Battle line drawn over wind proposal


Burlington Free Press, July 17, 2003

By Matt Crawford
Free Press Staff Writer

LOWELL -- Sit beside the brick fireplace in the front room of Don and Shirley Nelson's farmhouse and look west through the big picture window.

The view is of the Lowell Mountain range, which shoulders up against the Nelsons' 620-acre spread. It's a rugged, steep ridge running slightly southwest to northeast, dividing Eden and Lowell from Craftsbury, Albany and Irasburg.

Maple, birch, ash and a smattering of softwood trees provide habitat for moose, bobcats, deer and ravens. The range, which reaches about 2,600 feet at its highest, is visible from parts of the Long Trail, from Craftsbury Commons , Lake Eden and Jay Peak .

Look closely between two Norway spruce trees in the Nelsons' backyard, and you can see a thin metal needle rising from the ridge to pierce the summer sky.

The 163-foot tower is one of two temporary structures placed on the Lowell Mountain range this summer by enXco, a company considering capturing the wind that blows across the mountain's spine and using it to generate electricity. The tower is equipped with scientific devices designed to measure the wind and determine if windmills would someday work atop the ridge.

EnXco's plans -- the details are still under wraps -- have ignited a debate in the small Northeast Kingdom towns near Lowell . Opponents of the project, like the Nelsons, fear an undeveloped ridge line topped with giant wind turbines would shatter the rural character of the region.

The controversy in Lowell is the latest example of the conundrum wind power stirs in Vermont . Producing electricity from wind doesn't pollute the water or foul the air, but the towering turbines perform most effectively on the state's signature mountaintops -- and windmills strung out along the rocky, rugged spine of the state create a type of visual pollution for some.

Supporters of enXco's plan contend wind turbines that tower 100 yards above the ridge's tree line would not spoil the aesthetics of the nearby small towns. They believe the time has come to develop clean, renewable energy and wean the country from its dependency on oil.

Lowell voters backed that in theory on Town Meeting Day in March, approving a resolution that calls for alternative energy sources, including wind, as part of the updated town zoning plan.

Richard Pion, chairman of the Lowell Selectboard, said he thinks only a handful of residents are opposed to the project.

"I'm in favor of renewable energy," said Pion, who owns about a half-mile of the Lowell ridge. "Fuel prices are rising and maybe it's time to do some of these projects."

Don Nelson doesn't see it that way.

"I'm sorry," Nelson says as he stands beside his red barn and looks westward, "but this just isn't for Vermont ."

Catching the wind



EnXco is a California-based wind energy company with projects on three continents. To explore the possibilities of wind energy in Vermont , enXco enlisted John Zimmerman of Vermont Environmental Research Associates, an alternative energy consulting company in Waterbury . Lowell Mountain is one of two Vermont wind-energy projects in which enXco is involved. The other is an existing wind facility in Searsburg.

Earlier this year, Vermont 's Public Service Board granted enXco's request to erect the two test towers on the Lowell range. While details of the Lowell project are undetermined, Zimmerman says the potential is for turbines generating 20 to 40 megawatts of electricity. Forty megawatts would be about 4 percent of Vermont 's electricity peak demand at a given moment.

Currently, 1.5 megawatt wind towers are the industry norm, which means the Lowell project would need between 10 and 30 wind towers. A typical 1.5 megawatt tower is about 330 feet high from base to blade tip -- taller than the Statue of Liberty -- and would probably have to be topped with red aviation warning beacons.

"We're in the process of developing a photo simulation of the area so people who live near the mountain can see what the project may look like," Zimmerman said. "The whole project might not even happen if we find out there isn't enough wind."

Zimmerman said power generated at the wind facility might be purchased by the Vermont Public Power Supply Authority and sold to municipal utilities in the area. Claims from opponents of the project that the electricity generated there would be shipped out of state are false, Zimmerman said.

Opposition mounts



When enXco asked the Public Service Board for permission to erect the test towers, several residents voiced concern. After the towers went up and news of the proposed project spread, more opponents began to surface.

The Nelsons -- who are trying to sell their farm at the base of the Lowell ridge -- have been two of the most vocal critics. The Nelsons figure they'll be able to see at least nine wind towers from their picture window.

"It really has nothing to do with the fact that our place is up for sale," Don Nelson says. "Yes, we're biased and passionate about this in our back yard, but the fact is we're talking about a state that fights to keep billboards off the interstate allowing 30 huge towers to be built on an undeveloped mountain range. That's bad."

The Bayley-Hazen Military Road , built during the Revolutionary War by order of George Washington to send supplies to Quebec , winds through the eastern valley of the Lowell ridge. It cuts across the range just north of Albany , and is part of the Catamount cross-country ski trail and used by the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers.

Bill Stenger, president of Jay Peak Resort, says he's supportive of wind power, but not a wind farm as large and visible as the Lowell project might be.

" Vermont is not unique in this world, but it's special," said Stenger, who can see the Lowell range from the ski area. "The scale of the project they're proposing for Lowell doesn't fit into that special Vermont . I don't think we want 350-foot wind turbines on undeveloped ridge lines. That's not in keeping with what the state is."

The Nelsons and other opponents mailed out 5,150 informational packets last week to residents of seven towns near Lowell . The mailing asked for help in opposing the project. By Wednesday, the Nelsons had received almost 300 cards back from other residents opposed to the project.

Darryle Mongeon lives in Albany and watches the sun sink behind the Lowell range each summer evening. He says until he received the mailing last week and saw the test tower glimmering in the morning sun this week, he was unaware of the possible project.

"I don't think this is the place to put up those towers" Mongeon said. "It will absolutely ruin the aesthetics of the state."

Some support



Some landowners along the ridge line, including Nelson's neighbors, have sold easement rights to enXco. Zimmerman won't discuss how many landowners have been offered cash or how much they've been offered, but two landowners on the ridge estimate there might be as many eight private landowners involved in the project,

Ben "Trip" Wileman, who owns the land where one of the test towers has been built, is sending out his own mass mailing to area residents. The mailing outlines benefits of the project, said Wileman.

"The intent of my letter," Wileman said, "is to address all of the fears that were touched upon by the Nelson letter, explaining why there shouldn't be anything to fear."

Wileman said he extensively researched wind power before selling easement rights to his property to enXco.

The project, Wileman said, is environmentally friendly, will eventually lower local utility rates and create jobs.

"It's also good," Wileman said, "that it can bring these benefits with very little negative impact, once you get past the subjective opinion of whether wind towers are visually appealing or not."
Contact Matt Crawford at 651-4852 or mcrawfor@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

State seeks policy for turbines on public land



The state of Vermont is crafting a policy guiding where wind turbines would be permitted on public lands.

A wind farm proposed for mountains in Victory State Forest last year was shelved until the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources creates a management policy for wind-generating facilities on state land.

"It's a fairly complicated and controversial issue as well," said Mike Fraysier, lands director for the Agency of Natural Resources.

Fraysier said almost 62 percent of land at elevations between 2,000 and 3,000 feet -- where wind turbines would be most effective -- is owned by federal or state government or have conservation easements in place.

"As the elevation goes up, the percentage of public ownership goes up," Fraysier said.

The state, said Fraysier, will be looking for public input in the fall on the lands use policy.

If enXco decides to build turbines, it must take the proposal to the Public Service Board and proceed through a process similar to Act 250.
-- Matt Crawford