HartfordBusiness.com
April 1, 2014
Connecticut’s three-year moratorium on construction of new wind turbines could be lifted by the end of April, if legislators approve regulations on the structures.
The Connecticut Siting Council has proposed new regulations that are legally required to lift the ban on turbines first imposed in June 2011. The proposal must be approved by the General Assembly’s Regulation Review Committee, which has denied all previous proposals for the last three years.
The wind regulations are on the committee’s agenda for April 22.
In the latest proposal, the Siting Council addresses the committee’s concerns about making sure the builders of turbines have enough money to demolish them when they have reached the end of their useful life. The proposal also ensures the turbines have enough setback from any occupied residential space.
The wind turbine ban was first proposed in 2011 after residents of Colebrook and Prospect protested the construction of wind turbines in their towns. The ban will be lifted once the regulations are approved, but the Colebrook and Prospect residents have opposed all proposed regulations put forth by the Siting Council.