June 9, 2011
Connecticut

Colebrook wind tower project vote set for today

By JASON SIEDZIK, The Register Citizen, www.registercitizen.com 8 June 2011

NEW BRITAIN – The final chapter in BNE Energy’s attempt to bring residential wind power to Connecticut will be written today.

The Connecticut Siting Council will vote on Colebrook North – the second of two proposals to build wind turbines in Colebrook – at their 11 a.m. hearing. The council previously rejected a proposal to build the turbines in Prospect, but signed off on Colebrook South, a proposal for Flagg Hill Road.

Colebrook North, sited off of Rock Hall Road, is not far from Colebrook South, and both proposals are near the town’s border with Norfolk. The seven-month saga saw two Connecticut Siting Council members recuse themselves from the proceedings – chairman Daniel Caruso eventually resigned, while vice-chairman Colin Tait backed away due to his transitive association with a group opposing the turbines – as well as organized local opposition.

Joyce Hemingson, the president of FairwindCT, questioned the reasoning for the council’s decisions on the previous two proposals in a June 3 press release. The council cited population density and aesthetic reasons for rejecting the Prospect proposal, while Colebrook’s more dispersed population was not a reason to reject Colebrook South.

The council’s straw polls have served as a reliable indicator for how they will eventually vote on the proposals. The council rejected the Prospect proposal by a 5-2 vote, but approved Colebrook South by a 6-1 vote. Both vote totals were identical to the results of the straw poll. A straw poll taken at the council’s June 2 meeting indicated potential unanimous support for Colebrook North.

The only possible vote against the plan came from Phil Ashton, who voted “yes, possibly.” Ashton was the only vote against Colebrook South.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/06/09/colebrook-wind-tower-project-vote-set-for-today/