Thank you for coming to the Waitsfield meeting on the future of the Northfield Ridge and sharing your thoughts. As Vermonters employed in the wind industry, we felt the need to respond and provide additional insights and information.
As global citizens, we have some daunting challenges on the energy front, including supply security, price stabilization and environmental impact - both positive and negative. We agree with you that Vermont can cut its carbon output with a combination of conservation, more efficient alternative transportation, solar thermal and more utilization of our wood resource. But there are other options as well, each with its cost hurdles and challenges. Your dismissal of wind power as a viable option for addressing energy needs (beyond small residential scale turbines) is inappropriate.
Addressing your main areas of concern, we would like to correct some misconceptions:
IMPACTS ON BIRDS AND BATS
Wind farms in Vermont are required to review and document the potential impacts for bird and bat populations as part of the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement). Currently Vermont's ANR requires a two-year bird and bat study be completed prior to permit approval - much more rigorous than other states. The Audubon Society states:
"On balance, Audubon strongly supports wind power as a clean alternative energy source that reduces the threat of global warming. Location, however, is important. Many National Audubon Society Chapters and State Programs are actively involved in wind-power sitting issues in their communities. Each project has a unique set of circumstances and should be evaluated on its own merits."
VISUAL IMPACTS
Your image of wind turbines running the length of the Long Trail - from Canada to Massachusetts - was unworthy of a technical presentation. Credible numbers, broadly being discussed, would have wind supply 20 percent of Vermont's energy, requiring as little as 30 miles of ridgeline deployment.
There are those who don't like the sight of wind turbines in the environment and those who do. Some proponents see them as functional elements of the built environment, like power lines, cell towers, power plants and silos. Others see them as a positive sign we're doing something locally to address our energy needs.
The red warning lights atop turbines are seen as another negative. These lights, mandated by the FAA, are required for any structure taller than 200 feet. There currently exists FAA-approved technology utilizing radar controls, which activate lights only when a plane was in the vicinity.
NOISE IMPACTS
Noise has been a big issue with wind turbines from the early days. Society has used noise ordinances to create an enforceable standard. Turbine designers are actively reducing turbine noise levels, both sonic and infrasonic. Today's turbine noise standards are quite restrictive (60 db at the base of the tower) but there are certainly sound transmission issues specific to Vermont's ridges and valleys that deserve consideration. Unless homes are located relatively nearby, turbine noise will not be a relevant issue. Siting will remain an important issue.
CONSTRUCTION IMPACTS
Because this issue has always been important to Vermonters, there are well-defined laws focusing on both long- and short-term impacts. The size of the larger turbines does require better roads and larger sites. Recently wind project developers have responded by using narrower cranes, requiring narrower 16-foot roads. In Europe, large Skycrane helicopters are used at specifically challenging sites. Like any construction site, the roads are usually not visible once site cleanup has been completed and vegetation re-established. The size of the turbine is by far the biggest driver. Smaller turbines should be considered as an alternative.
The question of turbine size seemed to be a foregone conclusion in your presentation. While the theoretical plans for the Northfield Ridge currently call for large turbines, the industry is quickly moving toward viable alternatives of all sizes. Three MW turbines may not be acceptable for some projects - one MW turbines might be better solution.
These all are real issues for Vermonters. But with Vermont's complex and varied geography, each potential site is different, with its own quite specific issues. Your wholesale dismissal of wind negates any opportunity wind energy might play in Vermont's future.
ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS
In recent years, wind energy has been the fastest growing source of energy for one simple reason: It is the most cost-effective form of carbon-free electricity generation. The Vermont Public Service Board conducted an extensive set of hearings to define the cost of viable renewable energy sources in Vermont (www.psb.vermont.gov). They determined costs for wind generated electricity to be 27.8 cents per kwh for residential scale turbines, 16.4 cents per kwh for a 100 kW turbine unit and 11.9 cents per kwh for a single 2.2 MW turbine. Current negotiated prices for larger multi-megawatt wind farms providing wholesale power to Vermont range from 9 to 10 cents per kwh.
Likewise, the PSB defined the price for small residential solar at 32.6 cents per kwh and large-scale (two MW) solar at 23.6 cents per kwh. The numbers speak for themselves.
Your projections for solar energy are quite rosy, concluding cost-effective solar is right around the corner. There are studies showing the floor to solar pricing to be about 30 to 50 percent of today's prices, which would be great but higher than your optimistic projections. Your statement that solar is "widely expected to be directly competitive by 2015" is in our opinion a very big stretch and calls into question your conclusion that waiting for solar energy to become cost effective is the most appropriate route.
In conclusion, we hope that we can help inform all Vermonters to the pros and cons of wind energy and help the policymakers understand the range of concerns. We owe it to ourselves, to our grandchildren and to our environment.
Jito Coleman: former Northern Power president/chief engineer
Jesse Stowell: development engineer for wind energy, Johnson Controls
Brett Pingree: vice president, Americas, Northern Power
Sucosh Norton: chief operating officer NRG
Chris Badger: Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
