(Host) A Vermont wind farm developer says, when all is said and done, there will only be a small number of wind farms in the state. Matthew Rubin heads a group that has proposed an array of wind turbines in the Northeast Kingdom.
Speaking Thursday night on VPR’s Switchboard, Rubin said accessibility, restrictive easements and exposure to sufficient winds mean there is limited potential for wind energy.
(Rubin) “So, when you take all of those criteria and you recognize that other developers including myself have been looking around Vermont for potential sites, and after five years of looking, only five sites have been identified. So, I think the idea that there will be turbines everywhere, is simply not the case.”
(Host) Rubin says energy generated by wind farms can supply the state with clean, less expensive power and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Tom Broderick of the Kingdom Commons Group says his organization wants a moratorium on new wind development. Broderick says his group isn’t against wind farms, but he wants the state to take a closer look at their impact.
(Broderick) “There are many unanswered questions about environmental impact, about economic impact, about cultural impact, about what this will do to the soul of this state that need to be answered, need to be discussed vigorously. And we need to talk about these in no big hurry and when we make the decision, whatever that is, then we can proceed from there.”
(Host) Broderick says the state can find other ways to develop clean energy sources that will have less impact than large wind farms.