Consider green options

A healthy respect and love for the land, and the environment, are natural outgrowths of our agrarian heritage. With North Canaan’s long history of both farming and industry, it should not be surprising, then, that this town is in the forefront of regional communities that are finding ways to develop and utilize green energy.

Both farmers and town leaders in North Canaan have analyzed and implemented a range of alternative energy sources, including using methane from composting manure to generate heat. The idea on the drawing table now focuses on wind energy. A proposal from BNE Energy, Inc. has come before the Planning and Zoning Commission (P & Z) for a project at Lone Oak Campsites. This isn’t the first time that a wind turbine has surfaced in the town. The Land of Nod winery on Lower Road in East Canaan has had a working wind turbine for more than five years. Because the winery isn’t producing electricity with its turbine, it met approval without running through the regulations.

Lone Oak is adjacent to the Freund farm and owned by the Browns, who are members of the same family. The first permit applications for the wind turbine project were denied on Nov. 16, but, as reported by Karen Bartomioli in this newspaper, the project’s success is still a real possibility.  The P & Z held a workshop Dec. 6 to flesh out the necessary changes to zoning regulations that would accommodate a wind turbine project, given that current regulations were written before such options existed. The commission members, especially Tim Abbott who is drafting the new wording, have been working hard to come up with a solid solution by studying actions taken in other towns, regionwide, that have successfully adopted planning and zoning regulations that are amenable to green energy options. They’re also consulting with BNE Energy to benefit from their expertise and experience in helping with the wording of the regulations. And, they’re asking the public for input.

Their actions reflect exactly the sort of attitude that’s needed on a planning and zoning commission in any town right now: They are open to finding better ways to utilize the resources their town has available to generate cleaner, greener, more local energy. What could be more responsible?

Kudos to North Canaan’s P & Z for being so enlightened in its understanding of the importance of the project it is now reviewing and taking the steps necessary to have adequate controls while also allowing a broad range of possibilities for those willing and able to create and maintain alternative energy projects.

The discussion on wind turbines will continue at the P&Z meeting on Dec. 15. Not only should North Canaan community members who have an interest in the project attend. Residents and P & Z officials from other towns in the region also could bring ideas to the table and in the process find that listening to this discussion might benefit their own towns in finding ways to include alternative, green and local energy in their long-term approach to town planning.

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