Wind power in New Hampshire began in 1980, with the installation of the world's first

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...

Crotched Mountain Crotched Mountain is a small mountain in western Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, in the United States. The summit of the mountain is in the town of Francestown, while the western slopes of the mountain rise in the town of Bennington, and ...

, consisting of 20 30 kW wind turbines, although it closed decades ago. As of 2020, five

wind power Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically ...

projects are operating in the state of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

– Lempster Mountain, which opened in 2008,

Granite Reliable Wind Farm Granite Reliable Wind Farm is a 99-megawatt wind farm, opened in 2011 in Millsfield and Dixville, New Hampshire, in the northeast United States. Owned by Brookfield Renewable, it is the second major wind-power installation in the state of New Ham ...

, which opened in late 2011, Groton Wind, which opened in 2012, Jericho Mountain, which opened in 2015, and Antrim Wind, which opened in 2020. Granite Reliable has 33

Vestas Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines that was founded in 1945. The company operates manufacturing plants in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, India, Italy, Romania, the Un ...

three-

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each yea ...

s on mountains in the Phillips Brook area. Groton Wind consists of 24 Gamesa G87 2.0 MW turbines, and are located along two ridges west of Plymouth, in the town of Groton. Although there is a high voltage power line to the west of the wind farm, the power is transmitted to a new substation at the Campton–

Holderness Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the north-east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common wit ...

town line. Turbines are tall and the blades are long. A wind farm in Antrim opened in 2020. It had been expected to begin construction in 2014, but on February 7, 2013, New Hampshire's Site Evaluation Committee rejected the proposal by a 6 to 3 vote, the first time the SEC has turned down a wind project. The primary reason for the rejection was stated as the visual and aesthetic impact the proposed turbines would have had on the Audubon Society of New Hampshire's Willard Pond Sanctuary and the region in general. The project was eventually approved with 9 turbines, one fewer than originally proposed. New Hampshire is a net power producer, generating more than is consumed. The output of Groton Wind is going to NStar, in Boston, and 55% of Granite is going to

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. In 2010 New Hampshire produced 22 million MWh, and used 7.7 million MWh. A 2009 regulation requires state approval of any energy facility of over 30 MW, and transmission lines over 100 kV.Energy Facility Evaluation, Siting, Construction and Operation
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References

External links

Google Map of alternative energy and nuclear sites, including wind, in and around New Hampshire

Site Evaluation Committee Post Hearing Brief
* {{Energy in the USA

See also

References

External links