The Town of Brighton has voted to join its neighboring town, Newark, in appealing a recent decision by the Vermont Public Service Board to grant a Certificate of Public Good to the Seneca Mountain Wind project.
Earlier this month, the PSB gave the green light for four temporary meteorological towers, known as MET towers, to be erected by New Hampshire-based Eolian Renewable Energy. Eolian plans to erect the MET towers in the Northeast Kingdom towns of Newark, Brighton and Ferdinand. The towers are used to evaluate a wind site.
The PSB decision came despite votes against the project in Newark and Brighton. Due to its small size, Ferdinand belongs to Essex County's United Towns & Gores, and does not have an independent town government.
According to the Certificate of Public Good application, the MET towers are intended to test the viability of a commercial wind project:
Seneca proposes to install the meteorological towers and mounted anemometry equipment for the explicit purpose of evaluating the wind energy potential of the project area. Seneca is currently evaluating the project area’s potential for a wind energy generation facility that would occupy the upland portions of the properties under lease in Brighton, Ferdinand, and Newark ... If a wind generation facility were eventually to be proposed, it would be a utility scale facility with multiple turbines. Each turbine would have a nameplate capacity in the range of 2.5 MW. Interconnection to the electric grid would be at transmission level voltage.
Representatives from Newark attended a recent Brighton Select Board meeting, and asked Brighton to join the appeal. The meeting minutes state:
Mark Ellingwood and John Lewandowski were present from Newark to ask the board if Brighton wanted to join Newark in appealing the PSB’s decision on the met towers. Mr. Ellingwood explains [sic] to the board that Newark has been working with a lawyer (Brooke Dingledine) on the appeal and that she would be available for questions and to propose the appeal by phone. Ms. Dingledine explained to the board what this appeal would be based on and that this appeal would go before the Supreme Court as an on record appeal. Ms. Dingledine also explained that this would be done at a capped fee of $15,000.
In addition to joining the appeal, the Brighton Select Board voted to appropriate $5,000 toward legal fees. The remaining $10,000 in lawyer fees will be split between the Town of Newark and Newark Neighbors United, an independent group formed in opposition to the Seneca Mountain Wind project.
