Whose experts are they?
At the SolarFest panel on large-scale wind power last week, a Californian cited flawed wildlife studies and inappropriate tower siting as the cause of the bird slaughter at the wind factory near Altamont.
We learned that Vermont Community Wind Farm has had experts preparing studies for the Rutland County project for some time.
These studies deal with effects on human, wildlife and livestock health, as well as impacts on the landscape and on property values.
Like everything else about this project, the affected communities have been excluded from this process. It is only natural that VCWF will be using consultants to provide them with the studies and expert testimony that will support their plans.
The towns (which found out about the project only short months ago) are unable to afford hired experts to conduct their own studies. We all know that “he who pays the piper, calls the tune.” Would it not be in the spirit of a truly “community wind farm” for VCWF and the affected communities to agree upon objective experts to perform the required studies?
INA SMITH
Poultney
21 July 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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