Case Studies in Wind Energy Siting from a Developer and a Community Activist

Liz Argo:

“THE TROUBLE WITH WIND: Concerns, Real & Imagined, and Public Manipulation”

The Trouble with Wind is a half hour presentation that starts with a history of the Cape Wind project, focusing on the efforts of the citizen’s group, Clean Power Now, and comparing it to the opposition group, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. We’ll examine the Alliance’s history of lies, consider their leadership’s conflict of interest, and reveal opposition’s attempts at governmental manipulation. Then we’ll move to on-shore wind, examining the now infamous wind turbines in Falmouth. We’ll discuss the neighbor’s complaints, real or imagined, and look at the Falmouth complainants’ dedication to killing other municipal wind projects in alignment with the anti-wind group Windwise.

Links for filmed candid interviews with neighbors to turbines: http://www.ciwin.org/movies/

Liz Argo has been an advocate for properly sited wind energy since 2003 when she co-founded Clean Power Now, the citizen’s group in support of the Cape Wind off-shore wind farm. She is also responsible for founding the Cape and Islands Wind Information Network and chairs the Massachusetts FairWinds Coalition, two organizations supporting right-sited on-shore wind. Liz is the principal of Argo Consulting, a consulting firm that provides wind and photovoltaic technical services, outreach, and project administration.

Sumul Shah:

"TURBINES ARE NOT ALL RAINBOWS AND SUNSETS:Case Studies on the Scituate and Fairhaven Wind Projects"

A discussion about the permitting, construction, operations and subsequent community reaction to two projects in Scituate and Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Both projects have been highly controversial with extensive media coverage and passionate response from the community both in favor of the projects and in opposition to the projects.

Sumul Shah is the fifth generation of his family to be in the construction business. He founded Lumus Construction, Inc. in 1998, after earning a BS in Civil Engineering from Brown University and a MS in Construction Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After college, he worked for the Massachusetts Highway Department, managing more than $190 million of construction related to the opening of the Ted Williams Tunnel and Central Artery Project. Over the past fifteen years, Lumus Construction has focused on historic restoration, military and homeland security, and renewable energy projects. In 2006, Sumul formed Solaya Energy to focus on wind, solar, fuel cell, and geothermal projects. In the past seven years, Lumus and Solaya have been developers, builders, and/or operators of numerous wind projects in the region. In 2009, President Obama awarded Sumul the “Small Business Person of the Year” for Massachusetts and 1st Runner Up nationally.

Date: 
Thursday, April 25, 2013 - 2:30pm
Location: 
Kellogg Room (Rm. 118) in E-Lab 2
Year: 
2013
Semester: