Planners take up wind siting proposal; Meeting Thursday
State wind energy siting legislation that’s been criticized by some West County town officials will be the subject of a Franklin County Planning Board meeting this week.
The proposed Wind Energy Siting Reform Act, designed to speed development of wind turbine farms — primarily in western Franklin County and on Cape Cod — will be discussed by the board at a 7 p.m. meeting Thursday at the Hampton Inn Conference Room on Shelburne Road in Greenfield. The meeting is being held there, rather than the usual Planning Board conference room downtown, because of the expected turnout, said Planning Director Margaret Sloan.
‘Our sense is that people are very interested in wind energy siting and how it may impact local permitting,’ said Sloan, who said the Hampton Inn space can accommodate 50 people.
Among scheduled presenters are Berkshire Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Nathaniel Karns and state Sen. Benjamin Downing, D-Pittsfield, whose district includes many of the towns whose ridges have been identified as possible sites for turbines. Downing has been involved with the bill originally proposed by the Patrick administration.
The Planning Board took up the original legislation last July, voting afterward to comment that the fast-track proposal would “significantly restrict Massachusetts communities’ home rule authority by consolidating and expediting permitting.” At the time, the board said that it appreciates the state’s support of renewable energy projects, but that area towns are concerned about hampering their ability to direct wind turbines “to the most appropriate locations and to address the scale and impacts of these facilities.”
The board also requested that a public hearing be scheduled in Franklin County on siting standards for wind turbines.
Since that letter, revisions have been made, especially in decoupling the expedited siting mechanism from proposed use of state forest and preservation lands for wind power development. But some critics, like Hawley Planning Board Chairman Lloyd Crawford, say the changes don’t go far enough, and warn that the state still plans to deploy multiple wind turbine on those state-owned sites.
“There have been changes made, and we want to get up to speed on those changes and decide whether we want to submit additional comments,” said Sloan.
Under the proposal being reviewed by the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, Crawford warns, the state Energy Facilities Siting Board could develop standards for siting wind farms, and would have the authority to override all state and local permitting decisions if the standards are met.
Rep. Denis Guyer, D-Dalton, has asked that the proposal also be vetted by the Legislature’s Environment Committee, of which he is co-chairman, as well as by its Municipal Affairs Committee.
Recorder Staff
The Greenfield Recorder
30 November 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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- State wind power plans stir up local concerns
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- Wind turbine bill worries West County
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- Greenfield considers zoning change to allow wind turbines in industrial zones
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