Friday, June 2, 2017
The governors of three states — New York, California and Washington — announced Thursday plans to form the U.S. Climate Alliance, an effort meant to achieve the Paris agreement’s goals of reducing carbon emissions.
Late Friday afternoon, after lawmakers and environmental activists called for Vermont to play a part, Scott announced the state will also join the coalition.
“I am proud to join this bipartisan group of governors and reaffirm Vermont’s commitment to fighting climate change through the U.S. Climate Alliance,” Scott said in a written statement.
Tags: climate change , Donald Trump , Paris agreement , Chris Pearson , Phil Scott , Image , Web Only
Thursday, June 1, 2017
On June 12, Roisman will replace Jim Volz on the three-member board charged with regulating energy projects and utilities.
He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1960 and Harvard Law School in 1963. He spent several years in the 1970s working for the Natural Resources Defense Council before becoming a special litigator and chief of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Hazardous Waste Section.
During the 1980s, Roisman worked on the landmark case Anne Anderson, et al., v. W.R. Grace, representing eight Woburn, Mass. families who sued several industrial companies for allegedly causing children to develop leukemia from contaminated water. The case, which ended with an $8 million settlement, inspired the book and movie A Civil Action.
Closer to home, the Weathersfield resident has represented several plaintiffs who opposed wind projects in Lowell, Deerfield and Sheffield.
Tags: Vermont Public Service Board , Phil Scott , Anthony Roisman , Image , Web Only
Thursday, May 18, 2017
The rules would impose a 42-decibel daytime noise limit and a 39-decibel limit at night. There would also be a setback requirement of 10 times the turbine's height, meaning that a 500-foot-high turbine would need to be sited at least 5,000 feet away from any occupied building.
The PSB issued a set of draft rules in March, and then held a series of public hearings. The final standards are essentially the same as the draft version; the biggest change is that the nighttime limit was increased from 35 decibels to 39.
Tags: Mark MacDonald , Sarah Wolfe , David Blittersdorf , Annette Smith , wind turbines , Image , Web Only
Monday, March 6, 2017
The board is calling for more restrictive limits on sound emissions, which at least one renewable energy proponent said could effectively ban wind power in Vermont.
Currently, regulators measure sound emissions from inside and outside homes. Emissions outside must not exceed 45 decibels, while emissions inside a home cannot exceed 30 decibels.
The new proposal does away with inside or outside and instead measures emissions during the day and at night within 100 feet of a home. Under such standards, emissions could not exceed 42 decibels during the day and 35 decibels at night.
“That is absurdly low,” Ben Walsh, climate and energy program director at the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, said of the nighttime level in particular. “This is functionally a ban on wind large and small in Vermont ... I’m surprised the board went this far.”
Tags: wind turbines , Public Service Board , Annette Smith , Ben Walsh , VCE , VPIRG , Image , Web Only
Monday, January 9, 2017
But ask Moore his preference in the race and the cofounder of the Waterbury-based SunCommon solar company — and former clean energy advocate for Vermont Public Interest Research Group — will sidestep the question.
Instead, on Monday, he pivoted quickly to embrace the governor he got over the governor he might have wanted.
“I’m thrilled that he’s here with us,” Moore said as Scott agreed to spend his very first press conference as governor highlighting a SunCommon solar project in Montpelier.
Scott’s morning appearance showing off the Hunger Mountain Co-op’s new solar canopy did reveal something about Vermont politics: All sides are quick to embrace reality, even as they struggle with their differences behind the scenes.
Tags: Phil Scott , James Moore , SunCommon , Hunger Mountain Co-op , solar canopy , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
In an editor’s note appended to the story a day after publication, the Post retracted its most explosive assertion, which had been sourced to anonymous federal officials:
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Russian hackers had penetrated the U.S. electric grid. Authorities say there is no indication of that so far. The computer at Burlington Electric that was hacked was not attached to the grid.The original story continued to assert that malware discovered on a BED laptop last Friday was “associated with the Russian hacking operation dubbed Grizzly Steppe by the Obama administration.” But in a follow-up story published Monday night, the Post called into question even that suggestion.
Tags: Burlington Electric , Washington Post , Grizzly Steppe , Image , Web Only
Saturday, December 31, 2016
The Burlington Electric Department discovered suspected Russian malware code on one of its laptops Friday, the municipal utility confirmed late that night.
According to BED spokesman Mike Kanarick, the code is associated with a Russian hacking campaign known by the federal government as Grizzly Steppe. Kanarick said in a written statement Friday that the laptop was “not connected to our organization’s grid systems.”
“We took immediate action to isolate the laptop and alerted federal officials of this finding,” he said. “Our team is working with federal officials to trace this malware and prevent any other attempts to infiltrate utility systems.”
BED issued a second statement Saturday afternoon saying that there was “no indication that either our electric grid or customer information has been compromised.” It said that similar malware had been discovered elsewhere in the country and was “not unique to Burlington Electric.”
“Media reports stating that Burlington Electric was hacked or that the electric grid was breached are false,” the utility said in the second statement.
Tags: Burlington Electric Department , Russia , Grizzly Steppe , malware , Mike Kanarick , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
He might have a hard time getting either.
“We just passed — literally in June — Act 174,” Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee chair Chris Bray (D-Addison) said. “I really want to stay with and develop that planning process.”
Bray was referring to a new state law designed to give municipalities more say in siting energy projects.
Scott pledged during the election to push for a moratorium on large-scale wind projects, a heated issue in some parts of the state. This week, speaking to reporters at a press conference, he said he hopes for legislation to pass next year.
He was already hedging his expectations. “What I personally would like to see is to protect our ridgelines in perpetuity,” Scott said. “The reality is that won’t happen.”
Still, Scott expressed hope that he could convince legislators to agree to a short-term halt on wind projects.
Tags: renewable energy , Phil Scott , wind power , Chris Bray , Renewable Energy Vermont , Image , Web Only
Friday, November 4, 2016
“I’m not taking any risk,” said Windham Town Clerk Jo-Jo Chlebogiannis. “I’m being criticized for things that aren’t actually occurring.”
Windham and Grafton are both slated to vote Tuesday on the proposed 24-turbine Stiles Brook wind project, which would construct 16 turbines in Windham and eight in Grafton.
Project developer Iberdrola has said it will follow the towns’ wishes on the project, but some residents are worried that the company is laying the groundwork for declaring the vote unjust.
New accusations arise almost daily from those for and against the project.
Tags: Grafton , Windham , Iberdrola , Stiles Brook Wind , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
A wind project developer offered Windham County residents more money and fewer turbines in the hope of winning their support in an election-day vote.
Iberdrola Renewables originally planned to build a combined 28 turbines in Windham and Grafton as part of the Stiles Brook Wind Project. The company still plans to build eight turbines in Grafton but, at a public meeting Tuesday, offered to cut from 20 to 16 the number of turbines built in Windham.
Iberdrola also offered the town of Windham a $1 million annual payment — an increase from their original $715,000 offer — for hosting the turbines. And, the company offered to pay each registered voter in Windham $1,174 a year for them to use as they please, said Iberdrola spokesman Paul Copleman.
Tags: Iberdrola , Windham , Grafton , Stiles Brook Wind Project , Image , Web Only