Board: Wind no panacea
Toolbox
By SANDI SWITZER HERALD CORRESPONDENT - Published: May 13, 2009
CLARENDON – Some members of the Clarendon Select Board remain unconvinced that the solution to the state's energy problems is blowing in the wind.
"Wind is not a sustainable source of energy," Selectman George Ambrose said.
Ambrose and fellow members of the Select Board had plenty to say after reviewing documents at a meeting on Monday regarding Vermont Community Wind Farm's preliminary plans to install as many as 60 wind turbines for an 80-megawatt wind farm in Ira and surrounding towns.
"Wind energy is not really a viable alternative unless they come up with a better system of storing the energy, such as charging batteries," Ambrose said.
He indicated wind-generated electricity was a viable option for individual homes or businesses, but not a sole source of power for entire municipalities.
"If wind blows 100 percent of the time — enough to generate power – that'd be wonderful. But it doesn't," he said.
Ambrose was not alone in his opinion, as Selectman Robert Bixby and Select Board Chairman Michael Klopchin also shared their concerns.
"We don't have enough continuous wind all summer long," Klopchin said.
He noted the project would have an enormous aesthetic impact on the ridgeline, and he added it would have a negative affect on hunting in the region as animals would shy away from the noise.
Klopchin also expressed concern that towns could be stuck with the cost of dismantling abandoned towers should the project fail. "If they put it up and it doesn't work, who pays to tear it down?" he asked.
Klopchin stated his biggest complaint, however, was the manner in which VCWF had approached the project.
"To me, you're just coming in here and telling me this is what we're going to do," he said.
Selectman Robert Bixby indicated he had visited a wind farm in Searsburg. He noted he was "shocked by what I saw coming around the mountain" when he spotted the wind turbines.
Bixby said VCWF's proposal would be "very destructive to the whole ridgeline from here to Poultney."
After further discussion, board members agreed to forward the developers' documents to the town's planning commission. "We're really concerned. We think we should be opposed to this based on many reasons," Klopchin said.
The Select Board will meet with VCWF representative Jeff Wennberg at 6 p.m. May 27. The meeting will be held at the Clarendon Grange Community Center to accommodate an expected large turnout of residents.
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