January 12, 2011
New York

Litchfield residents weigh in ahead of attorney’s recommendations for wind project

By CAROLINE GABLE, WKTV, www.wktv.com 11 January 2011

The future of wind turbines in Litchfield could reach a milestone Tuesday night.

The Litchfield Town Board will meet at 7:30 p.m. to hear from an attorney they’ve hired who specializes in the area of wind energy. It is at that time that the attorney is expected to give his recommendations as to how the town might proceed with Albany-based North Wind and Power, who wants to come to Litchfield and build a wind farm.

The controversy over wind turbines has left residents in Litchfield divided.

So far, the company has its supporters while also having its visible detractors – such as those making it known they’d like to pass on wind energy via signs in their front yard.

Several groups have banned together on both sides of the issue, such as Save Sauquoit Valley Views and Litchfield Residents for Wind Energy.

One thing is for sure, this is a hot issue that’s likely to have residents out of their homes and into the Town Hall to hear the latest on the future of Wind Turbines in their community.

Ken Kotary is a life long Litchfield Resident who likes the look of wind turbines. He’s in favor of the turbines, because he thinks it is a good financial move for the community.

“The town is going to generate some revenue from this,” Kotary said. “The school districts, county and I think it’s time we start thinking about some alternative sources of energy.”

Meanwhile, Jonathan Knauth is another Litchfield Resident, but one who doesn’t share Kotary’s enthusiasm for wind power.

“You get more money back out of this project than you put into it, not because you’re selling the power, but because there are tax breaks and incentives from the federal and state government that makes this a matter of doing a project in order to collect the breaks,” Knauth said. “That’s fine, if it works, but at this point I think that we pretty much all know that it doesn’t work.”

The exact number of wind turbines that could come to Litchfield ranges anywhere from 8 to 24, but some residents fear once there presence is established, they’ll continue to grow in number.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/01/12/litchfield-residents-weigh-in-ahead-of-attorneys-recommendations-for-wind-project/