A preference for wind power.

• Position: Vermont

CLF-VT strongly advocates the development of wind energy in New England, but in a responsible way--listening to community and environmental concerns involving the siting of wind projects. Wind farm proposals have the potential to intrude on important wildlife habitat, and some Vermonters don't like the look of turbines on scenic ridges. So CLF-Vermont has launched an initiative to help communities and wind developers collaborate to ensure that development occurs in a timely manner, in the right locations, and through processes that involve public input.

CLF aims to get communities, regulators, environmental groups, and wind developers to engage in consensus-based negotiations to reach agreement on whether--and under what conditions--specific wind projects should be approved. This approach should result in permitting processes that are quicker, more objective, and less adversarial, in which host communities have real voices in shaping location, scale, and operating conditions.

CLF-Vermont has begun guiding wind negotiations, dealing with proposals such as the expansion of the Searsburg wind project, and with...