There are two places where the wind blows strongest: by the sea, and in the hills.

But beyond causing waters to ripple and trees to sway, windy regions are also a source of energy. Wind farms – clusters of massive turbines that harness the wind’s power to create electricity – are receiving increasing attention internationally, as many groups both public and private tout their importance in the global effort to meet steadily rising energy needs.

In the Commonwealth, most of that attention has been focused on the coastal region and, more specifically, the so-called Cape Wind Project. The initiative was first introduced in 1999 by the project’s developer, Energy Management Inc., and proposes an offshore, 130-turbine wind farm near the coast of Nantucket that would create a new renewable power source for the national grid.

That project has received some national acclaim as what could be America’s first off-shore wind farm, but also opposition, fueled recently by election-year debate. In Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, Democratic candidate for governor, has praised the development (as has Green-Rainbow candidate Grace Ross). But his Republican opponent Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey is against the project, as are independent candidate Christy Mihos, Gov. Mitt Romney (R), and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D).

But Cape Wind isn’t the only wind power project in Massachusetts. The state’s other windy region – the Berkshires – is attracting interest in the form of four wind power projects now in the planning stages, the largest being the Hoosac Wind project, a 20-turbine proposal in the two small towns of Florida and Monroe.

“There are really only two regions in New England where we hope to harness energy,” said Mark Rodgers, communications director and spokesman for Cape Wind. “The mountains and coastal offshore areas. In between those, there isn’t much at all – certainly not enough wind to make cost-efficient energy. The development of wind power sources in New England is entirely related to Cape Cod and the Berkshires.”

In addition to the Hoosac Wind initiative, which is unique in that the towns own the land on which the turbines would be built (most sites are privately owned or leased), the Minuteman Wind project would install five turbines in Savoy, and is currently awaiting permitting approval by town vote. The 10-turbine Berkshire Wind project on Hancock’s Brodie Mountain has entered its first construction phase, that of an access road to the site, and at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, infrastructure necessary for a single turbine is now being constructed. That turbine is being erected by the resort to help meet its own electricity needs at a cost of $3.9 million, and is expected to be up and spinning by next July.

The Long and Windy Road

Much of the new attention to the Berkshire’s wind power initiatives has been positive, centered on the benefits of creating a new renewable energy source. Some opponents of Cape Wind, including Romney, actually support wind turbines in Massachusetts’ mountains. But like Cape Wind, the Berkshire projects are also meeting with their share of resistance.

Green Berkshires, for instance, an environmental preservation group based in Great Barrington, lists barring wind power projects among its four major concentrations, contending that “wind turbines produce very little energy but lots of tax breaks, grants, subsidies, and price supports for the developers, at tremendous expense to taxpayers and electricity ratepayers.”

That’s similar to the work done by the Save Our Sound alliance, formed in 2001 in response to the Cape Wind proposal. While the group’s position statement notes that the alliance “supports wind power as an energy source,” it goes on to explain its opposition to Cape Wind on the grounds that the wind farm will potentially create “adverse economic and environmental impacts.” Save Our Sound members also contend that the project should be put on hold due to “a lack of an appropriate review and permitting process and the absence of federal guidelines for offshore wind energy development.”

For those involved with both Cape Wind and the various Berkshire projects, the opposition was anticipated; renewable energy initiatives, while aimed at decreasing overall dependency on fossil fuels, have been historically challenged by groups who cite a wide range of concerns.

However, proponents of wind farms say that while environmental and economic concerns involving the construction of wind turbines are constantly evaluated, as of yet they do not override the benefits afforded by wind power, and opposition from various activist groups and residents only slows the process.

Some also question the motives of many critics of wind power, citing the NIMBY factor – Not In My Backyard – as a primary driver behind that resistance.

“The overriding issue has always been some people don’t want to look at wind turbines in Nantucket Sound,” said Rodgers. “People can agree or disagree with that, but at times I think those who oppose this project become disingenuous. They are self-conscious about being seen as a NIMBY, so they trot out other concerns that I don’t think have a lot of merit.”

Issues include difficulty with boat navigation and disruption of migratory bird populations, and Rodgers said Cape Wind staff and supporters take some more seriously than others.

“In terms of danger to boats, the turbines are in shallow water, are well-marked, and are spaced football fields apart,” he said. “Concerns regarding avian populations are certainly legit, and it’s an area that needs a lot of study. But Mass. Audubon has given Cape Wind its conditional support, based on what they’ve seen at off-shore wind farms in Europe.”

Shed a Little Light

And in terms of energy creation, Rodgers said wind power will not contribute negligible amounts, as some critics contend, but could actually produce up to 75% of the electricity used by Cape Cod and the Islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard – about 420 megawatts.

“The region needs new added sources of electricity because the demand is going up as much as 4% a year in peak times,” he said. “And the area hasn’t had new energy sources added since ’90s. I think as time passes, wind projects are really going to be seen as having much greater public benefits than some other sources of energy.”

Don Dubendorf, an attorney with the Berkshire firm Grinnell, Dubendorf, and Smith and special counsel for the towns of Florida and Monroe, has been involved with the legal and permitting aspects of the Hoosac Wind project planned to straddle the ridge lines of those towns. He agreed that many of the positive aspects of wind power outweigh many concerns, especially in terms of energy consumption.

“Look at the fuel prices we saw this summer,” he began. “I think our current experience reflects a growing volatility in the energy market, and by that I don’t just mean higher costs, but greater swings in costs. One of the most intriguing aspects of wind power is there may be periods of higher winds and lower winds, but the fuel cost is still zero. That presents huge possibilities for buyers of power, because it will dampen pricing and dampen that volatility.”

The Hoosac Wind project is considerably smaller than the Cape Wind proposal, and expected to generate about 30 megawatts of power. Dubendorf said renewable energy sources are not expected to replace more conventional resources any time soon, but they are key to diversifying the total power supply nationwide, and globally.

“It’s not going to supplant what we have, but it’s a very important piece of the puzzle,” he said. “We need to have a green mix – renewable components within the total electricity supply – because those percentages of energy use are ratcheting up over time.”

A Time to Build up, a Time to Break Down

In the interim, all of the wind power projects in development in the Commonwealth continue to plod through complicated permitting processes, zoning issues, and delays brought on by appeals and other opposition.

Town bylaws affecting the Minuteman Wind project in Savoy are now being formally presented to residents by the town’s planning board, and an edited version must then be voted on and approved by a two-thirds vote at town meeting for the project to proceed. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the Berkshire Wind project on Brodie Mountain is fully permitted and moving forward; however, its original date of completion came and went in 2004.

The turbine project at Jiminy Peak also met with delays; after obtaining the necessary permits and financial analyses needed to proceed, the resort set an installation date of July 2006, only to find that no turbine manufacturers could meet that date, and that few were interested in installing a single turbine. GE Wind, which has installed more than 7,000 turbines worldwide, eventually took on the project, but the company’s smallest turbine is larger than what was approved through permitting, necessitating a re-evaluation and a new installation date of July 2007.

Rodgers explained that Cape Wind is awaiting an environmental impact statement from the U.S. Dept. of the Interior, which has taken over as the lead federal agency associated with the project (once the Army Corps of Engineers). That statement is expected to be released this winter, at which time a new round of public hearings will be held.

“With any major development project, it’s always a dance between proponents and opponents,” said Rodgers. “We’ll continue to work and stick with it, because at end of process we’re convinced it will be a no-brainer: cleaner air, less dependence on foreign sources of energy … the project will pass the public interest test.”

Rodgers said permitting is expected to conclude by 2008, at which point there will be a two-year construction phase.

The Wind Cries Maybe

Dubendorf said the initial permitting phase for Hoosac Wind went smoothly, but the project is now in the midst of an appeal brought forth by a group of residents.
“The hard dates for starting construction have come and gone,” he said. “It’s unknown when we can proceed, because beyond this appeal those who oppose have another option, at the superior court level. But the developer is committed to the project, and now, we wait.”

Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at stevenson@businesswest.com