On the final day of the legislative session, the New Hampshire House and Senate passed final compromise legislation that gives guidance to the state’s Site Evaluation Committee (SEC) on the topics it needs to address as it develops rules on the siting of wind energy projects in the state.
As originally introduced, HB1602 dealt only with the possible divestiture (sale) of power plants by Public Service of New Hampshire. A separate bill on wind siting, Senate Bill 281, had been introduced by Senator Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfboro) and passed the Senate but was later tabled by the house. In response, Sen. Bradley attached the Senate’s wind language to HB 1602, sending it to an end-of-session committee of conference.
The final version of HB1602 included both the PSNH divestiture and wind siting language. The Forest Society strongly supported the compromise bill, and wishes to recognize the members of the House-Senate conference committee that hammered out the final agreement: Senators Bradley, Jeannie Forrester, Martha Fuller-Clark, and Representatives Amanda Merrill (D-Durham), William Baber (D-Durham), Robert Backus (D-Manchester), and Laurence Rappaport (R-Colebrook). The Site Evaluation Committee will begin its formal rulemaking process on wind siting this summer, and final rules must be in place in mid-2015.
Read HB 1602 here: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1602.html