LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]


Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Vermont taking breather from wind power, but more to come 

Credit:  By Wilson Ring | The Associated Press | Posted: 04/12/2015 | www.benningtonbanner.com ~~

A few years back, large-scale wind projects dominated the renewable energy discussion in Vermont as vocal opponents decried the destruction of pristine mountaintops and the details of construction plans grabbed headlines.

But the commotion has died down, and now the conversation is focused on solar power. All of Vermont’s new electrical capacity last year came from solar, doubling the state’s total in that category, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

Wind projects take longer to develop than solar, and they can face stiff opposition from the public. And experts say the federal tax credits that are keeping the solar industry on track have been uncertain for wind developers for some time.

“Wind is not dead. It’s just taking a little hibernation here as federal policy gets the tax credits right,” said David Blittersdorf, the president of All Earth Renewables and one of the developers of the four-turbine Georgia Mountain wind project just north of Burlington.

“If there is a project that is well-sited, it’s economically competitive and beneficial, then I think there are still opportunities to move forward,” said Darren Springer, the deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service, which does energy planning for the state.

Iberdrola Renewables is moving forward with a 15-turbine project on two ridgelines mostly in the Green Mountain National Forest in Searsburg and Readsboro, enough to power about 14,000 homes. While the company doesn’t have a date yet when it will begin construction, the major hurdles have been cleared, said Iberdrola spokesman Paul Copleman.

The company is in the early stages of planning a project in Windham and Grafton, which could be up to 30 turbines, although the final engineering and environmental studies that will determine the exact number have not yet been done, Copleman said.

“The two projects that we have in development speak to our interest in the state,” he said. “The fundamentals for developing wind in Vermont are still strong.”

Vermont has four industrial-scale wind projects in operation: the 17-turbine, 63-megawatt Lowell Mountain wind farm and a 10-megawatt Georgia Mountain project, both launched by Green Mountain Power in late 2012; the 40-megawatt, 16-turbine project in Sheffield launched in fall 2011; and a smaller 6-megawatt wind project, in Searsburg, also owned by GMP, which has been online since 1997.

Gov. Peter Shumlin has committed the state to get 90 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2050. To reach that goal Vermont will need more wind, solar and other sources of electricity, including finding ways to be more efficient, Blittersdorf said.

Blittersdorf said he felt the future for wind would be for more, smaller projects. He says he’s working on more projects, but he’s not ready to talk about them yet.

“It’s going to be all over the place,” he said.

Despite the current solar-energy push, GMP, Vermont’s largest utility, owns 69 megawatts of wind capacity compared to 2.2 megawatts of solar. GMP spokeswoman Dorothy Schnure says the utility considers both to be important and cost-effective.

“Right now the attention is on the solar because those are the projects that are actively under development,” Schnure said.

Wind has its detractors. Annette Smith, of Danby, the executive director of the nonprofit Vermonters for a Clean Environment and an opponent of industrial wind development, said wind developers are still eager to build in Vermont despite what she said is clear-cut opposition from most of the communities where the projects are proposed.

She says wind projects divide communities, and once built they are hard to live near. Opponents regularly decry what they see as the destruction of mountaintops and a threat to rivers, streams and wildlife.

Despite a lull in wind projects, Smith said she also believes there will be more.

“It’s not like nothing is happening, it’s just that they are all happily getting their policies in place … They have all the mountain-sites scoped out,” Smith said. “They know where they want to go, they have sliced and diced every bit of terrain in Vermont and know what’s close to the power lines.”

Source:  By Wilson Ring | The Associated Press | Posted: 04/12/2015 | www.benningtonbanner.com

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon