Attending: Paul Goyetche, Pat Larson, Tom Rich, Cathy Stanton
Announcements:
- Warwick Arts Council is sponsoring a film screening of Islands in the Wind and Ocean Energy Innovators on Saturday, Oct. 22 in the Warwick Town Hall. The filmmaker, David Conover of Maine, will be in attendance.
- There will be a Seeds of Solidarity farm tour on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Solar farms:
We talked more about concerns and issues relating to the proposed solar farms in the area:
- Are wind and solar generation capacity similar?
- What responsibilities do the companies have to upgrade equipment or dismantle it if it becomes obsolete or worn out?
- How reputable are these companies and will they be in business over the long haul?
- How does this affect wildlife habitat?
- Should towns all establish a solar overlay district?
- How do privately-owned solar farms benefit a town or region? (Selling electricity into the grid doesn’t necessarily benefit us per se or contribute to making our area more energy self-sufficient.)
- Are there adequate labor and environmental safeguards in the manufacturing processes for the panels that are being used?
- Will National Grid add more capacity for renewable generation as time goes on?
Cathy will draft a general statement about our group’s position on these kinds of projects and we will send it around to the core group for comments.
Possible next meeting dates:
Cathy will set up a Doodle poll to choose between these dates:
Monday, Nov. 14, Wed., Nov. 16 – potluck at 6 p.m., meeting at 6:30 p.m.
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