Wind Power News: Massachusetts
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These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted.
Wind turbine rules given nod by Town Meeting voters
ESSEX — Bill Holton, chairman of the task force, presented the lengthy article and initiated discussion, which included changes to the wording of the proposed bylaws governing use of the turbines. It was decided, for example, that the term “wind farms” does not apply to the uses recommended for private buildings, as it has become a common term elsewhere to describe commercial and industrial uses with large numbers of turbines and lends confusion to the …
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Deal reported on offshore wind farms
The state would open ocean sanctuaries to “appropriate scaled” renewable energy development under a Statehouse deal that could allow a controversial wind farm in Buzzards Bay.
A six-member conference committee of House and Senate lawmakers reached consensus on the bill this week. The compromise apparently scuttles House-passed legislation that critics say would have opened Buzzards Bay and other ocean sanctuaries to unlimited renewable energy development.
The compromise bill will be signed by legislative leaders and made public …
Board votes to table turbine contract vote
Westport — Selectmen again delayed a vote on a contract to build the Town Hall wind turbine, this time until the board’s next regular meeting May 19.
The board met for a half-hour before Town Meeting Wednesday in the high school cafeteria, and with little discussion voted to wait on voting after receiving new information selectmen wanted time to review.
Selectmen were given a slightly different version of the contract than they discussed Monday night and wind …
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Stacking the deck
Last of two parts:
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has exposed the federal government’s review of Cape Wind’s alternative sites for what it is: a sham.
When the Minerals Management Service, which is reviewing the proposal to build 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound, defined the purpose of the process, it stacked the deck in favor of the developer.
The “purpose and need statement” developed by MMS describes “a facility that utilizes the unique wind resources in …
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'Do this right'
Numerous conclusions in draft report on Cape Wind in draft report on Cape Wind are unsupportable.
First of two parts:
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has delivered a blistering assessment of the federal government’s review of the Cape Wind project.
Seven years after Cape Wind staked a claim on 24 square miles of Nantucket Sound, the developer and the U.S. Minerals Management Service have failed to answer critical questions about the effects of the project on the …
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Framingham Town Meeting tables wind turbine bylaw
FRAMINGHAM — Town Meeting last night temporarily shot down a bylaw that would have set up guidelines for wind turbines, with critics saying the measure was inflexible and incomprehensible.
Meeting members referred the proposed bylaw back to a committee that will include two members of the Planning Board, two members of the Standing Committee on Planning and Zoning, two members of the Greener Framingham Committee, and one member from the Board of Selectmen.
That task force is …
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Essex Town Meeting approves wind turbine rules
ESSEX — Last night, the second session of this year’s Town Meeting approved a bylaw governing windmills, as voters continued to make their way through a hefty 43-article warrant.
The first session of the meeting approved the town’s $5 million operating budget, a $5.7 million assessment to fund the Manchester Essex Regional School District budget, and the search for a planner to draw new lot lines for town-owned land on Conomo Point.
Windmills
Voters last night established guidelines …
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Bay Path to do wind turbine study
CHARLTON— The hilltop campus of Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School is one step closer to housing wind turbines.
Superintendent-Director David P. Papagni recently reported a three-year electricity cost of nearly $1 million and estimated a 60 percent annual cost savings with turbine energy.
In February, the Southern Worcester County Regional Vocational School Committee approved a feasibility study and awarded an $80,000 contract to Sustainable Energy Developments, contingent upon receiving half of the cost from a …
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Wind turbine plan off Fairhaven dropped; 2 other SouthCoast sites still eyed
A developer of a proposed trio of wind farms in Buzzards Bay has dropped part of the project planned off the Fairhaven shoreline, citing the population of endangered roseate terns and the area’s high boat traffic.
Patriot Renewables, a Quincy company affiliated with Jay Cashman Inc., announced the decision Monday to end plans for the cluster of turbines off Fairhaven in the area south of Sconticut Neck and West Island.
Patriot Renewables continues to study two other …
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Wind turbine vote put on hold
Westport — The fate of the Town Hall wind turbine was again delayed Monday as selectmen held voting on a contract until Wednesday to get more information on costs and other variables.
The town and contractor Steve Pitney, of Alternate Energy, agreed in principal to a contract last week, but some selectmen wanted to find out how much it would cost for the Highway Department to do preliminary and foundation work and how much the cost …
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