The Vermont House overwhelmingly passed on Friday a bill that as a moratorium on ridgeline wind development in Vermont. Over the past two months, though, the bill to a study of how the state approves renewable energy projects.
The House voted 140-to-3 to approve the Senate bill.
On Friday, Natural Resources and Energy Chairman Tony Klein, D-East Montpelier, who has emerged as a lightning rod for opponents hoping to strike down wind projects, rose to passionately acknowledge that the beleaguered bill has taken a circuitous route to the House floor. Klein, a product of the 1960s, quoted the Grateful Dead.
鈥淲hat a long, strange trip this has been,鈥� said Klein, whose committee found that the kind of research called for in the Senate bill would be nearly impossible - and too expensive - to conduct.
鈥淪ome of the asks that were sent to us in the Senate bill was on research that, quite frankly, hasn鈥檛 been done anywhere yet,鈥� Klein told his colleagues, pointing to real estate values that may or may not be affected by energy generation plants as one example.
鈥淭o really get some sort of baseline of understanding, you鈥檝e got to go to a community where a project has been built 鈥� and remember that we鈥檝e only had recently two projects built in the last few years 鈥� and you鈥檝e got to wait and see what happens to the real estate values there,鈥� Klein said.
Klein emphasized that his committee learned it would take four to six years to get reliable real estate information 鈥� time, he said, lawmakers can鈥檛 afford to take in developing energy policies.
"There is an energy problem in this country,鈥� Klein added. 鈥淭here is an energy problem in this world, and we can鈥檛 go on business as usual and not pay attention to it.鈥�
Proponents in the House and Senate had hoped the bill would give greater local control to town and regional planning committees in reviewing renewable energy projects.
Minority Leader Don Turner, R-Milton, said his constituents who live near Georgia Mountain still hope for a more cautious, balanced approach to ridgeline wind development.
鈥淭his week the wind turbines on the mountain didn鈥檛 turn at all,鈥� Turner reported. 鈥淲e need to understand that.鈥�
鈥淕eorgia Mountain, which was this pristine mountain, now has a cut right up through the middle with four big turbines sticking out of it,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ome say beautiful, some don鈥檛.鈥�
Turner and other House lawmakers said they are confident that the bill recognizes some of the flaws in Vermont鈥檚 renewable energy policies.
