The House Science, Technology and Energy Committee kicked off a summer’s worth of work to reform the way the state evaluates proposals for new power plants Tuesday. They heard a whole day’s worth of testimony about wind energy.
Speakers at the wind forum talked about wind farms’ impacts on wildlife, the grid, and the health of people who live near them. The discussion closed with a presentation on possible changes to the process by which wind projects get a permit.
Republican Representative Skip Reilly, who this session sponsored a bill to impose a moratorium on wind farms thought the days forum had good information on both sides of the issue. "The towns themselves should play a good role in this," he said after the forum, "And the townspeople who are going to be impacted this."
Some of the ideas discussed included giving towns control over energy projects smaller than 50 megawatts, or adding a local representative to the state committee that considers energy permits. Several bills that could include these or other changes have been held by lawmakers in the House of Representatives for more work over the summer.
