BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) -State regulators’ approval of 16 wind turbines in Sheffield has dispelled some developers’ worries that no big wind turbines would be approved on the state’s mountaintops and offered a guide through the state’s review process.

“They very carefully and transparently sketched out a map as to what standards would have to be met to get a permit,” Stephen Terry, a consultant to Green Mountain Power Corp., said of members of the Public Service Board. “In the end the board sent a strong message that, if it’s done right, wind energy is a public good for Vermont.”

Terry and other experts said last week that the lesson for developers is to gain local support, sell electricity to Vermont utilities at a stable price and thoroughly review the environmental impacts of the wind towers.

“The order sets a really high bar for developers to meet, but it lays out all the hoops you need to jump through,” said James Moore, a renewable energy advocate for the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.

The approval of Newton, Mass.,-based UPC Wind’s proposal for the 400-foot towers came just 13 months after the state rejected a different Northeast Kingdom wind power proposal in East Haven.

The latest decision is likely to encourage four or five other wind developers considering sites in Vermont, wind advocates said.

UPC originally had proposed 26 turbines in Sheffield and Sutton three years ago but later scaled back the project, and agreed to protect bear habitat, study bird deaths, and to stop the turbines 120 nights a year to protect migrating bats. The permit comes with 30 conditions.

UPC hopes to have the turbines running by late 2008.

The company’s response to local and state concerns helped it win a permit, observers said.

“This decision says if you develop responsibly, in coordination with communities, landowners and the state, you can succeed,” said Brad King, project manager for the Connecticut company, Noble Environmental Power, which is considering wind development outside Rutland.

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Information from: The Burlington Free Press, http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com

AP-ES-08-19-07 1323EDT