being of the people and wildlife that live in the vicinity of the proposed Antrim Wind project.

General New Hampshire

In December, 2015, the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee (‘SEC’) adopted new rules governing the siting of energy projects in the state, including wind energy facilities. The new rules represent the culmination of 2+ years of intense focus by stakeholders with widely varying interests. In that time, the SEC conducted months of hearings and deliberative sessions, all open to public, where thousands of pages of detailed comments were debated and ultimately distilled down to standards intended to better quantify the data presented by applicants, reduce subjectivity and lead to more informed, and more consistent decisions on energy facility siting.   

Energy Policy New Hampshire

Opponents of a proposed $140 million wind-energy plant say they are pleased that Canaan and Orange residents voted earlier this month to restrict or oppose new wind power plants in their towns.

General New Hampshire

Backers of gas generation countered that renewables are benefiting from government-backed subsidies and long-term contracts that threaten to reintroduce government-mandated integrated resource planning. ...state policies are giving renewables undue advantage and undermining conventional generators’ investments in the market.

Energy Policy Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont

"Subsidizing an overdependence on one foreign government-owned source of electricity will lead to lost jobs and soaring energy bills for decades to come," said Dan Dolan, the group's president....Hydro-Quebec would use increased U.S. exports to subsidize lower prices for its provincial customers, in turn costing New England ratepayers an estimated $20 billion over 25 years.

Energy Policy Transmission Massachusetts New Hampshire Vermont

Dozens of submissions will need to be vetted in coming months as the three states look to sign long-term contracts for electricity from wind turbines, dams and solar projects. The states are seeking up to 600 megawatts of power.

Energy Policy Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont

To put this 30 percent in perspective, a single nuclear, hydro or coal plant, or Northern Pass, generates less than 30 percent of our average power. This highlights how these large wind surges would raise havoc with the ISO-NE grid. A scan of the New England wind data shows that large wind-generated electric surges would hit the ISO-NE grid once or twice each week, and last many hours.

General New Hampshire