Reaping the wind
Toolbox
Published: January 13, 2007
A new wind project proposed for Searsburg and Readsboro could provide another slice of sustainable electrical power at a time when Vermont is beginning to explore a wide variety of ways to curb reliance on fossil fuels.
The Vermont Legislature has begun a searching discussion of ways to reverse the global warming that threatens the planet's environment. At the same time a Scottish firm has proposed construction of 15 to 24 wind turbines in the area next to the wind farm constructed by Green Mountain Power in 1997. The experience of local residents with the present wind operation may have favorably disposed them to the new proposal. Readsboro residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of the new wind project in an informal poll in March.
The new wind turbines would have a capacity to produce 45 megawatts of power. That is slightly less than one-tenth of the power of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. Because wind fluctuates, the actual operation of the turbines would produce about one-third of that amount, which would add up to about 120,000 megawatt-hours of power a year, or enough to supply about 14,000 homes.
Opponents of wind power say that the relatively low level of power produced does not justify the aesthetic damage wind towers cause to Vermont's ridgelines. They argue further that wind is not a reliable source because it does not always blow.
They misconceive the way that utilities look at wind. The varied new sources that would be developed if Vermont were aggressively to foster alternative energy projects would all add up to something more than neglible. By itself, 45 megawatts in Searsburg might not mean much. But added to other wind projects, plus a variety of new hydro projects, biomass projects, home wind projects, and any other new and environmentally benign source of power, Searsburg would be part of a considerable bloc of power. The wind would not always be blowing at Searsburg, but an aggregated bloc of power from diverse sources would provide utilities with a relatively reliable source for part of its load.
These sources would not provide base load power, which is the large bloc of power utilities must have to keep power running reliably all of the time. Vermont's principal sources of base load power are the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant and Hydro-Quebec. The more power that is available for a bloc of alternative fuels, the more often the utilities will be able to replace part of the base load that they would otherwise use.
Wind projects have run into trouble in the Northeast Kingdom and in Londonderry where residents have complained on aesthetic grounds and where the Public Service Board has raised questions about the towers' adverse effect on birds. But wind developers continue to explore Vermont for likely sites, and the positive experience of the people of Readsboro and Searsburg suggests that Vermonters in some places may be open to wind towers.
One company is said to be looking at sites in southern Vermont, including Rutland County. It is likely that they will find the public in Rutland County more receptive than in other parts of the state. At a time when Vermonters are growing more attuned to the need to develop sustainable energy sources, further development of wind power must be encouraged.
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