The Controversial Current: Analyzing Wind Power in Vermont
The Controversial Current
Analyzing Wind Power in Vermont
Nathan Gabel
The windmills on Georgia Mountain
The snug summer breeze dances in through the cracks in my windows and bolts frenziedly around my cheeks as I drive back to college after a relaxing weekend home. I bought a brand new 2012 Toyota Corolla a month earlier, so the rush of driving it everywhere at any opportunity is still fresh. Rather than doing the hop on I-89 southbound routine I usually do to get back to Saint Michael's College, I decide to take a trail of backroads and prolong the new-car high. Lush green mountains, countryside houses, and the occasional cow or two greet me at every turn with a serene hospitality that only Vermont can offer. After about ten minutes of driving away from my quaint home in Fairfax and into the arborous abyss, my once wandering eyes become glued to several stark, white contrasts oscillating on the mountains ahead. Windmills? I think to myself. How long have those been there?
A breakdown of the number of wind sites in Vermont
Forms of alternative energy such as solar power, water power, and wind power have blown up within the past fifty years, so much so that I see windmills every time I hit the backroads heading home from school. Greenhouse gas emissions have been spiking drastically over the years, and many believe that these forms of alternative energy can revolutionize the world we live in, make us less dependent on oil, and reduce our impact on the environment dramatically. On the surface, it's hard to argue the benefits of these forms of alternative energy. They take advantage of phenomena that naturally occur in the environment, which is without a doubt cleaner and less environmentally taxying than other forms of harnessing energy, such as fracking. While the surface-level benefits of these forms of alternative energy, especially wind power, make them look perfect, it is paramount to dig a bit deeper to understand them entirely. What are the pros and cons of wind power in Vermont in the twenty-first century, and should Vermonters support it or not?
Digging Into the Downsides
State Minority Leader Joe Benning
"If [wind power] was done appropriately in the right locations, it's obviously a renewable energy source," says State Minority Leader Joe Benning. "Unfortunately, we cannot depend on it because it is intermittent and we don't have the storage capacity." Benning continues his argument against wind power by citing environmental impact, effects on wildlife, and the fact that windmills are often built in farms of four or more windmills, which he believes is overkill. "We had several meetings around the state talking about projects that were being proposed in places that appalled me. [Many of these places] were either state or national parks that we worked very hard to protect." Benning also proposed a three-year moratorium while on the Natural Resources and Energy Committee to study the effects and value of renewable wind energy, which lost when proposed as a bill in the state senate. He ends his argument by pointing out how he believes the people of Vermont are starting to realize the economic and environmental impacts that industrial-size wind power is having and that it is not a wise choice to keep going through with these proposed wind projects. "Vermont is a very special place. I think there's room for wind done right, but there's no room for wind done wrong."
Vermonters for a Clean Environment Executive Director Annette Smith
Vermonters for a Clean Environment Executive Director Annette Smith had originally loved the idea of wind power and thought windmills were beautiful years ago, but her opinion changed quickly once she and a friend went to see some in person and learned more about the wind industry. "There is no middle ground [with this issue]," says Smith. "If the wind industry would admit that there are health effects being caused by the acoustics that are coming off of these [windmills], we'd be getting somewhere, but they won't admit it. They just want to deny it and blame the victim, and that is really disturbing." Smith has been advocating against wind power in Vermont for a number of years, and she believes that the impacts on health, the economy, and the environment are not worth creating wind turbines. She knows people who have had to move away from their homes and seek extensive medical attention for issues such as chronic headaches and nosebleeds. Many of these medical issues that people experienced were not present before the wind turbines were built near their homes. "[Some environmental activists] say that when a blade turns, that means that fossil fuel somewhere is not being burnt, but there is no evidence that is in fact true."
A visual of the twenty-one, 450-foot-tall windmills that span across
Lowell Mountain
Some Vermont citizens are fed up with wind power as well, so much so that they have filed a lawsuit. In the case Brouha vs. Vermont Wind, filed two months ago, the District Court of Vermont came to the conclusion that the plaintiff had brought forth sufficient evidence against the Sheffield Wind Project for a private nuisance claim. East County Magazine states that "Plaintiffs allege Vermont wind turbines have caused pain, stress, suffering and loss of property for residents, also preventing them from gardening, walking or dining outdoors. The court denied a motion by defendants who had sought to dismiss the nuisance claim." Furthermore, a poll conducted by WCAX says that support for big wind is dropping in Vermont. According to the poll, big wind support dropped from 66% in 2013 to 50% now. UVM undergraduate Neil Brandt wrote his thesis on wind power in Vermont, emphasizing many of the trends that have happened with it over the past decade. Mark Whitworth of Times Argus references his thesis, stating "Brandt says that local economic gain was once the dominant pro-wind theme. Not anymore. Now we know that the wind jobs were temporary. And the good ones went to out-of-state specialists. Heck, even the driver who tipped over his tractor-trailer on the way to Lowell was a specialist from Texas. Any of my neighbors could have driven that truck off the road. I would have been proud to do it myself." Changing Directions
Dorothy Schnure, Corporate Spokesperson for
Green Mountain Power
While support for big wind may be going down in Vermont, there are still a good number of supporters in the Vermont community. Dororthy Schnure, Corporate Spokesperson for Green Mountain Power, believes that wind energy is right for Vermont to take full advantage of in terms of alternative energy. "There are pros and cons to everything, that needs to be clear, but wind is a great resource [compared to others]," says Schnure. "Personally, I'm very concerned about climate change, and I think wind power plays a critical role in our move to more renewable energy. In Vermont, it's also important to note that the renewable energy industry is thriving and has brought a lot of jobs and economic benefits to the state." Schnure goes on to explain Green Mountain Power's role in the wind movement in Vermont, referencing how they helped pioneer the movement to run wind turbines in the winter and received a national award for sharing what they learned with the wind industry on a national scale. Green Mountain Power also created a good neighbor fund where they share some revenue from their wind projects with the surrounding communities in which they are built. "Consistently, the vast majority of [Green Mountain Power] customers support wind power in the state, even when we ask the question 'In Vermont, industrial turbines need to be built on ridge lines. Do you still support it?' The vast majority still say yes."
The hydro-electric system on the Winooski River
It would seem Schnure's statement holds true when looking at the city of Burlington, which became 100% dependent on renewable energy last month. Beverley Mitchell of Inhabitat states that "The city [of Burlington] set itself this target around a decade ago, and recently completed the transition to renewables when the Burlington Electric Department bought a 7.4-megawatt hydroelectric system on the Winooski River near the city's border. The hydro scheme joined the city's existing wind-powered systems and a biomass facility, which processes leftover wood chips from the local logging industry." According to Mitchell, the only time Burlington will need to depend on non-renewable resources is when there is not enough wind. Another big accomplishment for renewable energy in Vermont occurred last month as well when Vermont was awarded a federal grant to help connect more renewable energy sources to the power grid. The Washington Times says that "The U.S. Department of Energy grant, announced by Vermont's congressional delegation, goes to a partnership being set up between the state Department of Public Service and Vermont's largest electric utility, Green Mountain Power. The goal is to standardize and streamline how Vermont interconnects and distributes the generation of renewable energy into the grid."
Andrew Stein, former reporter for VT Digger
When asked about the pros and cons of wind power in Vermont, Andrew Stein, former reporter for VT Digger, chose to keep an independent stance on the issue as he had when he was a reporter. Although he didn't insert himself personally, he pointed out many facts that he had learned as a reporter on the issue. "A major benefit of [wind power] for the town [of Lowell], and this is true of other wind projects in the state of Vermont, [is that] they provide enough money for the town to cover a large portion, and in some cases all of, the municipal taxes for that town," says Stein. "I think in the state of Vermont when people talk about being for or against wind power, it's not people that are for or against wind power. I think it's people that are for or against the sighting of wind power in certain places." Stein emphasizes that a lot of those against wind power in Vermont seem particularly upset by where it is sited more than anything else. He also explains how the power grid in Vermont initially had a lot of trouble some years ago when these wind projects were first being connected to the grid because of the spikes in power they would have, but many improvements to the grid have been made over the years to be able to handle wind power more efficiently. Yet, one questions still remains - do the benefits outweigh the costs? "There are a lot of debates about exactly the size of [the] interruption [from wind power]," says Stein. "People will say 'I still see moose up here all the time, it's still as full of wildlife as it's ever been,' and other people will argue that that's not the case. There's a lot of back and forth and a lot of hearsay surrounding this issue."
Slowing Down
Clearly wind power in Vermont is quite controversial. While it does offer more than a few benefits economically, environmentally, and in terms of how it creates energy, it also has negative impacts on health, power regulation, and the environment in which wind projects are started. When I drove by the windmills on top of Georgia Mountain three summers ago, a mere five miles from my home in Fairfax, all I remember thinking was how beautiful I thought they looked. I forgot about them in a matter of seconds as my mind wandered elsewhere, but now that I have learned so much about the many intricacies of the wind power debate, I can't help but wonder about the future of wind power in Vermont. Before researching this issue, I had a positive view of wind power and thought it was nothing but good for Vermont, but now I see that there are some major issues that need to be discussed and worked out. I still believe that wind power has a lot of potential and that Vermont can make it work, but there needs to be better communication between those who start these wind projects and the general public if Vermont is going to make further progress with wind power in the future.
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