A wind farm that was rejected by a state panel in 2013 is asking for a re-hearing.
Antrim Wind is asking state regulators this week to take ultimate authority over whether the wind-farm gets built. Portsmouth-based Eolian Renewable Energy it has eliminated one turbine and shrunk a second from its initial 10-turbine proposal, and the new project is different enough that it should get a second hearing before the state.
While the local board of selectman is in favor of the wind farm, the project faces from opposition from abutters and New Hampshire Audubon, which owns the Willard Pond Sanctuary.
The chair of the Antrim board of selectmen, Gordon Webber – who favors the proposal – says the changes were made to address concerns over visual impact that led the state’s Site Evaluation Committee to reject the project.
“Is it a big enough change for the SEC to reverse their decision? Well that’s the million dollar question,” he says
This doesn’t address one big factor weighing against the wind-farm: its proximity to a huge tract of conserved recreation land that has been dubbed a “super-sanctuary.” The area consists of a patchwork of over 22,000 acres of conserved land, including the 1,200 acre Willard Pond Wildlife Sanctuary owned by New Hampshire Audubon.
Kathy Grady of Peterborough was kayaking with her husband on Willard Pond last week, and says she doesn’t like the idea. “I don’t know the other side of it enough, I just know that my gut feeling now is… don’t do it,” she explained.
The question before regulators this week is merely whether the state or the town has jurisdiction over whether the project gets built. The facility’s supporters want the state to make the decision, because the town has no local ordinance that governs wind farms.
**Note: An earlier version of this story stated that the local planning board was in favor of the wind farm. The planning board favors the state taking jurisdiction, but has taken no position on the wind farm proposal itself**
