February 13, 2012
New Hampshire

10 turbine wind project papers filed

nhhousegop.com 13 February 2012

Large-scale wind farm would sit on 1,850 acres of private land in Antrim

ANTRIM – – Portsmouth-based Eolian Renewable Energy’s Antrim Wind Energy, LLC has submitted its application to the state for a 10-turbine wind project along the Tuttle Hill ridge line.

The New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee accepted the application Feb. 3. SEC staff support Jane Murray said the application is under review for completeness, after which a timeline would be established that would includeseveral public hearings.

The earliest the application could be approved would be in eight to nine months, she said. “You have to give everybody enough notice.”

Antrim Wind Energy is proposing to build a large-scale wind farm on 1,850 acres of private land in the town’s rural conservation zone. During the proposed project’s 50year life span, the land, which is made up of seven lots, will be leased from five landowners. Only 3 percent or 57 acres of that land would be used for the project.

According to the application, the nearest year-round residence would be located approximately half a mile north of the northern most turbine. The owner of the residence is one of the leasing landowners. The closest structure owned by a landowner not leasing land to the project is a seasonal hunting camp about half a mile north of the same turbine.

Though in a rural and sparsely populated area, the company says in its application that the proposed site is conveniently located both near existing power lines and a state road.

In the application, Antrim Wind Energy says the project would benefit the town in many ways such as the conservation of 685 acres. Antrim Wind Energy expects the project to provide “clean, domestically produced electricity in an amount equivalent to the annual consumption of approximately 13,500 average New Hampshire homes, while also providing jobs, tax benefits and conservation benefits to the town and the region.”

The total proposed turbine height from foundation to blade tip of the proposed three-blade turbines would be 492 feet. The turbines would be linked by a private, gated gravel access road.

Last year, the town split on whether the large-scale wind project was appropriate for the town. In its application, Antrim Wind Energy notes town support through a November election that struck down both a proposed ordinance that would have prohibitively regulated largescale wind-energy projects and another that would have excluded such projects from the rural conservation district.

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