SJC ruling allows wind project in Western Mass. to proceed
For much of the past decade, a $100-million plan to erect 20 wind turbines on a ridge in the towns of Florida and Monroe has suffered the fate of other proposals to harness the wind for energy: It has been mired in litigation.
This week the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the validity of a long-contested, state-issued wetlands permit and ruled that the developers of the 30-megawatt wind farm that could power as many as 10,000 homes can proceed with construction.
Jan Johnson, a spokeswoman for
“We’re extremely pleased by the court’s decision,’’ Johnson said.
State environmental officials said the case demonstrates why pending legislation on Beacon Hill is vital to streamlining the appeals process for such wind projects in Massachusetts, more than one-third of which have been stalled by lawsuits or permit appeals. The state now generates less than 1 percent of the nation’s wind energy, or about 9 megawatts, and the Patrick administration has set a goal of 2,000 megawatts by 2020.
“This case is emblematic of why we need reform,’’ said Ian Bowles, secretary of the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, who has urged lawmakers to pass a bill that could reduce the litigation that delays wind projects. “There were people who don’t even live in the towns who were appealing it. I don’t think there’s any mystery of the merits of the project.’’
Opponents of the proposal said the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision shows the system works and does not need to be overhauled.
They said the streamlining legislation would provide the state too much power and allow developers to steamroll legitimate opposition.
“We feel this case illustrates why it’s alarming that a state agency could end up with complete control over wind projects,’’ said Eleanor Tillinghast, president of Green Berkshires, an environmental advocacy group in Great Barrington that argued that the commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection failed to properly apply state wetlands regulations.
“If the legislation passes, it would consolidate all power in the hands of a single agency,’’ she said. “It would be a power grab that would override local control and people’s traditional rights of appeal.’’
In its decision, the SJC ruled that opponents of the project “failed to demonstrate that the decision by the commissioner was an error of law, arbitrary or capricious, or unsupported by substantial evidence.’’
The ruling ended a six-year legal fight. It has kept the project known as Hoosac Wind, proposed by New England Wind LLC and owned by Iberdrola Renewables of Portland, Ore., from breaking ground on Bakke Mountain in Florida and Crum Hill in Monroe.
David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com. 
