Published December 23, 2003

ORLEANS — The importance of wind in Vermont’s energy mix got a full airing here at a forum held December 13 at Lake Region Union High School.

While the forum had an academic slant, the possibility of wind farms dotting the ridgelines of the Northeast Kingdom brought an overflowing crowd to the school, where they heard speakers from the private and public sectors talk about wind power.

The forum was hosted by Senator Vince Illuzzi of Derby, the senior senator from the Northeast Kingdom and chairman of the Senate Institutions Committee that oversees state lands and state buildings.

Senator Illuzzi, a Republican, has called for a moratorium on wind farms until the state comes up with a public policy to regulate the new technology.

Representative Bill Johnson, who is chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, told the crowd that his committee will take up the wind farm issue this winter.

“The time is ripe for a public policy debate on wind,” said the Canaan Republican.

Vermont presently uses about 1,000 megawatts of power, which makes it a “small fish” in the New England energy picture, according to David LaMont of the Public Service Department. ( It takes roughly six megawatts of power to run 3,000 homes). Most of the state’s power, two-thirds, come from Hydro-Quebec and Vermont Yankee, and these sources have a short life span.

The contract for Vermont Yankee expires in 2012, while most of the contracts with Hydro-Quebec will run out in 2015. According to a graph displayed by Mr. LaMont, Vermont will have to come up with 550 megawatts of power between 2012 and 2015.

Presently, there is lot of uncertainty in the industry because of fluctuating fossil fuel prices and the vulnerability of nuclear plants that can go off line abruptly because of sudden problems.

Generating plants that run on fossil fuel will be the ones that are directly affected by wind power, Mr. LaMont said.

Unlike other states, Vermont traditionally has relied on imported power to meet its energy needs, according to Richard Sedano, who served nine years as commissioner of the Department of Public Service.

Natural gas is rapidly becoming the major fuel for running generating stations. According to Mr. Sedano, it presently accounts for 20 to 25 percent of New England’s mix, and is expected to go to 30 percent before leveling off.

The increasing reliance on natural gas, however, is driving up the price. And in New England, noted Mr. Sedano, the price of electricity and the price of natural gas are climbing at nearly the same rate.

Sales of power in the United State were up by 31 percent during the last decade. Forecasts estimated that sales this decade could increase by as much as 37 percent. Advocates of wind power argue that it is the cheapest source of power available with the biggest payback. It is also an energy source that Vermont has.

David Blittersdorff, an electrical engineer who has created a wind-power related business in Charlotte, told the crowd that in the face of dwindling fossil fuels, new sources of power are needed.

The wind industry is getting better at what it does, he said. And the bigger the wind farm, he added, the more economical it will be.

Benefits derived from wind power include reducing the price of natural gas and fossil fuels, and generally lowering the wholesale price of power whenever the turbines are turning. They would also displace emissions and mitigate risks to the environment.

Liabilities include questionable reliability and added cost. (Gas-fired generators can produce a kilowatt for three or four cents; wind turbines come in at five or six cents a kilowatt, according to statistics presented Saturday). And more importantly, perhaps, in the present climate of the state, is the problem of placing or siting the towers.

The prospect of wind farms on ridgelines is raising the aesthetic hackles of those who want Vermont’s landscape to remain natural and scenic. They argue the towers will undermine a landscape known for its natural beauty and hurt the tourist industry.

In one of the most passionate pleas of the day, Sam Lloyd of Weston, a member of the state Environmental Board, argued that industrial wind towers reaching over 300 feet in height have no place on Vermont ridgelines.

To allow them to be erected, he said, would undercut a long-standing commitment by the state to protect the natural environment.

Politically, the forum could be characterized as a wash. Both opponents and promoters of wind power, including Matthew Rubin of East Haven Windfarm, had their say.

Senator Illuzzi may have had the last word, though, when he suggested that the concerns raised by wind farms may be too important for the Public Service Board alone to resolve.