Green Needham is hosting the February Massachusetts Climate Action Network Steering Committee Meeting at the Needham Public Library. The topic of discussion at the February 23rd meeting (7:00 – 8:45 pm) will be Community Scale Wind Energy Projects under attack: Strategies for dealing with Massachusetts Wind Wise and other wind opponents.

Over the last few years proponents of community scale wind projects have come under attack by well financed and sophisticated opponents to wind energy. The MCAN communities of Duxbury, Salem, Greenfield, Lenox and Falmouth have already experienced this backlash against wind energy and the Patrick Administration’s goal for 2,000 megawatts of wind generation capacity in Massachusetts by 2020. The program will include discussion from chapter representatives about the issues raised by opponents, techniques used and the effect of these activities on community leaders In addition Rob Garrity will present an update on the status of the Massachusetts Wind Siting Bill and Fred Schlicher will provide a briefing sheet inventorying major claims made wind opponents along with possible rebuttals to these claims. Other chapter representatives in attendance are encouraged to participate in the discussion and share their chapter’s experiences.

Panel Includes:

• Paul Marquis, Salem SAFE
• Jim Savicki, Susan Fontaine and Janis Owen of Sustainable Duxbury
• Meghan Amsler, of Falmouth Wind Project and Cape & Islands Self-Reliance Corp.
• Malcolm Brown, Hull Wind
• Marilyn Levenson, Marc Wolman of MassDEP on recent Panel Report on Potential Health Effects of Wind Turbines

The Massachusetts Climate Action Network is a coalition of over 40 community-based organizations in Massachusetts working on climate and sustainability issues (Green Needham is an MCAN member). MCAN holds is regular steering committee meetings in member communities around the region to encourage participation and allow chapter members from different communities to meet and to share ideas and experiences. All are invited to participate.