A new Vermont group in support of wind power has formed, and its members hope to counter the increasingly loud opposition movement.
Wind Works VT is a coalition of individuals and wind power developers, said Kyle Martel of KSE Partners, a Montpelier government affairs and strategic communications firm that represents the group.
Arguing that public opinion polls show strong support for wind power, the group has launched online ads to make the case that wind is a locally generated, clean and renewable source of energy critical to meeting the state’s renewable energy goals.
The individuals and developers behind the group don’t want to be identified, Martel said, “because of the way the anti-wind crowd has bordered on harassment.”
Wind Works VT has been buying ads since July on media websites, including sites for WCAX, the Brattleboro Reformer, VTDigger.org and the Caledonian-Record, he said.
He added: “We do not currently have an exact figure on how much will be spent, but will spend the resources necessary to help more Vermonters understand the important role that wind plays in fighting climate change, reducing our dependence on foreign fossil fuels and helping us meet our state’s goal of 90 percent renewable by 2050.”
Wind critics noticed the group’s ads in July and disputed the accuracy of its claim that wind power will reduce dependence on foreign fossil fuels. Just 1 percent of the state’s energy mix comes from oil, said Annette Smith, executive director of Vermonters for a Clean Environment, which opposes wind projects.
“People don’t understand that when you build more renewables in this big grid system, you’re going to need more of the gas in the form of new gas generators all over New England to meet [peak] load like we are going to experience today,” Smith said.
Though the group announced itself just on the heels of the primary election, it doesn’t plan to become involved in the 2016 campaign, Martel said. But it will be championing wind power at a time when the issue is playing a big role in the governor’s race. Democrat Sue Minter has declared her support. Republican Phil Scott has called for a halt to ridgeline wind projects.
Wind Works VT formed after Vermont legislators this year debated and passed a new wind-power siting procedure and its members worried that what they consider a misleading anti-wind message was taking over, Martel said.
Three Wind Works VT board members are willing to be publicly identified: Jessica Edgerly Walsh, who works as organizing director of SunCommon and is a Montpelier city councilor; Arthur Berndt of Sharon, chair of the Governor’s Council on Energy and the Environment; and Tom Gray of Norwich, former executive director of the American Wind Energy Association.
Wind Works VT is not related to a similarly named group that formed and disbanded several years ago, Martel said.
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Putting a turbine on a ridge line doesn’t destroy the environment. We have built 1000 times more stuff than this, all over the state. We have 16,000 miles of roadway. 200,000 homes. 20,000 miles of power lines. Rail, bridges, cleared agricultural land, superfund sites, thousands of cell towers. Environment not yet destroyed. Here’s what will definitely alter the environment: continued massive burning of fossil fuel. Environmental opposition to wind power is utterly illogical. You have been fooled by Koch Industries / Ethan Allen Institute, who are tricking you into continuing to burn their coal, gas, and oil. They are spending millions a year to fool you, and they are succeeding. We are easily fooled.
A Smith says wind “does not work in Vermont” because “right now” it is supply only 100 to 150 mW. But that is a LOT of power. Vermont Yankee only provided about 620 mW at full output. That, right now, means we are burning about one million cubic feet of gas less, each hour. Does not work???
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Thanks for the kind words, Annette. And for continuing to post important information, even while being attacked by trolls. Just trying to educate our legislators and the interested populace is not an easy task in this environment.
Please know that while defamation law (libel and slander) may not be simple, in my opinion many posters here have crossed way over the line in several instances.
You are not an office holder, so a person cannot claim you are fair game for anything. While I am not a practicing attorney, these postings offer no commentary on the topics at all, so their malicious intent is obvious.
Here is another worthwhile article from the NY Times about the challenges of the changing energy system. Previously I posted articles from the Washington Post and the NY Times from the last week or two. This one is from Saturday. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/14/business….
Education is the key to Vermont’s energy future. Name calling and greed serve the interests of the few at the expense of the rest.
Read your original post to this thread and tell me you don’t describe yourself perfectly.
We keep giving you a thumbs down because you are a ridiculous, pathological narcissist. As your 5 posts on this thread alone (so far) attest. You were the first to post and you’ve posted 5 out of 13 comments. You think you’re a genius. You think you’re better and smarter than everyone who disagrees with you. You think your opinion is more valid than everyone else’s. You’re a self-appointed hero. You’re infatuated with yourself. You are just like Peter Shumlin.
And it will promptly be 6 posts no doubt.
It is my right to respond to the wild and persistent ravings, accusations, and attacks of the narcissist Ms. Smith, Vermont’s self-appointed Joan of Arc, who believes that she’s the only one who’s right about Vermont energy and land-use policy and that everyone else is ignorant, foolish, or corrupt. Thank you very much.
The big grid relies on gas, nuclear, hydro, with some coal and oil during peak periods. During this latest hot spell each day renewables (in total, and most of that was wood) was 5 to 6% of the region’s load. More than 1000 MW of wind produced a little over 100 MW during the 3-day peak load period. Trying to build renewables to serve the big grid is where we’ve gone wrong. Instead we should be starting with a system like mine with solar, batteries and generator and scale up to serve Vermont communities. Vermont’s peak load didn’t even reach 1000 MW in the recent hot spell. Regional load was 25,000 MW. Vermont is uniquely position to do it small. Instead, the money and power is all about build build build and big big big. Some day we will come to our senses and get smart. And maybe we’ll even start being nice to each other. Annette Smith https://www.facebook.com/windwrecksvt/
VTPolicyAnalyst, it is so refreshing to see someone talk about the issue like the differences between wind and solar. So much of the dialogue over the last 6 years has been entirely to avoid having any discussions. Last year when I went to ISO-NE, I saw some flashing red lights on the upper part of the control panel and asked what that was about — wind, said the man giving us the tour. Voltage issues, either too high or too low. Though they were being careful in what they said to us, it was pretty clear wind energy is a pain for the grid operators. Built far from load, intermittent, hard to integrate. Then I asked about solar. The man pointed to one rectangle in the center of the panel. He said that’s a 20 MW solar array in Mass. that is their proxy for solar. The grid operators do not have a handle on the region’s solar, which is mostly behind the meter and they said they are gaining but not there yet. Getting data from states is a challenge. So when you look at that ISO-NE real time chart and it shows 1 or 2% for solar as part of the renewables mix, all you’re seeing is that one solar array. Solar is contributing more than ISO-NE shows.
Also, of interest: Many SunCommon employees are personally anti-Big-Wind. I’ve asked them individually. But SunCommon managment is pro-Big-Wind, so they only offer their opinion in private.
I also know one person who did not go with SunCommon panels specifically because the company supports Big-Wind.
To me, both are management areas of concern.