December 8, 2010
Connecticut, Letters

State’s support of wind farms puts residents at risk

The Republican-American, www.rep-am.com 8 December 2010

I learned a hard lesson these last few weeks. Even though we elect the best people we can, they do not always act in our best interest. This may be because they do not agree with me or they did not see the unintended outcome of their decisions. I was of no help to them because I did not pay attention. I’m paying attention now.

Connecticut has adopted a regulation that allows commercial wind-turbine companies to petition the Connecticut Siting Council for a declaratory ruling on the installation of megawatt-producing wind turbines. What this means is the turbines can be built wherever the siting council sees fit.

The problem is Connecticut has no standards to define suitable sites for large wind turbines. Prospect also lacks regulations on wind turbines. If I had been paying attention, I would have knows two years ago a commercial wind-turbine project was being considered for my town.

A company called BNE Energy Inc. has filed a petition (No. 980) for a declaratory ruling on building a 3.2-MW wind turbine facility at 178 New Haven Road. I have joined others in my town to stop this project. We cannot wait and see what the siting council decides. We need to act now.

Please read the Petition available on the web (www.ct.gov/csc/cwp/view .asp?a=2397&q=468692). I find several technical problems concerning safety, community benefit and the lack of a decommissioning plan. Please also visit www.saveprospect.com/ for information.

Go to your local planning and zoning board and ask it to develop local regulations to help state government understand the type of community you desire to have and keep.

Calvin Goodwin

Prospect

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/12/08/states-support-of-wind-farms-puts-residents-at-risk/