Region wrestles with windmills

By Glenn DrohanPrint Story | Email Story
NORTH ADAMS — More questions than answers are blowing in the wind, as communities throughout the region grapple with impending wind farms and predict more windmill projects could lie just over the horizon. Local battles have already seen environmentalists who decry the state’s and the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels fighting to block one of the “green energy” alternatives, in the interest of preserving scenic views and protecting migratory birds and endangered wildlife. A group of 12 wildlife biologists, botanists and ecologists this week petitioned the state’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program and Executive Office of Environmental Affairs to halt projects in Florida, Monroe and Hancock — and possibly elsewhere — until the “cumulative” effect of potential wind farms can be studied. The state’s own Division of Fisheries and Wildlife also wants the effects on migratory birds studied, even as enXco Inc. prepares to build 20 windmills in Florida and Monroe this summer or fall. “What gets me is that the state pushes windmills but appears not to have regulations to deal with them,” said Pamela Weatherbee of Williamstown, who was among those who signed a letter to the foundation and EOEA Secretary Ellen Roy Hertzfelder. [See letter, Page 10]. “They’re going to be faced with lots of little sites all over the place.” She referred to an initiative by the state and the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Collaborative to help study and fund through federal dollars “community windmill” projects built by municipalities on town-or city-owned land. According to the collaborative, about 40 Massachusetts communities have expressed interest. Meanwhile, developer Dale Osborne has upped the ante in Hancock, reducing the number of windmills proposed there from 18 to 10 but making them much more powerful and larger — 320 feet tall, as opposed to less than 200 feet. That would mean they, like exXco’s, would require flashing red lights at night. In a case illustrating some confusion over state regulations, the local lawyer for a Washington state developer who wants to build up to 20 windmills on the Hoosac Range in North Adams confirmed Monday that they are strongly considering an appeal of the North Adams Planning Board’s decision to deny even the building of a wind-measuring tower on land owned by Michael Deep. Lawyer Thomas Rumbolt said denying developer Mark Smith the right to measure the wind to see if a windmill project was feasible was akin to asking a customer to buy a car without taking a test drive or insisting that a couple get married without even dating. It also boiled down to a matter of money, Rumbolt said. “It would be very difficult for an investor to spend a half a million dollars to submit an entire plan when you need the basic information first to determine what that plan will be,” he said. But, taking a page from the Berlin, N.Y., Zoning Board of Appeals, which has denied a Williams College plan to erect a wind-measuring tower for a potential windmill project in that town, the Planning Board cited a state regulation that does not allow “segmentation” of a project in environmental reviews, under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA). Rumbolt called the decision “unprecedented” in this state. Others speculated that communities in which officials don’t want windmills could use the segmentation law to block them, while communities that want windmills because of increased property tax revenues and lease payments could ignore it. Florida and Monroe, for example, allowed wind-measuring towers for enXco long before the company submitted its final plans or undertook the MEPA review process. “I don’t understand how a developer could be expected to pull together a multi-million plan without knowing the wind resources,” said Jana H. Brule, stressing that she was speaking as a resident, not in her capacity as Florida town administrator. A spokesman for the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs told radio station WNAW last week that the city Planning Board had misinterpreted the MEPA regulations, but Chairman Michael Leary doesn’t think so. “They’ve indicated verbally that our interpretation is incorrect, but we went by the written interpretation,” Leary said Tuesday. “It’s one thing for an environmental affairs official to tell a reporter we misinterpreted it. It’s another thing to put in writing that wind-monitoring towers are not part of an overall project.” Defining “segmentation,” the law (CMR 301, section 11:01c) states that, in determining a MEPA review, a proponent of a project, all state agencies and the EOEA secretary “shall consider the entirety of the project, including any likely future expansion, and not separate phases or segments thereof.” State environmental officials did not come up with an official response to questions about segmenting the MEPA review in time for this article. However, Leary said, the Planning Board, in its 8-0 decision to deny the wind-measuring tower, cited other concerns, including the aesthetics of windmills near one of the scenic entranceways to the city and their possible effect on local tourism. “My concern was the economy,” Leary said. “We could end up someday having hundreds of windmills, all with flashing red lights on them. I don’t think 50 to 100 red lights on the Hoosac Range would be good for the economy.” The board also noted that zoning regulations restrict the height of any structure — including towers — in rural zones and that Smith would need to apply for a special permit to build one. Rumbolt said Smith has repeatedly tried to get an application for a special permit but so far hasn’t received it. The Berkshires are not alone in struggling to weigh the benefits of wind farms against their potential effects on the environment and scenic views. Vermont Gov. James Douglas wants a commission to study the alternatives, as his state prepares to cope with impending proposals, including the expansion of the 11-turbine wind farm in nearby Searsburg. The dilemma on Cape Cod, where a huge offshore wind farm on Nantucket Sound has been proposed, has been well publicized. The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission’s Regional Issues Committee is also about to get into the act, according to Nathaniel Karns, the commission’s executive director, although any recommendations it might make would only be advisory. Karns said Tuesday that the regional plan for the county, approved in May 2000, took a somewhat nebulous stance on windmills. The plan states that planners should “encourage the use of solar and wind power energy generation where appropriate, provided that the facilities are sited in such a way as to not significantly distract from aesthetic wilderness, recreational of ecological values.” “Depending on whether you’re pro or con windmills,” Karns said, “you can probably read whatever you want into that statement.” Therein lies the problem, according to Weatherbee and numerous others. So far, windmill projects have generated more questions than answers, and the region and state — if not the nation — could have to move swiftly to find those answers. Nowhere is that more evident than in Berkshire County, which boasts some of the nation’s most beautiful scenery but also some of its highest winds — at least where they have been measured.
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Dalton Announces New Supplier for Energy Program

DALTON, Mass. – The Town of Dalton has signed a thirty-four month contract with a new supplier, First Point Power.
 
Beginning with the January 2026 meter reads, the Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program will have a new rate of $0.13042 per kWh. The Program will also continue to offer an optional 100 percent green product, which is derived from National Wind Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), at a rate of $0.13142 per kWh.
 
For Dalton residents and businesses who are enrolled in the Town's Program, the current rate of $0.13849 per kWh will expire with the January 2026 meter reads and the new rate of $0.13042 per kWh will take effect. This represents a decrease of $5 per month on the supply side of the bill given average usage of 600 kWh. Additionally, this new rate is 3 percent lower than Eversource's Residential Basic Service rate of $0.13493 per kWh. Residents can expect to see an
average savings of $3 per month for the month of January 2026. Eversource's Basic Service rates
will change on Feb. 1, 2026.
 
Dalton launched its electricity program in January 2015 in an effort to develop an energy program that would be stable and affordable. From inception through June 2025, the Program has saved residents and small businesses over $1.7 million in electricity costs as compared to Eversource Basic Service.
 
It is important to note that no action is required by current participants. This change will be seen on the February 2026 bills. All accounts currently enrolled in the Program will remain with their current product offering and see the new rate and First Point Power printed under the "Supplier Services" section of their monthly bill.
 
The Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program has no fees or charges. However, anyone switching from a contract with a third-party supplier may be subject to penalties or early termination fees charged by that supplier. Ratepayers should verify terms before switching.
 
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