National Wind Watch: Wind Energy News » Turbine fans: Cape panel has double standard

BOURNE – Proponents of the New Generation Wind project are hoping that the Cape Cod Commission will have the same sunny outlook on its project as it did for a recently approved solar energy installation.

Proponents and nearly three dozen others spoke about the project at a four-hour commission meeting Thursday, the first opportunity the full board has had to hear about the project.

In November, a subcommittee reviewing New Generation found the project had more probable detriments than benefits and recommended that the full commission deny the proposal.

But in December, the full regulatory board OK’d the 1.4-megawatt My Generation Energy solar project slated for Barnstable, an approval New Generation Wind supporters believe shows an inequality between the two projects.

“There were stark inconsistencies,” Dave Peterson, a spokesman for project backers Cape Cod Aggregates.

The Lorusso family, owners of Cape Cod Aggregates, and Bourne property owner Tudor “Jerry” Ingersoll are proposing the four-turbine, 9.5 megawatt project as part of a planned green technology park in Bournedale.

Peterson and others cited examples of what they believed was unfair treatment of their renewable energy project.

For example, he said, the vegetable oil-based fuel needed for the solar project was deemed safe, while the same type of fuel proposed for use at the New Generation turbines was determined to be hazardous by a subcommittee.

“We’ve suggested that a number of your findings are in error,” New Generation attorney Diane Tillotson said.

At Thursday’s hearing, around three dozen people showed up to express their support – both for the project and for the subcommittee’s recommendation to deny it.

Several Falmouth residents and attorneys representing abutters of the New Generation project expressed concern about the proximity of the project to homes, while others touted its ability to reduce the area’s reliance on traditional fuel sources and create jobs.

The Bourne Financial Development Corp. board of directors “enthusiastically endorses the project,” Executive Director Sallie Riggs said.

It has taken about a year and a half for the New Generation Wind project to reach the full Cape Cod Commission.

Originally filed in July 2010, the project was withdrawn and resubmitted in March of 2011 before going through the subcommittee process last year.

Thursday’s meeting completed the public hearing section of the committee’s review, though written public comment will be taken for an additional week.The project will most likely be in front of the commission again at its next meeting in two weeks.