Vermont Candidates for Governor debate energy policy

Vermont Candidates for Governor debate energy policy

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - Oct 14 (The Associated Press)

The two leading candidates for governor were talking wind in a debate before a renewable energy conference on Wednesday.

Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle said the state needs to move more aggressively to promote development of wind turbines as a source of electricity, while Gov. James Douglas urged caution.

Clavelle, the Democrat seeking to unseat Douglas, said he believed there could be "five to 10 wind farms in the state of Vermont, located where they would not do damage to the aesthetic and environmental quality" of the state.

Douglas said Vermont environmentalists are divided on wind. "There are many who believe that wind turbines and wind farms can be a significant part of our energy future, and I believe they could play a key role. But there are others who believe they would be a blight on the ridgelines of our state and impair the natural beauty for which Vermont is known," the one-term Republican said.

"I think it's easy to just say we ought to have wind in Vermont, but it's much more difficult to develop the policies that work," he added.

Asked how the aesthetics of wind turbines struck him, Clavelle said, "They are beautiful. They are beautiful. And it's more about the vision, Jim, than the view," he added to applause from the crowd.

Douglas replied, "I think the worst thing a politician can do is have a lot of snappy rhetoric without really answering the question of where he's going to locate these wind facilities. It's a very difficult decision for a community."

He noted Bennington residents debated for years about lighting the Bennington Battle Monument at night.

"There are going to be lighting considerations with large wind turbines. There's going to be road infrastructure, getting to them. There's going to be transmission lines," Douglas said.

Clavelle criticized Douglas for a recent news conference touting state incentive grants for development of solar and wind power projects. He noted that when the governor held the news conference last month, the money available in the program already had been committed, and that Douglas was making no promises about continued funding.

"To have an energy plan and a policy in a state of Vermont (is) more than photo ops and more than a press release, it's about making a commitment to renewable energy and energy efficiency. And I make that commitment," Clavelle said.

Douglas said he was proud of the grants the state was able to make, adding that they were included in renewable energy legislation he urged the Legislature to pass in the closing hours of the 2003 session.

Douglas repeatedly said Vermont already gets 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, including Hydro-Quebec, from which Vermont got 310 megawatts _ about a third of the power it uses _ in 2001.

Audience members, including environmental advocate Azur Moulaert of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, noted that under the 2003 renewable energy bill, hydroelectric facilities producing more than 80 megawatts of power are not considered renewable.

David O'Brien, commissioner of the Department of Public Service, later said the administration considered it "misleading" to say that Hydro-Quebec is not a renewable resource.

For far more extensive news on the energy/power visit: http://www.energycentral.com .