Bill could create fair winds for turbine projects in Massachusetts
The Patrick administration’s long-term goal to get hundreds of wind towers built in the state could become a whole lot easier if a fast-track permitting bill that the administration is pushing on Beacon Hill becomes law.
The bill could essentially give the administration the power to override local authorities for projects slated for certain areas. The administration would pick these designated areas that would be appropriate for wind turbines, factoring in wind strength and the possible impact on the surroundings.
If developers want to install a wind project that would generate at least two megawatts in one of these areas, they still would have to go through local officials first (a version of the bill that I saw calls for the creation of local wind permitting boards to handle the projects). However, in many cases, if such a project gets bogged down in a legal appeal or faces resistance from town officials, developers could turn to the state Energy Facilities Siting Board for a permit.
This, of course, has wind turbine critics worried that the bill could create a new way for developers to bypass local authorities – much like Chapter 40B allows housing developers to skip local zoning rules in many towns. Green Berkshires has already gathered numerous signatures for a petition aimed at thwarting the bill, which was discussed at a legislative committee hearing last week.
Ian Bowles, Gov. Deval Patrick’s secretary for energy and environmental affairs, tells me he doesn’t consider the local override portion of the bill to be a significant element. Instead, Bowles says the bill is aimed at streamlining and simplifying the appeals process for wind turbine developments, including those that are embraced by local officials.
The legislation, Bowles says, can be traced back to a state-commissioned report that came out earlier this spring. That report concludes that the frequency of legal appeals and the uncertainty surrounding them make Massachusetts a more difficult place to build wind projects than other states.
The appeals process certainly would be quickened under the bill’s language. The Energy Facilities Siting Board has a long track record of approving energy projects, and the board’s decisions can only be appealed to the state Supreme Judicial Court.
Bowles says the board’s power to grant a composite permit to energy projects currently only applies to power plants that generate at least 100 megawatts, giving fossil fuel-fired plants a potentially unfair edge over most wind turbine projects.
If the Legislature approves the bill, its impact would depend heavily on how many sites are picked to be designated wind-resource areas by the Patrick administration. Bowles says he doesn’t expect the number would be more than one or two dozen. It’s a safe bet that many of them would be in the Berkshires and along the coastline.
The Patrick administration’s long-term goal of getting 2,000 megawatts of wind power spinning by 2020 is a noble one. But Patrick, Bowles and state legislators also know they should tread carefully around here when they’re talking about taking away land-use authority from local officials – no matter how noble the cause.
By Jon Chesto
29 May 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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