LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]


Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

Get weekly updates
RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Stripe

Donate via Paypal

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Public Service Board finds flaws in energy siting bill 

Credit:  Posted By Terri Hallenbeck on Tue, Apr 12, 2016 | Seven Days | www.sevendaysvt.com/ ~~

Last month, the Vermont Senate passed a bill that some members said was meant to send a message to the state Public Service Board that the utility regulators hadn’t paid close enough attention to the public.

Tuesday, one of the Public Service Board’s three members delivered a different message back: The Senate bill is full of flaws, board member Margaret Cheney told two House committees.

A former state representative who has served on the quasi-judicial Public Service Board since 2013, Cheney returned to the Statehouse on Tuesday to discuss the bill with her former colleagues. She acknowledged that the public is frustrated by the board’s complicated process, but she downplayed the depths of that frustration.

“There have been legitimate complaints about navigating and understanding the board process,” Cheney said, but added, “We are working to do a much better job with customer service.”

She explained that new rules will clarify the process for siting of small-scale energy projects. An updated website to be unveiled in the fall will give the public easier access to documents. And new staffing will make the board more consumer friendly, she said.

After the hearing, Cheney said a minority of solar and wind projects generate complaints. “We have thousands of cases that come before us every year,” she said. “In my experience, the vast majority of the projects we approve are either received positively or are virtually invisible.”

The complaints were the driving force behind the Senate bill. Reeling from a proliferation of solar projects, more than 100 Vermont municipalities have signed a petition calling for more say in where projects are located. Opponents of wind projects are pushing for a moratorium and new sound standards.

The Senate’s bill was designed to give local communities more influence in siting projects if they produce certified town plans that outline where renewable energy projects can go. For opponents of projects, the bill didn’t go far enough to protect local control. For renewable energy advocates, the bill would make siting cumbersome.

In the House, which is more friendly to renewable energy than the Senate, the bill may not survive at all.

Rep. Tony Klein (D-East Montpelier), chair of the House Natural Resources & Energy Committee, invited Cheney, who once served as vice chair of the panel, to speak Tuesday. Her testimony helped build his case that the bill needs work.

Afterward, Klein said his committee is trying to revise the Senate bill, but is “really struggling” to find a way to mesh local, regional and state energy needs. The committee might not be able to come up with a solution before the session ends early next month, he said. “There’s a 50-50 chance.”

Cheney took lawmakers through the bill section by section, commenting on problems the board has identified with the Senate’s revisions to the siting process.

Vague wording would make it difficult for the board to determine appropriate locations, Cheney said.

The bill would also establish a public outreach officer to help Vermonters navigate board rules. Cheney noted the bill calls for the person to supply “neutral” advice, but she said it would be difficult to offer useful advice about navigating the board process that’s entirely neutral.

For a salary of $50,000, the position requires someone who has technical expertise, but would also do clerical work, requiring an uncommon blend of skills and duties.

The bill also directs the Public Service Board to complete a long-delayed wind complaint case by October 1, setting new turbine sound standards in the process. Cheney said it’s inappropriate for lawmakers to interfere with a pending case. If legislators want the state to establish new sound standards, they should simply direct the board to do that, she said.

Source:  Posted By Terri Hallenbeck on Tue, Apr 12, 2016 | Seven Days | www.sevendaysvt.com/

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Contributions
   Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)
Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI M TG TS G Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook Wind Watch on Linked In

Wind Watch on Mastodon Wind Watch on Truth Social

Wind Watch on Gab Wind Watch on Bluesky