Vt. green groups

to fight for wind

MONTPELIER — If a proposed three-year moratorium on wind power in Vermont starts to pick up support in the Legislature, several environmental groups will be ready to pounce.

Sen. Robert Hartwell, D-Bennington, and Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia, proposed such a moratorium on large-scale wind projects on Vermont’s mountains last week. Among their complaints is that the projects damage the environment.

But environmental groups including the Vermont Natural Resources Council, Conservation Law Foundation and Vermont Public Interest Research Group are already on the record opposing a moratorium.

The groups say Vermont needs wind power among its strategies to fight climate change by reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.