General Court considers changing wind turbine siting law

Anonymous left comment which I thought should be brought out to the post level.

PLEASE ACT NOW! WEDNESDAY COULD BE TOO LATE!
Your help is needed immediately to stop a last-minute rush to pass the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act.

This special interest legislation is being jammed through by Energy & Environment Secretary Ian Bowles in the waning hours of this year's legislative session. He wants a vote by the close of Wednesday, and he's putting tremendous pressure on the legislators to approve the Act. It could reach the floor for a vote tomorrow, Tuesday.

A revised version of the Act was released last week. While there have been some very modest improvements, the fundamental problems remain.

The Act still allows wind developers to go to the state Energy Facilities Siting Board for expedited comprehensive permits regardless of decisions by local boards.

It still replaces state environmental laws with standards established by the EFSB - which that agency can apply or waive at its sole discretion.

It still eliminates almost all traditional rights of participation and appeal for communities and citizens.

This month's National Geographic Traveler magazine ranks the Berkshires in a tie for 7th place among 133 destinations worldwide. It extols this place for its "well-protected natural beauty," describing it as an "important area for cultural tourism in a beautiful environmental setting." Cape Cod is also on the list of top destinations.

All that could be lost if our ability to shape the character of our communities is stripped away by the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act.

Some legislators, Senator Ben Downing among them, hope to find a compromise on the Act. Respectfully, I have to say that is unrealistic. The Act's purpose is to block local opposition and fast-track wind facilities, ...

... and it's targeted at onshore areas with more wind, namely the Berkshires and the coast and islands. Several revisions of the Act have confirmed that Secretary Bowles is undeterred from using it to achieve the governor's goal of 2,000 MW of wind by 2020.

Please act now by contacting your legislators. Link to legislators is here They need to hear from you right away, preferably by phone, but also by email.

Please tell them that 1.) you oppose this Act, 2.) you want them to oppose it, and 3.) you want them to ask their colleagues to oppose it.

If you are in Senator Downing's district, it is particularly important that he hears from you right away. Representatives Guyer and Pignatelli have expressed their opposition to the Act, but they need to be supported with calls from you, and reminded to contact their colleagues.

Please also call the Senate and House leaders. Their names and numbers are below.

Please call Governor Patrick, too. Link to Governor's contact information here. He needs to hear your outrage at this power grab by his administration!

The Energy Facilities Siting Board was created because local opposition to energy facilities made it nearly impossible to create the energy infrastructure necessary to sustain our modern way of life. Their website says,

"The Siting Board's primary function is to license the construction of major energy infrastructure in Massachusetts, including large power plants, electric transmission lines, natural gas pipelines and natural gas storage facilities."

Dartmouth has been ahead of the curve in passing a bylaw which clearly delineates the conditions that a developer must meet to site a wind project. I think our bylaw is overly restrictive, but at least it provides a clear and reasonable path for the installation of wind energy. Our bylaw could be a model for other communities.
Unfortunately, the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) mentality is a major stumbling block to development of energy infrastructure. Wind projects languish for years because of appeals to permits and challenges to zoning. The Commonwealth and its people have shown an interest in promoting alternative energy solutions such as wind power. The bill in the legislature is not to advance special interest, it is a possible solution to the siting woes. An alternative approach to the Wind Energy Siting Reform Act might be to require every municipality to adopt a bylaw that defines their conditions for allowing wind power facilities.