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State is told: Be steady on wind

Rutland Herald|Gordon Dritschilo|May 2, 2010
VermontEnergy Policy

After the announcement last week that Vermont Community Wind Farm had put its efforts in the town of Ira on hold, the chairman of the industry group Renewable Energy Vermont, Lawrence Mott, says the state needs clearer guidelines for such projects. Mott's group has 300 members, including Vermont Community Wind Farm.


If Vermont wants to have wind farms, proponents say, the state needs to provide what the wind largely doesn't: consistency and predictability.

After the announcement last week that Vermont Community Wind Farm had put its efforts in the town of Ira on hold, the chairman of the industry group Renewable Energy Vermont, Lawrence Mott, says the state needs clearer guidelines for such projects. Mott's group has 300 members, including Vermont Community Wind Farm.

"It's a competitive environment," Mott said. "We have other states around us where the rules are clearly defined, so you know what you have to do to have a successful wind farm."

Vermont Community Wind Farm spokesman Jeffrey Wennberg had cited uncertainty over stormwater and …

... more [truncated due to possible copyright]

If Vermont wants to have wind farms, proponents say, the state needs to provide what the wind largely doesn't: consistency and predictability.

After the announcement last week that Vermont Community Wind Farm had put its efforts in the town of Ira on hold, the chairman of the industry group Renewable Energy Vermont, Lawrence Mott, says the state needs clearer guidelines for such projects. Mott's group has 300 members, including Vermont Community Wind Farm.

"It's a competitive environment," Mott said. "We have other states around us where the rules are clearly defined, so you know what you have to do to have a successful wind farm."

Vermont Community Wind Farm spokesman Jeffrey Wennberg had cited uncertainty over stormwater and habitat requirements as the main reasons that project faltered.

Mott said he could not think of another project that had gotten so far before being stymied.

"Some sit in stasis, maybe to be picked back up again," Mott said. "The Sheffield project had to be considerably modified and it's still in court, after getting its permit, because of an appeal."

The wind project in and around Ira would have been the state's largest, with up to 45 turbines.

The Sheffield project was approved for 16 420-foot towers.

Mott said the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources could help by finalizing stormwater rules it has had in draft form since 2006. Agency Secretary Jonathan Wood said those should be out "in a little while."

However, projects were already being evaluated under the draft regulations, he said. "What's going to be in them has been allowed for quite a while. It just hasn't been in a (published) form."

Wood said that while he agreed would-be wind developers face uncertainty, any permit process involves uncertainty and wind farms are major undertakings.

"Wind farms contain a multiple number of issues that require permitting," he said. "You've got to realize you're talking about a large-scale development in remote areas with high elevation. It would be similar to a ski area, which is a difficult permitting process."

Rep. Tony Klein, D-East Montpelier, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, said Mott was likely understating the difficulties faced by wind farm developers.

"It's not a matter of our standards being too high," he said. "We want our standards to be high. It's not a matter of the length of time it takes. What we don't have is an exact, clear path."

A developer might have to go to the Public Service Board, Agency of Natural Resources and local officials for various permits, Klein said, which then might be appealed to the Environmental Court, Superior Court or Public Service Board.

Klein also pointed out that the Sheffield project's permit was appealed in 2008 and still has not been ruled on.

"That is not a particularly attractive environment for an investor to look at, especially if they can go to one of our neighboring states and pick up all their permits in a year or two."

Klein said the energy bill currently before the Vermont Senate would route all appeals to the Public Service Board.

Opponents of wind power have their own ideas. While he praised the apparent demise of the Vermont Community Wind Farm project last week, Clarendon Select Board Chairman Michael Klopchin bemoaned what he called efforts in Montpelier to fast-track the process for industrial wind development.

"That sure isn't right to the small towns here like Clarendon and especially Ira," he said.

Vermont Community Wind Farm met with stiff local opposition. The Clarendon Select Board came out officially against the project, and Ira adopted a new town plan with wording seemingly excluding it, though the Public Service Board is not bound by town plans.

Rutland County still has one major wind development pending: the Grandpa's Knob project in and around Castleton and West Rutland that Reunion Power recently took over from the ailing Noble Environmental Power.

Reunion Power Managing Director Steve Eisenberg said last week that the project was moving along, though he could not say how soon he expects to apply to the Public Service Board.

"I will say we are actively developing it," he said. "We've had meetings, preliminary meetings, with each of the town select boards. We've had discussions with landowners. ... We're just proceeding with appropriate development work."


Source:http://www.rutlandherald.com/…

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