Electrical:

• Power sold to highest bidder
• Power would not be sold locally
• Intermittency means base load plants like Yankee Nuclear cannot be shut down or replaced by wind energy
• In New England, wind would displace natural gas, not coal or nuclear power, and there would be very little CO2 emissions avoided

Economics:

• Property values in affected areas will probably fall
• No reduction in local electric bills
• Tiny drop in property taxes
• Taxpayer dollars used to enrich wind developers who make 20% on their investment
• GE, who manufactures turbines, and other large companies see wind as a serious money-making opportunity
• By buying green credits from Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut can keep their coal plants polluting

Tourism:

• Tourism, at over $4 billion, the second largest source of revenue in the state
• Tourists don't come to Vermont to see electric generation plants, thereby providing a major risk to the local economy

Environmental :

• There would be over 100 acres of forested mountain-top clear-cut plus a road going from one end of the project to the other (at least 35 feet wide).
• Need to enlarge substation and build additional transmission lines
• Heavy duty roads, at least 35 feet wide, needed to be built to the top of the mountain
• Huge cement and steel foundations
• Wildlife habitat fragmentation
• Bird and bat kills
• Water runoff issues
• Wetland disruption
• No meaningful effect on global warming or acid rain
• Not VT Scale – Huge wind turbines will only get bigger

Quality of life :

• Noise levels well above those in cities
• Low-frequency vibration shown to cause anxiety, depression, sleeplessness
• Red flashing lights, required by the FAA, will be visible for many miles in all directions, day & night
• Flicker effect
• Health concerns
• No property setbacks regulations
• Project would be “in your face” and “define the area” ( J. Vissering, Aesthetic expert)

Political:

• A Renewable Portfolio Standard was recently passed
• Gov. Douglas is not against commercial wind in Vermont
• Vermont's Agency of Natural Resources has determined that industrial scale wind should not be put on State land

Legal :

• Land use law/ utility law conflict on Glebe Mountain
• No federal, state or local standards or accountability hence no legal recourse
• Threat to property owners' right to peacefully enjoy their own land

Alternatives to REALLY solving global warming:

• Better gas mileage
• Scrubbers on coal plants or coal gasification on all newly built coal plants
• Conservation – community competitions using Eco Star products, etc.
• Possibly using existing dams (like Ball Mountain) for hydro electric use)