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Last Updated 10:48 PM Wednesday, September 01, 2010
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Opinion
| 1/7/2010 10:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Gone With The Wind
Green Mountain Power Company (GMPC) has announced it will submit its plans for constructing the Green Mountain Power Wind Farm in Lowell to the voters by Australian ballot and do what they decide, i.e., build it or not according to how the vote turns out. That decision seems a good one, democratic and more than fair.
It only seems fair, though, because it lacks one important element. It will be a vote by Lowell registered voters only. It will not reflect the wishes of the citizens of the towns in the view shed area around the proposed wind farm, who don't live in Lowell.
It is very likely that Lowell voters, who will get a big tax windfall from GMPC, will approve the wind farm. Based on their vote alone, their non-voting neighbors will be looking at the towers and huge fans from their living room windows.
It is a given that Vermont's ridges and valleys, and the views to and from them, belong to all Vermonters, not just the ones who own the real estate or who live in the towns that contain the view shed. Nobody would agree to 100 or more windmills on the Mount Mansfield or Camel's Hump ridges, even though they are within the limits of the towns of their location. We would bet the farm that Vermonters would not stand for the voters in those towns trading our birthright views for the mess of potage of a tax bribe.
For any wind farm vote up or down to be binding, it should include the eligible voters in all of the towns from which the ridge to be despoiled by a wind farm is visible. Without those votes being included, a vote by the citizens of the taxing town, in this case Lowell, is nothing more than a clever public relations gimmick that guarantees that the birthright of the rest of us will be gone with the wind.
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Reader Comments
Posted: Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Article comment by:
Ever lived near one?
... When clipper ships ruled the sea? Uh, yeah.
Some facts about wind power:
1- will not close any coal fired plants
2- will do nothing to reduce reliance on foreign oil
3- have a major impact on quality of life for those who live near them (I have lived near a windfarm, I know)
4- kill property values
5- create virtually no longer term benefit for areas where they are developed (i.e. jobs, lowered bills etc)
6- are widely recognized as inefficient, ham-fisted icons to an ideology rather than a realistic alternative energy source
read today's article in the NY Times about conservation vs alternative energy developments for more.
If you oppose wind developments in the NEK, stand up and be heard. Do not fear being making a statement in the face of political correctness. Most of us oppose wind in Vermont, and for good reason, so stand up and be heard.. In a state that won't allow billboards on the side of the road, this is patently absurd.
THE NEK IS NOT FOR SALE.
Posted: Saturday, January 09, 2010
Article comment by:
Dave Hawkins
On the other side of the coin...
If the proposed site was in a different town would the residents vote to turn down the project if it was going to effectively increasse thier own taxes?
Would the neighboring towns vote to make up the lost revenue for the town of Lowell??
Consider that some of us actually think that the big wind turbines are a rather majestic sight. They really remind me of an older time when wind power was the basis of commerce and clipper ships ruled the seas.
Of course we could always build more coal burning plants or nuclear reactors, maybe build a few more dams or wood fired generators.
Face it, There Ain't No Such Thing A Free Lunch! (TANSTAAFL, a really fine book from the early 70's) spelled it out so even a Mass. Liberal could understand it. If we want power then it has to come from somewhere and someone has to pay for it. I for one would rather see wind turbines on every hill in New England than send any money to Iran, Venezuala or any other country. No to Smoke Stacks, no to nukes, no to dams, YES to Wind and Solar.
Posted: Friday, January 08, 2010
Article comment by:
Joe
Industrial power plants have no place in one of the few remaining unspoiled areas of our great country. Solar can work in Vermont. Biofuels can work in Vermont. Water power can work in Vermont. These alternative sources of power can all work without taking away what is arguably Vermont's most prized trait- her landscape.
Citizens of Lowell- take the long range view and see the developers of this industrial power plant for what they are: profiteers. And understand that the minor, temporary financial gain your town will realize will ultimately destroy what makes the Northeast Kingdom a very rare place.
Posted: Thursday, January 07, 2010
Article comment by:
J.kenny
I'm from southern new england and own Land in the area. I want to build a house in these beautiful green mountains.I,ve been waiting years to see if those wind towers are built.I hope the good people of vermont realize that if they are built they are losing out.people like me will never build a house and try to sell the land.Wind farms will change Vermont forever driving away any hope of attracting people to the area.Tax base will decline only forcing up taxes in bording towns.I want to move to Vermont.Please don,t let Big goverment tax brakes and Big business runin Vermonts green mountains.
Posted: Thursday, January 07, 2010
Article comment by:
Say what?
When exactly did someone else's private property become your birthright view? Being born in VT entitles you to nothing someone else owns. Perhaps VT the entitlement state has gotten to your common sense. It is certainly not a given that the property a person owns, maintains and pays taxes on belongs to all Vermonters. Sounds like Socialism to me.
Posted: Thursday, January 07, 2010
Article comment by:
TC Schrock
Re: the town vote on windmills maybe they make a few more bucks by leasing a billboard to PriceChopper. Pretty good lines of sight right in front of Lowell Elementary.
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