Could Congress Stop the Turbines?

Whether you're for or against the wind turbines in Orange, three letters will make a big difference: PTC. They stand for Production Tax Credit, an energy subsidy that has fueled wind turbine production on and off since the 1990s.

Without the tax credit, new construction of turbines plummets. This chart, made by the wind energy industry, proves the point. Every time Congress lets the tax credit expire, investment in wind energy practically stops.

Except this time. The PTC expired last year; but the wind industry thinks Congress will renew it this year. The House has already voted to extend the PTC. If the Senate proposes new language, the two houses will negotiate and the bill will be up for a vote by both the House and the Senate. 

Proponents say the tax credit is critical to fostering renewable energy until it can stand on its own. Opponents say the PTC encourages profiteers to make a quick buck by putting turbines in places where they don't make economic sense. Such as Orange.

Whatever side you're on, now's the time to let your representatives know where you stand. You can call Rep. Annie Kuster's office (226-1002) as well as those of our U.S. senators (Jeanne Shaheen 647-7500, Kelly Ayotte 622-7979). 

And email me with any comments you'd like to share with the town: webmaster@orangenh.US.

Jay

The Timing on Windmills

Get ready to bone up fast on the proposed Spruce Ridge Wind Farm. Observers say the formal proposal is likely to come within the next couple of weeks. The four towns affected, including Orange, will have just 30 days to respond. I'll be sending information as I get it. (Many thanks to Judith Lindahl and Sandi Pierson!)

The Orange Planning Board will meet at 7PM Tuesday, December 16, to discuss the Spruce Ridge project. Before you go, you might want to get some facts under your belt.Here is a quick list of facts and links:

• The 15-25 proposed towers will be 200 feet higher than the ones in Rumney. Two of them are slated for Orange. Other estimates predict as many as 30 towers. The cost is at least $140 million, according to the Union Leader. It will generate at least 60 megawatts of power. Here's newspaper's story: 
• Volunteers are working to get the GPS coordinates for all the towers. I'll post the map as soon as it's done.
• The company behind the proposal, EDP Renewables, is based on Portugal. They have a cool website. The company's first core value is "Trust of shareholders, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders." Not sure local communities count as "stakeholders." Once built, the wind farm would be turned over to a management company.
• The application will be enormous. The one for the Wild Meadows wind project, submitted on December 13 of last year, totalled 4,000 pages. The supporting documents totalled far more pages. Volunteers in Alexandria and other towns split up the duties of reading everything. We'll need to do the same. Here's the Wild Meadows application.
• Who will the company apply to? The NH Site Evaluation Committee, or SEC. It's headed by Tom Burack, the state's commissioner of Environmental Services. Its purpose is "the review, approval, monitoring and enforcement of compliance in the planning, siting, construction and operation of energy facilities." Here's their site.
• Many citizens of neighboring towns wrote to the SEC about the Wild Meadows project. If you want to write to the committee yourself, here's the addres:

New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services 
Timothy W. Drew, Administrator 
Public Information and Permitting Unit 
PO Box 95
Concord, NH 03302-0095 

• Examples of letters written to the SEC are here.

The Orange Conservation Commission will be assisting the Planning Board in gathering information. I'll do all I can to keep you posted through this site. If you're a registered member, you'll automatically get emails with each post.

Meanwhile, if you want to comment, you can do so on this site or just email me (Jay), here or at webmaster@orangenh.us.

Update on Friday, December 5, 2014 at 11:49AM by OrangeNH

Correction: The proposal towers in Orange will be 101 feet higher than the Rumney towers: 500 feet tall, versus Rumney's 399.

Update on Friday, December 5, 2014 at 3:08PM by OrangeNH

We originally reported what the Union Leader reported: 2 turbines. The buzz around town proves to be true. Eight are planned for Orange. And the height of the turbines would be 499 feet, 100 feet taller than the Rumney turbines.

Those Windmills Will Be 500' Tall

Check out the front page of the Valley News from 1984 (thanks, Sandi!). It shows a turbine being prepped at the Canaan-Orange line atop Tug Mountain Ridge near Derby Pond. Sandi says the Orange Zoning Board had voted against allowing the project in Orange. (If you can't see the picture, click on the link to the blog post.)

And, speaking of turbines, Sandi emailed us a response to the latest Select Board meeting. 

There was a sizeable attendance at the last Selectmen's meeting because the proposed Spruce Ridge Wind Project was on the agenda. Looking at the location map of the eight 500-foot turbines slated for Orange, it is obvious that more than one land owner is involved. To get a sense of the turbine height, hiking halfway up to the Cardigan summit from the base parking lot is about a 600-foot gain in elevation.I would like to commend the Select Board on how the last meeting was orchestrated; many questions and comments were entertained and answered about what the wind project means for Orange. There will be more presentations and discussions at the December 16 Planning Board meeting which starts at 7 PM. - Sandi

Meanwhile, the Orange Conservation Commission is meeting at 6 PM this Thursday. As always, the public is welcome. We'll discuss ways to research the project, assist the Planning Board, and inform the town.  Here are just some of the questions we'll need to ask: 

• What liabilities do we taxpayers face, in terms of dismantling abandoned towers, maintaining the hazard lights, and fighting tower-caused fires?
• Where will the powerlines and roads go? (Sandi is looking into the exact location of the planned towers.)
• What financial benefits will there be to the town? How much will the liabilities outweigh them?
• What's the timing on the proposal and environmental impact statement? Volunteers will need to read them, plus supporting documents, which can total in the thousands of pages.
• What are the advantages in terms of local electrical bills and direct payments to the town, after country and state taxes?

After we get more information, I'll create a discussion board for anyone who's interested.

And, hey, that snow was fun while it lasted! Sandi thanks Scott Sanborn, the Remacle crew, the state, "and the ever-cheerful Dougie Dimond from Grafton Highway for doing such a quick and great job on our roads Thanksgiving eve and morning." Hear, hear!

I (Jay) have been behind in posting Select Board minutes. You can read the latest here, along with the past three years' minutes in case you have way too much time on your hands.

I'm also planning to start putting up government forms for easy downloading. Stay tuned! - Jay

Wind Farm Discussion Tonight

From Sandi:  

Reminder that Jennie Tuthill is on the agenda at 7:30 for tonight's Selectmen's meeting.Jen lives in Alexandria and is with NHWindWatch. 

Here's a Map of Planned Wind Towers

Sandi sent us this; she's not sure of the origin. We're told each tower will be 500 feet tall. They'll be highly visible from the summit of the mountain. On Monday, Jen Tuthill of NHWindwatch will speak at the Select Board meeting. 

Click on the thumbnail for the full image. If you can't see the thumbnail, go to the website, http://www.orangenh.us. (The email is an automated message for members of the site.)