The Vermont Supreme Court recently denied an appeal by six protesters convicted of trespassing at the site of Green Mountain Power’s Lowell Mountain Wind project.
The “Lowell Six,” none of whom had a criminal record, were protesting the construction of the 21-turbine wind farm with permission from an adjacent property owner. However, the protesters crossed a property line posted by the utility and were arrested in the December 2011 incident.
Last year, a jury found the protesters guilty of criminal trespassing on Green Mountain Power property. The group has lodged a formal legal dispute over GMP’s ownership of the property, however, and that case will continue until it is resolved next spring.
The majority of Vermont Supreme Court justices, led by Chief Justice Paul Reiber, found that the land dispute was irrelevant because Green Mountain Power was the presumed owner of the land at the time of the arrest. However, Associate Justice John Dooley, in a dissenting opinion, said the land dispute should have been settled before the court considered the case.
Dotty Schnure, the director of communications for the utility, said in a statement that the electric utility is pleased that the case is over.
Ron Holland, 69, of Irasburg was one of the protesters who was arrested. He said the protest on top of the ridge was part of a larger campaign to spread awareness about some of the state’s renewable energy programs.
Vermont’s Sustainably Priced Energy Enterprise Development program, which is designed to increase the state’s renewable energy portfolio, allows wind and solar producers to sell their renewable energy credits to nonrenewable electricity producers.
Essentially, the program allows other states to burn as much fossil fuel as Vermont offsets with wind and solar production, Holland said, achieving no reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
“This is just business as usual, done as green energy,” he said.
Starting next year, utilities in Connecticut will not purchase Vermont renewable energy credits because of this practice.
In a joint statement, the six protesters said they will continue to advocate for “effective” climate change solutions.
“We wish to make it clear that the court’s decision will not sway us from our fundamental commitment: To help Vermont develop a cogent, effective energy policy that protects its landscape and citizens from corporate or governmental bullying,” the news release stated. “We will continue to question and oppose corporate-friendly policies that pretend to be ‘green’ but in fact do nothing to advance effective responses to climate change.”
During the summer of 2012, another group of six protesters was arrested on the property. Holland said this group could pursue a necessity defense, implying that the protest was necessary to prevent a larger crime associated with the construction of the wind farm, such as the destruction of the ridge line.
