Senators introduce wind moratorium bill

State Sens. Robert Hartwell, D-Bennington, and Joseph Benning, R-Caledonia, say they will introduce a bill this legislative session that would establish a three-year moratorium on wind projects with a production capacity of more than 500 kilowatts.

Hartwell and Benning say they drafted the bill in response to increasing public pressure from their constituents who want to slow down the Vermont Public Service Board’s (PSB) permitting process for renewable energy developers, and to allow for more participation and consideration of municipal guidelines and time to assess health and environmental concerns raised by constituents.

Renewable energy laws in cross-hairs of conservative groups

Renewable energy advocates made an unsuccessful push last year to expand Missouri’s green power law and help lessen the state’s dependence on fossil fuels.

But the same groups may spend 2013 on defense, working to fend off a movement among conservative groups such as the Heartland Institute and Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform that seek to dismantle such mandates across the country.

Their tool for doing so is the American Legislative Exchange Council, a corporate-backed group of mostly Republican state legislators, that adopted model legislation this fall — a blueprint for members to use to repeal renewable energy laws in their home states.