Times Argus Opinion: Wind power’s footprint

Reposted from Times Argus.

Re: “Support Wind Power” (Dec. 9 Times Argus). Before writing off opponents of 450-foot wind towers on Lowell Mountain as a bunch of NIMBYs, let’s take a hard look at a few facts these tree-hugging troublemakers have brought to our attention:

1. Wind turbines last only 20 to 25 years; a mountain disfigured by blasting for roads and the installation of one-acre pads for 21 towers is disfigured forever.

2. The cost of manufacturing wind turbines is constantly increasing; the cost of producing solar panels is steadily going down.

3. By absorbing rainwater like giant sponges, the ecosystems of intact ridgelines help mitigate the increased flooding brought on by global warming.

4. If you imagine Gaz Metro, which owns Green Mountain Power, gives a hoot whether energy is green or dirty, think again. Enbridge, an energy conglomerate that owns 30 percent of Gaz Metro, is currently attempting to ram through a $5.5 billion pipeline for carrying oil from Alberta tar sands to Canada’s Pacific coast for eventual shipment to the U.S. and China.

5. Among Vermont’s most valuable assets are the vistas it offers of unspoiled mountains. The creation of an industrial landscape by developing 200 miles out of 900 miles of ridgeline for wind power — as has been proposed — would be an unmitigated catastrophe.

In view of these facts, let’s back off corporate wind power as even a partial answer to Vermont’s electricity needs and focus instead on two far less destructive alternatives: conservation and locally based, community-owned solar and biomass installations.

Bill Holland

Montpelier