Frank Seawright, Select Board Chair

C/O Joeanne Chlebogiannis, Town Clerk

Town of Windham
5976 Windham Hill Road
Windham, VT. 05359

08 of July, 2016

Dear Frank Seawright and Maureen Bell,

We were disappointed by your response dated June 13, 2016, to our letter requesting the
appointment of a committee to discuss the form and terms of a potential agreement between
Iberdrola Renewables and the Town of Windham. We were further disappointed to learn that
the draft letter was not properly warned on the select board agenda dated June 20, 2016. The
lack of due process around your response is alarming.
We remain committed to abiding by a fair and equitable vote of registered voters in Windham
- and want to present an agreement that is the most beneficial to the town and community
members.
Regrettably, your letter also included many inaccuracies. If approved and built, our proposed
project would actually improve most of the areas that you cite as issues of concern. We will
take this opportunity to address some of the false claims made in your letter.
Flooding
You assert that the Stiles Brook project would be at odds with crucial flood management
initiatives. This is not the case. The state requirements for maintaining a high level of water
quality and dealing with the possibility of flooding and/or erosion are clear. Once the Stiles
Brook project is built, the highly technical and engineered storm water system will help ensure
that the towns of Grafton and Windham as well as surrounding communities are well
protected against the increased risk of floods due to climate change.
Well-sited renewable wind energy is one of the best tools available to us to fight the
devastating effects of climate change, and reliably keep the lights on.
Wildlife
Your letter is misleading as it states that Stiles Brook is one of the largest unfragmented
habitat blocks in southern Vermont. This assertion ignores the presence of one of Vermonts
largest power lines that currently fragments the project area. This large 345kv power line
maintained by VELCO within a 300-foot corridor, runs directly through the middle of the
5,000-acre parcel.
Even as this existing infrastructure fragments this forest, it is worth noting by your own
admission that the wildlife in the area continues to thrive. This is also true at existing wind
project locations in Vermont where large mammals are spotted regularly and often hunted on
the project property.
Iberdrola Renewables, LLC
2 Radnor Corp. Ctr., Ste 200, 100 Matsonford Rd. Radnor, PA 19087 Mobile: (315) 529-3051
www.iberdrolarenewables.us

Water Quality and Storm Water Management

Your letter states that at the Kingdom Community Wind project site, enhanced monitoring
has not been carried out according to the requirements of the permit and the State of Vermont
personnel who should have overseen the required [storm water] monitoring did not do so.
This is patently false. Again, the state requirements for maintaining a high level of water
quality and dealing with storm water and the possibility of flooding and/or erosion are stringent
and clear. In fact, the state has provided appropriate oversight of the storm water
management system at the Kingdom Community Wind project and enhanced monitoring has
been performed. The results are conclusive; the system works well and is ensuring that water
quality is very high.
Communities in Harmony
The peer-reviewed scientific evidence overwhelmingly finds that properly sited wind turbines
do not harm human health. The fact is that hundreds of thousands of people around the world
live near and work in close proximity to operating wind turbines without ill health effects.
Further, credible peer-reviewed scientific data and various government reports in the United
States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom now totaling more than 20 refute the
claim that wind farms cause negative health impacts. There are Iberdrola Renewables
employees living within a quarter mile of turbines at several projects nationwide.
Lastly, your letter makes claims regarding other Iberdrola projects. While we certainly
understand we live in a litigious society where lawsuits can proliferate were very proud of
the fact that we have great relationships with thousands of landowner partners at the nearly
60 renewable energy projects across the United States. Out of respect for the legal process,
we dont comment directly on ongoing litigation, but we would encourage you to talk with the
multitude of landowners and neighbors nationwide who welcome our presence in their
communities and on their land.
We continue to stand ready to engage in constructive conversations with you and/or any
community member who wants to learn more about wind power, the Stilesbrook project, or
the benefits we will provide the town if this project is approved by a majority of the voters in
Windham and approved by the Public Service Board. We would hope that from this point
forward we can have a conversation based on sound science, and we can agree to a mutually
beneficial arrangement.
Sincerely,

Jenny Briot
Manager, Renewables Development NY & NE
Iberdrola Renewables

CC: Kord Scott, Maureen S. Bell

Iberdrola Renewables, LLC
2 Radnor Corp. Ctr., Ste 200, 100 Matsonford Rd. Radnor, PA 19087 Mobile: (315) 529-3051
www.iberdrolarenewables.us