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Scott and legislators differ on two-year, large-scale wind moratorium
Credit: By Bob Kinzel | Vermont Public Radio | December 27, 2016 | vpr.net ~~
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Translate: FROM English | TO English
It appears the siting of industrial wind projects could be a key issue during the 2017 legislative session. That’s because Governor-elect Phil Scott says he wants lawmakers to enact a two-year moratorium on all large, ridgeline wind proposals.
In calling for a moratorium, Scott is keeping a pledge that he made during the recent gubernatorial campaign.
The governor-elect has long been concerned that a number of proposed, large-scale wind projects have sharply divided communities across the state.
As a result, he says he believes the time has come to comprehensively review Vermont’s energy needs before allowing any new, big wind proposals to be put into place.
At a recent press conference, Scott said he would prefer a permanent moratorium but realizes that he’ll need to compromise on this issue.
“The reality is probably … a short-term moratorium,” Scott said. “What I would personally like to see is to protect our ridgelines in perpetuity. That’s my personal goal but the reality is that that won’t happen.”
Scott is hoping legislative leaders will be sympathetic to his concerns: “I’m looking forward to working with them. Hopefully we can come to some agreement.”
“What I would personally like to see is to protect our ridgelines in perpetuity. That’s my personal goal but the reality is that that won’t happen.” – Governor-elect Phil Scott
But it’s unlikely the Senate will go along with a moratorium, even in the short term. Addison senator Chris Bray is the chairman of the Senate Natural Resources committee and notes that lawmakers spent the last two years developing a new siting law.
Under this law, towns that are deemed to be in compliance with local, regional and state energy plans will be given “substantial deference” when a proposal for their community is considered by the Vermont Public Service Board.
Bray says this new authority doesn’t represent veto power for local communities as some wind opponents wanted. But he says it requires the board to have strong reasons to overturn a local planning decision on an energy project.
Bray also says it’s important to give the new law some time to see how it works.
“I think we would seriously undermine that kind of shared planning process if we declared a moratorium on any particular energy type,” he says, “because good planning is a rational process we’re all going to come together, we’re going to think about things and we’re going to come to some conclusions as a group.”
And Bray says lawmakers can always revisit this issue in several years if there are problems with the new law.
“I’m confident that we will make progress and keep people together as a community as a state as a region,” Bray says. “Moratoriums are – it’s a very fancy word for ‘no’ and we can’t afford to have people just say ‘no’. Everyone needs to be part of the solution.”
“I don’t believe [a moratorium] has a lot of traction and I think the sensitivity to the community members has already been reflected by the Senate in our work last year.” – Senate President Tim Ashe
Chittenden senator Tim Ashe who will serve as the President of the Senate in 2017 says the Senate spent a lot of time last year on the siting law. He says there’s no reason to reconsider the issue unless a lot of senators have changed their minds.
“Until I speak with other members of the Senate about what would have changed to make them want to go with a moratorium, I don’t believe it has a lot of traction and I think the sensitivity to the community members has already been reflected by the Senate in our work last year,” said Ashe.
Ashe says he plans to let the Governor-elect Scott know that dealing with this issue in the upcoming session is a low priority for the Senate.
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