Vermont Grapples With Wind Energy And The Money That Comes With It

Vermonters are an independent lot and the towns of Windham and Grafton are grappling with the idea of taking substantial amounts of money to allow wind turbines to be located in their towns. Under Governor Peter Shumlin, Vermont has increased its wind energy by 20 fold and the number of solar panels installed by a factor of 11. And, while energy prices have generally risen in the last few years in the Northeast, prices in Vermont have fallen. But there has been some backlash as some environmentalists are concerned about ruining Vermont’s gorgeous mountain ridges with the noisy turbines and the roads and infrastructure needed to support them. A Spanish company, Iberdrola, has proposed to install around 25 wind turbines in the aforementioned towns of Windham and Grafton. Apparently, the company has some concern that the local voters will vote down their proposal so they have essentially offered these towns an incredible bribe. It will pay the town of Windham $1 million per year for the next 25 years and in addition pay the town’s 311 registered voters over $1,000 per year for the next 25 years. The residents of the town of Grafton, which would house fewer turbines, would receive nearly $500 per year for the next 25 years. For a small town like Windham, these numbers are huge. It could cut property taxes in half and still leave $150,000 a year left over for other town projects. But I think this Spanish company has no idea about the character of Vermonters. The blatant bribery here will just turn those people off rather than enticing them. We will find out the results when the proposal goes to a vote on election day.