Ever wondered why industrial wind power is running into so much heavy turbulence in Vermont? Anyone who’s never gotten a close look at just how large those turbines are may want to head into downtown Burlington tomorrow morning starting at 3 a.m. That’s when the first wave of turbine blades bound for Georgia Mountain, the 10-megawatt wind project in Milton and Georgia, roll out of the Burlington railyard, up Battery Street then attempt to make the right turn up Main Street.
“Attempt” is the operative word. According to Burlington Public Works Director Steve Goodkind, who was in the train yard Tuesday morning, it remains to be seen whether each of the 163-foot blades (not including the size of the extended cab truck and rear trailer) will be able to corner the turn without taking out trees, poles and other roadside hazards. “Three trees, two trees, one tree — we’re not really sure how many will have to go.”


If they know they are going to have trouble making the corner of Battery and Main, how the hell do they think they’re going to corner River st & Main or Main & North Rd in Milton? The streets are even narrower there. Not to mention that the PSB is still in the process of reviewing violations by this development and discovery doesn’t even happen until Nov, first hearing is in Dec. Another case of this so called “Community” wind project having little to no regard for the surrounding communities
No way they make it! The blades going to Lowell were unable to make much wider turns then that and couldn’t get on the I-91 on ramp with out crossing into the “off-ramp.”
I hope they have an alternate route planned as well as a way to get the first truck backed out of the Battery/Main intersection.
Stop INDUSTRIAL WIND ON VERMONT’S RIDGELINES! Inefficient, environmentally: extremely destructive, causes serious health problems, requires blasting and deforestation of thousands of acres, do not reduce carbon emissions (but the trees they cut down did). The list is longer… Yes to SOLAR, getting smaller and more efficient and more light sensitive…
There are still cases pending relating to Lowell as well… yet they won’t be heard until AFTER those turbines go online for good. It seems to be a well thought out plan… get the towers up as fast as possible before anyone can stop it and do by any means necessary.
Thankfully after Dec. there will be no more federal tax credits and the wind tower fad will fade into the sunset. Unfortunately, we will be stuck with the ones that have already been built.
Of note, I have been by the Lowell Farm twice, and have yet to see more then 3 of the 20 towers actually turning at a time. And yes, they are capable of it…if there was enough wind.
When i first heard of the project years ago, i was somewhat supportive of the idea. But as the project has progressed and as i have seen how the project used obfuscation and minimization of the facts (not doing mockup visuals any closer than 1.5 miles, for instance) i have grown more distrustful of those in control of the project.
Funny that you should use “NIMBY troll” because i’m willing to wager that you don’t have a wind farm within a mile of your backyard where there will be an omnipresent noise for the next 25 years.
The fact is that there are numerous concerns with this wind farm going up, from the noise, to the destruction of the forest/ridgeline/ecosystem, to the potential loss of equity in our homes, which haven’t been addressed and for which there is no contingency plan should these turbines turn out to be harmful in any of those ways. Are the clear thinking vermonters who support this going to compensate me should i find that i can’t sell my house due to the turbines? For the majority you speak of, this project is out of sight and out of mind, so support for it comes easy. Maybe you should objectively and truthfully consider what you would do in the same situation before calling names.
“I need ya, Decks. This is a bad one, the worst yet. I need the old blade runner, I need your magic. “
I think it makes a tempting story, but I know that engineers can map this route down to inches….don’t believe everything you read or your one source….blades had already moved on Sat.
Well they did make the Main and Battery intersection, but couldn’t get on 89 where they wanted to…. So much for mapping routes down to inches. Not surprising, the Lowell wind towers couldn’t use the mapped route either. Don’t trust engineers either 😉