YOUR COMMENTS

P.S. For anyone interested in small scale residential / commercial wind power; look into vertical axis building mounted wind turbines - looks like the way to go to me... on my next home.
- Jim, Manchester

My support for wind farms is primarily based on economic concerns, not environmental concerns. Wind farms help shrink the trade deficit, both with respect to Middlestern oil and Canadian hydro-power.
- Jim, Manchester

This really comes down to the age old development and progress versus ruin and destruction argument. Whether its train tracks, shiny glass and steel skyscrapers, a residential subdivision or 400 foot tall wind turbines, its all the same. Some people view construction as an improvement of an imperfect world and others see it as ruination of a beautiful environment. But for all the millions of construction projects over the millennia the world has neither been made perfect nor entirely ruined. I come down on the progress side – I see wind turbines and the gravel roads interconnecting them as beautiful, graceful, less intrusive than other alternatives, and very useful.

Coal mines, oil sands, and uranium mines also temporarily hack up vast tracts of the landscape. But folks only protest the excavations that occur near their own back yards. All I can say is that opponents of wind energy darn well better live in the smallest, most energy efficient homes, in the oldest subdivisions and walk or take the bus to work. Otherwise they are nothing but NIMBY hypocrites.
- Jim, Manchester

By the time we get done with this greening up due to the natural recurring cycle of earth's warming and cooling, we'll have dug an unnecessary and expensive hole that will be virtually impossible to crawl out. The earth has warmed and cooled over and over again since it was formed and no effort by man will change that. The latest studies show that only about one percent of the the current warming cycle is attributable to human activity. And here we are, basing our entire energy production effort on stopping the other 99 percent that we simply cannot affect. Wind power, in particular, is unreliable, the turbines are eyesores and it will never produce more than a negligible fraction of the energy we use. It's like trying to bale the Titanic with one of the tea cups.
- Brian, Farmington

The cost of "green" energy is of course more expensive than the less appealing but far more abundant resources such as coal and oil. The public is paying more for the privilege of using energy that comes from a virtually limitless resource, consumes no fuels, and produces no emissions. Wind power is a niche resource and thus must be appreciated by the consumers by way of higher costs at the meter.
- link, derry

I was appaled to read this article today. We are coming upon the 100th anniversary of the Weeks act of 1911 which created the White Mountain National Forest after New Hampshires wonderful natural beauty was raped, and lush green forests were turned into an ugly mass due to rampant logging. It was an eyesore and dispicable. In that time you would have thought we would learn from history, but apparently not so. Has enyone seen these wind generators? They are monsterous and ugly. Now we want to once again turn the beautiful North Woods into a financial playground at the cost of its natural beauty. I understand the big goal is to "Go green", but this is NOT the way to do it.
- Brian Miville, Goffstown

Another factor to consider is the reliability of "home grown" electricity. While it may be expensive to design, construct, and connect a privately owned micro-power facility to power your entire home, it is not likely to go out during a snow storm or ice storm as so many homes were adversely impacted last December. Also, if the home grown installation is not sized to cover all power consumption peaks, then the total installation costs could be workable.
- Gary L. Kerr, Chichester

Future wind projects will have to work with PSNH and inlcude the cost of upgrading the transmission grid to bring their product to market in thier project development costs. Those costs can be recouped from REC's and ratepayers. If that isn't cost effective then build Seabrook 2 instead. Why should tax payers pay for transmission lines as well as renewable credits and carbon credits? The Lempster project included about 10 miles of off-site transmission lines to the nearest substation.
- Jim, Manchester

I live in Wentworth NH and make about 80% of all my power with (PV and wind) plus have a full back up if the power was to go out. I put $15,000 in to my setup. Need to finish it up so i can feed back and make some money back. My elec. bill was about $200+ a mo. and down to about $40 This year has not been a good year so far for PV but been good for wind hope to get my 1KW wind turbine up and running this year. I will say I don't see any help for a home owner in any of the GOV. bills just for the big guys. I do make 99% of all my hot water from the sun in the summer.
- Jeff McIntyre, Wentworth NH

I saw an add for a company in NH that makes wind turbines. I stated that prices started at $15,000. That a lot of dough to make up in your electric bill. It would be nice, but it's too rich for my blood.
- Ben N, Manchester

If they were serious about alternative energy, they'd build Seabrook 2.

This is a sick, sick joke that will cost us all dearly.
- Mike R., Bedford

The future development of New Hampshire’s wind energy resource has less to do with the attractiveness of the Renewable Portfolio Standard than with the availability of adequate transmission lines.

More than two-thirds of the state’s documented wind resource is located in Coos County. The Noble project will saturate the capacity of the Coos County transmission loop to transmit any more wind-generated electricity. Projects similar to Noble’s won’t get built in the North Country until PSNH gets serious about upgrading the region’s grid.

Rather than planning for a greener energy future, PSNH prefers to generate electricity from dirty coal power. By installing an outmoded and expensive scrubber at its Merrimack plant instead of upgrading the Coos loop, PSNH is holding hostage the future of renewable energy projects in New Hampshire.

More importantly, meeting the governor’s very modest goal of 25% renewable energy by 2025 requires more than a highly publicized, token photovoltaic installation in Manchester.

It requires a vision of greener, more sustainable energy for New Hampshire based on a partnership between energy efficiency and renewable energy. Such a vision, of course, requires visible and vocal leadership from Concord.

——Farrell S. Seiler, Chairman
New Hampshire Wind Energy Association
- Farrell S. Seiler, Littleton

New Hampshire citizens should inform themselves and what the RPS will actually do to their electric rates. This jumbling of data with the use of REC's will only cloud the issue until the rate-payers foot the bill down the line through higher energy costs. The renewable savings claims are dubious at best:

http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/speaking_of_power/Spain-Is-Tilting-at-Windmills_1851.html
- jerry, derry

I cant help but notice the quote made, in the article, about these alternative sources of electricity being expensive. At the same time another article in today's UL talks about how more people in the state are relying on state/fed assistance to keep the lights on. I wonder how the situation will look once the full effects of the global warming hoax (i.e.cap/trade) are foisted upon us. Man these lies keep getting more and more expensive by the day.
- mike, cornish