Wind Power News: Vermont
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch 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.
Firm considering wind generating project in Stamford
An alternative energy developer is considering a 2.2 megawatt wind turbine project in Stamford. Norwich Solar Technologies would construct the facility if the firm’s yet-to-be submitted permit application to the Public Utility Commission wins approval. The project is proposed for the same general area as Deerfield Wind and Searsburg Wind in Vermont and the Hoosac Wind wind facility in Monroe and Florida, Mass. – in a region considered favorable to wind power generation. STANDARD OFFER BID What the developer has done . . . Complete story »
Grandpa’s Knob wind project not moving forward
Castleton – A controversial wind project will not go forward, according to an email from the developer to the Select Board, sent Monday. “After careful consideration we will not be moving forward with the Grandpa’s Knob Community Wind project,” stated Sam Carlson, speaking on behalf of Grandpa’s Knob Community Wind in the email. “We would like to thank the Select Board and Planning Commission members for their interest, professionalism and courtesy regarding this project. In addition, we are grateful to the . . . Complete story »
Reserve margin may need to rise to 300% by 2040 as more renewables added to grid: ISO New England
“This scenario would require such a large amount of wind and solar that it may present significant challenges [to] the transmission system and require an outsized amount of land or offshore areas to be sited and developed for the necessary wind and solar farms,” the report warned. Complete story »
Responsibly-sited wind projects?
Renewable Energy Vermont (REV) is promoting more wind energy to be built in Vermont. They are calling for “responsibly-sited wind projects.” What does that mean? When residents of Morgan learned that industrial wind developer David Blittersdorf bought land on a ridgeline overlooking Seymour Lake, some of us wanted to learn more about what happened in other areas of the state where wind projects were built. The obvious place we looked first was David Blittersdorf’s Georgia Mountain industrial wind project, which . . . Complete story »
Electricity grid operator expecting more demand and renewables in New England
New England’s electricity grid is in for major changes, according to a yearly report from ISO New England, the organization that manages the region’s grid. The report says decarbonization will become the way of life in New England, with heating and transportation becoming electrified through technology like heat pumps and electric vehicles. That will increase regional demand for electricity. At the same time, the grid, which now predominantly runs on natural gas, will shift towards renewable energy. All New England . . . Complete story »
Blittersdorf focus
So, I see David Blittersdorf wants to erect a monument to Palmer Putnam for having raised a wind turbine here in Vermont sometime in the 1940s.These things might have been a good idea back when Palmer was puttering around with the idea. Wind turbines have evolved a lot and do produce a lot of electricity during periods of adequate wind speed. Another thing that has evolved during that time is how to hype something in ways greatly disproportionate to reality. . . . Complete story »
Federal regulators uphold controversial grid proposal that could slow clean energy
Despite months of protests by clean energy activists and official pleas from public figures including Elizabeth Warren, federal regulators approved a plan by the region’s energy grid operator that could slow the development of clean electricity for two years. The decision, handed down by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ( FERC), late Friday night, affirms a plan by ISO New England to wait two years to remove a mechanism that makes it harder for clean energy projects to enter the . . . Complete story »
Forked tongue
Sam Carlson, representative for David Blittersdorf’s proposed large industrial turbine on Grandpa’s Knob, says in Wednesday’s Herald that the mountain site for this machine is environmentally extremely sensitive. Carlson states he wants the select boards from the neighboring towns to visit the site, but he wants to keep the total number of select board members and others involved to a minimum because “There are sensitive, rare and endangered plants up there that we have to be careful about.” If people’s . . . Complete story »
Wind developers invite boards to visit Grandpa’s Knob site
CASTLETON – Town officials have been invited to tour the site of a proposed single-turbine wind project to be built on Grandpa’s Knob. The Grandpa’s Knob Community Wind Project first came into the public eye last fall when the developers behind it began talking to select boards and planning commissions in the towns the turbine might be visible in. Those include Castleton and Hubbardton for certain, with Rutland Town, Pittsford, West Rutland and Proctor also being approached. The developer behind the . . . Complete story »
Upgrades to Lowell substation, two transmission lines, costs increase $5 million-plus, GMP confirms
MONTPELIER – Upgrades to the Lowell Substation and some 18.1 miles of the B20 transmission line from Johnson to Lowell, as well as upgrades to 1.5 miles of the B22 line in the towns of Eden, Johnson, Lowell and Morrisville – approved earlier in a petition to the Vermont Public Utility Commission (PUC) for separate Certificates of Public Good (CPG) – have increased in cost by $5.38 million since being proposed pre-pandemic. Costs for the substation upgrade in Lowell and the two transmission . . . Complete story »
