I’ll never forget the first time my parents came to visit us, twenty-somethings with a new baby, on our newly purchased property in the Champlain Valley. They pulled into our dirt driveway, just as our neighbor was herding his Holsteins to summer pasture beyond our land. Surrounded by dozens of cows, they were surprised and stalled as the animals moseyed through. But this was still farm country, after all and dairy was king. Thirty five years later the valley is still farming – but now it’s for wind and sun.
As a baby boomer I grew up in an era dominated by massive coal, oil and nuclear power plants often located along waterfronts and industrial riverfronts far from our neighborhoods and downtowns. Those plants are now being decommissioned, and the promise and problems of a new energy landscape are upon us.
As we transition from “out of sight, out of mind” energy sources to distributed, localized power generation, the challenge of siting this infrastructure is coming home - literally. The paradox that comes with our embrace of renewable energy and local sources of “fuel” to power our lifestyles is that we don’t necessarily want to look at them, hear them, or have them nearby.
The result has been a contentious and challenging review and development process. The recent work of the Solar Siting Task Force and the new legislation on siting, S260, represent positive steps. Selecting appropriate sites from the start is critical. Municipal plans need more detail on design standards, and where energy projects should – or shouldn’t - be located. We need more dialogue on what constitutes adequate and fair mitigation (and compensation) for affected landowners and towns, and a fair and open process for review.
A good example has emerged from Green Mountain Power’s proposed 40 acre, 5 Megawatt solar project on a sublime stretch of cropland adjacent to Dead Creek in my home town of Panton. There were substantive concerns about aesthetics and possible costs to the community, so the town decided to explore with its own citizens and the developers how to make the project amenable for all parties. We had community meetings and asked the developers to come and talk with us before the PSB review process began. We solicited input, studied the site, and collaborated on mitigation measures. If the project is permitted, the town will see some direct economic benefits and innovative mitigation, including a traditional hedgerow.
Because, after all, this is still farm country.
