CASTLETON, Vt. (AP) – The place where large-scale wind power began in the United States could become home to 25 new wind turbines, if a Connecticut company’s preliminary plans come to pass.
Noble Environmental Power of Essex, Conn., has been talking with landowners around Grandpa’s Knob, on the Castleton-West Rutland line, about a project that could generate up to 50 megawatts of power – enough for 15,000 homes.
“We are certainly interested in Grandpa’s Knob, but it is very preliminary,” said Brian Kelly, Noble’s Northeast development director. The company may apply soon for permits to erect towers to measure wind, Kelly said.
The 2,000-foot Grandpa’s Knob became the first utility-scale wind-power site in the United States in 1941. A turbine ran intermittently from 1941 to 1945, when one of its 75-foot blades broke off.
Noble Environmental has described its plans to lawmakers, the state Department of Public Service and the Rutland Economic Development Corp.
“We’re acquiring land, talking to civic leaders and local organizations to get a feel for what the local community thinks about this idea,” said John Zimmerman, of Vermont Environmental Research Associates, a Waterbury company working with Noble Environmental.
Renewable energy advocates say wind power can play a major role in Vermont, but it has had a bumpy ride recently.
Gov. Jim Douglas is concerned about the aesthetic impact of huge windmills dotting Vermont’s mountain ridges.
Last year, the Public Service Board rejected a proposal for four wind turbines in East Haven. The board is holding hearings this week on a 16-turbine wind power project proposed for Sheffield.
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Information from: The Burlington Free Press, http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com
AP-ES-02-01-07 1628EST
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