BURLINGTON, Vt. -- State regulators' approval of 16 wind turbines in Sheffield has dispelled some developers' worries that no big wind turbines would be approved on the state's mountaintops and offered a guide through the state's review process.
"They very carefully and transparently sketched out a map as to what standards would have to be met to get a permit," Stephen Terry, a consultant to
Terry and other specialists said that the lesson for developers is to gain local support, sell electricity to Vermont utilities at a stable price, and thoroughly review the environmental impacts of the wind towers.
"The order sets a really high bar for developers to meet, but it lays out all the hoops you need to jump through," said James Moore, a renewable energy advocate for the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.
The approval of the proposal by UPC Wind of Newton, Mass., for the 400-foot towers came just 13 months after the state rejected a different wind power proposal in East Haven.
The latest decision probably will encourage four or five other wind developers considering sites in Vermont, wind advocates said.
UPC had proposed 26 turbines in Sheffield and Sutton three years ago but scaled back the project, and agreed to protect bear habitat, study bird deaths, and to stop the turbines 120 nights a year to protect migrating bats. The permit comes with 30 conditions.
UPC hopes to have the turbines running by late 2008.
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