March 7, 2012
Maine

Industry voters to consider wind moratorium

By David Robinson, Staff Writer, Morning Sentinel, www.onlinesentinel.com

INDUSTRY – Voters will be asked to approve a six-month moratorium on wind energy projects at the annual Town Meeting on Saturday.

Selectmen are asking for the moratorium to give them time to develop a town ordinance to regulate wind energy projects, according to Angel Davis, town clerk and treasurer.

In other articles, voters will be asked to raise about $600 more than they did last year.

Selectmen have proposed a $385,338 budget for the coming year. Last year the budget was $384,743, Davis said.

If voters adopt the moratorium, developers would be temporarily banned from building wind turbines in the community. An ordinance would probably be presented for voter approval at a special town meeting before the six-month ban expires, Davis said.

An ordinance typically adds local rules for turbine noise, setbacks and other wind-energy issues. Projects would have to meet state guidelines but they also could be forced to meet local ordinance standards, which many Maine communities have enacted in recent years.

Davis noted that developers have not filed applications to build wind energy projects in town. Selectmen want to address the issue before developers could approach the town to seek an application, she said.

Davis described the proposed town budget as maintaining most municipal spending at last year’s level.

Some funding in winter and summer road budgets from last year is carrying over into the budget proposal for the coming year, which offsets minor annual increases in other town operational costs, she said.

Voters in neighboring Farmington will be asked to approve a wind energy ordinance at their annual Town Meeting on Monday, March 19.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/03/07/industry-voters-to-consider-wind-moratorium/