Is there such a thing as too much wind for a Utility company ? Apparently YES in Vermont!
And the plot gets thicker for wind developers in Vermont : the people are raising their voices in opposition to projects , GMP ( Green Mountain Power ) say : we have enough wind for the moment , a law was passed at the last Legislature session increasing the need for renewables , and the Public Service Board goes on permitting projects for the sake of the "Public Good" ( which they never define except with some pictures of the 2006 BP oil spill ) ........this conundrum is the symbol of a sand castle slowly engulfed by the rising seas of common sense and economic and human reality.
- DAVID JUNKIN
Travis Belisle faces what has become predictable opposition as he plans to build as many as seven wind turbines atop a ridge near his Swanton home: Critics say the project will harm wetlands, disturb wildlife and bother neighbors with noise.
But his Swanton Wind project is encountering unexpected headwinds that its predecessors haven't. Some of the state's largest utilities aren't interested in buying more wind power — from his turbines or any others.
"We don't see how this project fits in," said Mary Powell, chief executive officer of the state's largest electric company, Green Mountain Power. "We are in really good shape for our customers with wind."
Ditto Vermont Electric Cooperative, the state's second-largest utility. According to director of government affairs Andrea Cohen, VEC has no plans to buy new wind-generated energy. Nor does the Burlington Electric Department, which last year reached its goal of obtaining 100 percent of its power from renewable resources.
"We're in a similar position to what GMP is," echoed Ken Nolan, BED's manager of power resources. "In general, we don't need any more supply, [from] wind or other sources, for the next five years," he said.
This dismissal is surprising, as it comes just months after legislators etched ambitious new renewable-energy goals into state law. What does it mean for the fledgling Swanton project and for the future of wind power in Vermont?
Most of the players in Vermont's energy field say it doesn't necessarily spell the end for either. The state's largest utilities locked into getting power from three large wind projects that went online during the last four years, so their interest, for now, has waned. They also seem to be more wary of getting involved in any projects that face heavy hometown opposition.
Short-term, that could put developers such as Belisle in a bind. They are likely to have a harder time persuading the quasi-judicial Vermont Public Service Board that a project is in the public interest — and therefore should be permitted to operate — without proof that they can sell the power to Vermonters.
http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/power-struggle-vermont-utilities...
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Comment
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Comment by Monique Aniel Thurston on October 7, 2015 at 11:55am
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in response to eric , the PSB has been requiring in-state PPA
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Comment by Pineo Girl on October 7, 2015 at 11:32am
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I wish our Maine electricity companies would also admit they have enough wind - Maine produces 30+% more than it needs!
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Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on October 7, 2015 at 11:11am
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Not that I want to see more of this destruction, anywhere that displaces more land to destruction, I have to wonder if his project is being denied, because he does not have sufficiently deep pockets to grease the palms of others thus putting the project of a Net Metering class (if the state has such).
Most Net Metering would require that he be paid the highest rate that they either provided as retail or wholesale, probably depending on who contracted to purchase his output capacity. Something the project could not withstand at a lower price, Or they are looking to receive only if nearly free.
Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.
Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********
(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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