Times
Argus Article published Aug 8, 2007
Sheffield wind project approved
MONTPELIER - State regulators today approved the 16-turbine
UPC Wind project to be built in Sheffield, although
they also required a serious of accommodations by the
company before it can put up the project.
If built the Sheffield project would be the first
commercial wind power station in Vermont since the
Searsburg facility was completed a decade ago.
The UPC project has been significantly scaled back
from its original design, but company officials have
said that it is still viable at its current size. Initially
the project was going to include turbines both in Sheffield
and Sutton, but now all of the project - with a 40
megawatt capacity, will be in Sheffield, which was
more welcoming to the idea than Sutton.
In its approval the Public Service Board put several
restrictions on the project designed to mitigate the
impact of noise, traffic and other concerns.
The “visual impact” of
the large turbines was the greatest concern of those
surrounding the project, the board noted in its decision.
However the board decided that the benefit of the
project - including power supply to Vermont users
- outweighed those worries.
