Commission to Hold Public Hearing on Wind Energy Plan Tonight

Last year, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) released for public comment a draft version of the Wind Energy Plan for Dukes County and held public meetings to get feedback. The MVC is planning to finalize and adopt the plan in the next few weeks.

Tonight, the MVC will hold a public hearing on the draft plan at 7:15 p.m. The MVC invites comments on the draft plan before October 8, 2012.

The draft Wind Energy Plan was widely distributed last year. A slightly revised version includes rewording of the section on the Determination of Appropriate Scale for offshore wind and completion of various data calculations. The draft plan can be downloaded from the MVC website (search for Wind Energy Plan September 2012).

The plan aims to allow for reasonable wind energy development while minimizing potentially detrimental impacts on natural resources and human uses, by proposing policies for where wind turbines may be allowed, where they should be subject to special review, and what standards should apply.