(Host) Massachusetts will be allowed to play a role in the Vermont Public Service Board’s review of a proposed 30 megawatt biomass power plant in Pownal.
The plant, which also includes a wood pellet factory, would be built on the former Green Mountain Race Track. The site is four miles from Williams College and the business district of Williamstown Massachusetts.
Jim Kolesar is a Williams College spokesman.
(Kolesar) "There were several possible adverse affects on college property including affects on air quality and traffic through campus, and also the effects on woodlands wich we own quite a lot of very close to the project."
(Host) Both the town and the College filed motions to intervene in the Vermont proceedings that will determine whether or not Beaver Wood Energy gets to build the plant. The Massachusetts-based Berkshire Regional Planning Commission also asked to be included.
Beaver Wood Energy claimed Vermont’s Public Service Board has no jurisdiction outside the state. But in a recent order, Hearing officer Edward McNamara accepted all three out-of-state-motions to participate.
He wrote that, given the close proximity of the proposed project to Massachusetts, residents of that state may face greater impact from the project than Vermont residents.
Beaver Wood Energy is hoping to build a similar plant in Fair Haven, Vermont as well.