Opposition to Wind Energy Park Isn't Gone, But It's Light

Noble Environmental Power officials went through many months of hearings to get approval from New Hampshire’s Site Evaluation Committee.

But Noble’s Pip Decker says it was a totally worthwhile process because of everything the company gets.

Underneath the site evaluation committee are all the permits that you need from the dept of environmental services, including the alteration of terrain application, the 401 water quality certificate, the standard dredge and fill permit. All of which will be attached to the order that we will receive, so it’s very exciting for us.

Noble’s Granite Reliable Wind Park would stretch from Dixville to Dummer.

It still needs reviews from other federal and regional agencies including the Federal Aviation Administration, the Army Corp of Engineers and the regional grid operator I-S-O New England.

Opponents of the wind park say they have little hope that any of these further reviews can stop the 33 turbines from being built.

Outspoken opponent John Harrigan, who writes a column for the Union Leader’s Sunday News, says the North Country will lose a lot when the towers go up.

It’s a beautiful valley. Its going to be scarred, unbelievably not just by the 410 foot towers with blinking red lights on top but the humongous road system built to maintain those towers. So I think it’s a sad day for nh’s horizon and scenery and in the end, tourism.

One environmental group that has expressed concerns to the SEC is the Nature Conservancy.

That group petitioned the SEC to prohibit Noble from building turbines on Mt Kelsey in Millsfield.

The Conservancy argued it would affect several rare bird species.

But Noble persuaded the SEC to approve the plan by agreeing to exchange 1700 acres of undisturbed nearby land with NH Fish and Game.

Joel Harrington of the Nature Conservancy says the arrangement persuaded his organization.

In addition the SEC required the company to study the threatened bird species in the future.

You know going forward it’s going to be you know particularly crucial that the site that’s being developed is you know adequately addresses the impacts, particularly to the American martin, bicknells thrush and three toed woodpecker.

Noble has also agreed to spend around 8 million dollars to bolster the so-called Coos transmission loop.

The loop is the only way Noble and other electricity producers in the north can get their power to the regional grid.

Peter Rivier of the Coos Economic Development Corporation says the investment will be just enough to allow Noble to use a limited capacity line.

Technically they’ll call it an upgrade but essentially it’s to tighten the sag in the transmission lines so that it will handle the extra load that they put on it. And that will leave, oh I saw the calculation this week, I believe 60 megawatts more space….

That’s not much room for other power producers to make transmissions into the grid.

State lawmakers know this, and have held meetings to study the question of who should pay for what could be a 200 million dollar upgrade.

That project may be less likely now than even a few years ago, given the economic situation facing the state and New England region.