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Wind Power News: New Hampshire
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Antrim Wind noise and light complaints not yet settled
Recent recommendations from a subcommittee of New Hampshire’s Site Evaluation Committee (SEC) disappointed some neighbors to the Antrim Wind turbine project who wanted more precise sound measuring standards than what the committee appears poised to adopt, but the conversation is far from over. Nearby residents have lodged multiple noise and lighting-related complaints since the nine turbines went online in December 2019. Earlier this year, the SEC embarked on an overhaul of their complaint handling process after complainants said they felt . . . Complete story »
Questions raised about offshore wind at meeting
PORTSMOUTH – Mark Sanborn, in his new role with the state Department of Energy, asked those attending a hearing at the Pease International Tradeport for their concerns about a proposed offshore wind project in the Gulf of Maine. “This isn’t a place to talk about how great offshore wind is,” Sanborn told the attendees during the July 26 meeting of the Commission To Study Offshore Wind. “We want to draw out the things that folks are most concerned about because actually . . . Complete story »
New Hampshire to study pros and cons of offshore wind energy development
PORTSMOUTH – Born out of the state’s biennial budget that went into effect on July 1, New Hampshire’s newly-christened Department of Energy will oversee the state’s development of offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Maine. The Commission to Study Offshore Wind and Port Development met Monday at the state’s Department of Environmental Services’ regional office at Pease International Tradeport, just its second in-person meeting of 2021. Chaired by state Sen. David Watters, D-Dover, the commission received public input on its . . . Complete story »
Granite Reliable Power wind farm to be sold
COOS COUNTY – The sale of the 99-megawatt Granite Reliable Power Wind Farm to a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc., is expected to take place by the end of the month. When the transaction is finalized, ownership control will pass from the subsidiary of one energy giant, Brookfield Renewable Energy, to a subsidiary of the company that owns the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant. The N.H. Site Evaluation Subcommittee issued a draft order Monday morning approving the transaction with one condition. The . . . Complete story »
Senior Assistant AG voices concern amid investigation of Antrim Wind complaints
ANTRIM – The N.H. Attorney General’s Office recently weighed in on a state regulatory body’s investigation into complaints about Antrim Wind, expressing concern that the company that owns the turbines is not fully complying with orders regulating lights associated with them. Senior Assistant Attorney General K. Allen Brooks wrote to the N.H. Site Evaluation Committee in his capacity as counsel for the public. Since Antrim Wind began operating in 2019, residents living near the facility have complained about noise and the . . . Complete story »
TransAlta upgrades Antrim Wind aircraft lights, responds to AG
TransAlta, the company operating Antrim’s wind turbine project, affirmed their obligation to properly operating and maintaining the radar-activated aircraft warning lights on the turbines. Their announcement came as a response to concerns voiced by the state Attorney General’s office in late May. TransAlta has “always accepted” the obligation to properly operate and maintain its turbine lighting system, a spokeswoman for the company said on Wednesday. “Documents and correspondence with the NH Site Evaluation Committee, all published on the SEC website, . . . Complete story »
AG’s office weighs in on state investigation of Antrim wind turbine complaints
When the Antrim Wind project was in its permitting process, it committed to using radar-activated lighting to minimize the turbine’s nighttime visual impact. However, after residents lodged complaints that the lights aren’t shutting off when they’re supposed to, Antrim Wind Energy LLC claimed that ensuring a functioning lighting system isn’t part of their contract. The state Attorney General’s office highlighted the power company’s stance and its implications in a letter to the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee (SEC) last week. . . . Complete story »
Take a letter: But will SEC read it?
What does it say about New Hampshire government priorities that it adds a new and unnecessary office (see related editorial today) but can’t provide its Site Evaluation Committee with someone to open the mail and inform the public about public hearings? The site committee is of no small importance, as residents in and around Antrim have discovered in trying to deal with a large-scale windmill project. The SEC approved the project, with stipulations. But it then waived those stipulations at . . . Complete story »
State farms complaints about Antrim Wind to subcommittee
ANTRIM – After fielding numerous concerns from neighbors of the Antrim Wind facility, the N.H. Site Evaluation Committee has voted to establish a subcommittee to vet complaints about the turbines. During a March 25 meeting, members of the SEC, which oversees energy projects throughout the state, voted unanimously to create the three-member subcommittee to review complaints related to the nine-turbine facility, and determine if they require an investigation. Further, the SEC chair has been directed to hire consultants to assist the . . . Complete story »
Antrim Wind complainants may start to get answers this month
The Antrim Select Board agreed to address the state’s Site Evaluation Committee (SEC) on behalf of residents’ concerns about noise and light issues associated with the Antrim Wind project at their Monday night meeting. Concerned citizens might get some answers by the end of the month, according to an update the SEC sent recently. On Friday, the SEC issued an update naming the three members of the investigative subcommittee tasked with recommending a methodology for measuring and analyzing sound and . . . Complete story »
