By Martha Klein

Connecticut gets 51% of its electricity from natural gas, and another 41% from the Millstone nuclear plant near New London. The state has 20 natural gas burning power plants bringing electricity to the grid. The one coal-burning plant, Bridgeport Harbor Generating Station, contributes a mere 1.4% to net electrical generation. The remaining electrical power comes from a few different sources, including hydroelectric. It matters how we produce our energy because power generation is the leading cause of air pollution and the single largest source of global warming emissions in this country. In the state of Connecticut, we produce over a third of our carbon dioxide emissions, 36%, from the generation of electricity.

Connecticut has a goal of generating 20% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Right now, the amount of truly renewable energy being generated in the state (that which produces little to no climate changing emissions) is so small that it is not even measured by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). In order to meet the current renewable power goals of the state, Connecticut buys Renewable Energy Credits and imports some renewable energy. Electricity customers can chose the “green power option” from their energy supplier, but this renewable energy comes from outside Connecticut.

One of the more green power options is wind power. Humans have drawn energy from wind since at least the tenth century, when windmills appeared in Persia. The first windmills were used to grind grain and pump water from underground. Windmills became common in the United States when settlers in West Texas in the eighteenth century used wind to draw water, as in ancient times. Much of the development of wind power took place in West Texas, partially due to the ubiquity of windmills and the familiarity with wind energy, as well as to the high winds of the panhandle.

Wind technology has advanced in the decades since the 1980’s when commercial wind turbines began to operate. Wind power has become cheaper than coal or nuclear, has grown by 15% per year for the last three years, and 3.5% of the country is powered by it.

There is a large body of literature on wind, and this knowledge has been used to make adaptations to diminish harmful effects from turbines. For example, by slowing the start-up speed of a turbine, the fatal effect to a western species of bat was reduced. Current technology stops the turbines in high wind or icing conditions, which prevents blade shear and ice throw.

The Connecticut Siting Council (CSC) approved the CSC Wind Regulations in 2013, to address concerns related to commercial wind turbines, including visual disturbance, noise, shadow flicker, environmental and wildlife effects, ice drop or throw, and blade shear. The regulations established setbacks designed to prevent or minimize these problems.

Small projects under 65 megawatts apply to CSC for a declaratory ruling; projects over that size apply for a certificate. The entire process is the same, however, including hearings held by the state for every declaratory ruling or certificate sought. The regulations require each project to have a decommissioning plan, including restoration of the site to its original condition, and it is common practice for companies to place a decommissioning bond on the project, once the scrap value is less than the removal cost.

Best siting practices for renewable energy projects set out by environmental groups include using degraded or previously disturbed private land, preserving critical habitat, and retaining existing un-roaded areas. A wind power project proposed for Union, Conn. meets many of these criteria and has generated a lot of interest in the town. The site is in a privately owned, commercially logged forest that has road access. Years of testing by a private wind development company has demonstrated sufficient wind to merit investment.

The proposed site, consisting of one to four turbines generating up to 10 megawatts (enough to power roughly 2,400 to 4,000 homes), has setbacks that meet or exceed CSC regulations and is located far from any homes or businesses.

The cost of producing renewable energy is now competitive with fossil fuels, and many states are generating significant amounts of power from renewable sources. Iowa, Colorado and California now get between 20 and 30% of power from renewable wind and solar, and Germany gets up to 80% of its electricity from sun and wind.

Clean, affordable energy is in demand, and appropriately sited renewable projects can give us the emission-free power we need.