DIXFIELD — Residents will have a chance Monday to learn about and ask questions on a proposed moratorium ordinance on potential wind farm development.
The public hearing begins at 5 p.m. in the community room of Ludden Memorial Library. A special town meeting, with a secret ballot vote, to act on the proposed wind power moratorium ordinance will take place at 6 p.m. Oct. 14, also at the library.
The proposed ordinance was prompted by a tentative proposal by Patriot Renewables LLC of Quincy, Mass., to construct eight to 20 wind turbines along the ridge that includes Colonel Holman Mountain. The company estimated generation of between 1.5 and 2.5 megawatts of electricity from each turbine. A meteorological tower atop that mountain to measure wind speed and other data is currently being built.
Some residents have expressed opposition to the proposal. A committee was appointed by selectmen to write an ordinance that would govern the construction of wind turbines. The moratorium, if passed, would allow the town six months to write such an ordinance. A moratorium may also be extended for six months, if necessary.
Residents Dan McKay and Freemont Tibbetts have put together data on wind farms that is available at the town office.
When an ordinance governing wind farm development is ready, residents must also act on it.
Dixfield is one of several towns in the region that has been identified as a possible site for wind turbine development. Others in various stages of proposal are in Rumford, Carthage, Buckfield and Woodstock. A wind farm in Roxbury has been approved and is currently under construction.
The selectmen’s regular meeting follows the public hearing.
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