Finally, some good news from the State House. According to the Portsmouth Economic Development committee (PEDC), the legislation authorizing a referendum on wind energy has finally become law.

Through the work of the PEDC, Portsmouth received authorization last fall to borrow up to $2.6M in zero-interest Clean Renewable Energy Bonds through the IRS to finance building a wind turbine at the high school or middle school. The economics here are pretty compelling (see earlier story) and the PEDC went through the extra effort of putting the initiative on the ballot out of respect for voters.

"Although the Town was not legally bound to put the decision to borrow the money to the voters, we thought that it was the responsible thing to do to ensure the wind project is what the citizens want," said Gary Gump, Chair of the PEDC Sustainable Energy Subcommittee.

The subcommittee is currently doing a feasibility study, using a $25,000 State energy grant that looks at all the technical, regulatory, economic, and public opinion issues to ensure voters are well informed when they go into the voting booth. The study, due to be completed this summer, will be presented to the Town Council, and if all is approved, the measure is expected to go to the voters this Fall.

All the preliminary work suggests that a turbine would offset a lot of the school's electrical bills and make some money for the town, but the PEDC is double checking. "Our study, that includes the help of wind power experts, will confirm that," said Gump, adding "Once the voters give us their approval, there is some lead time to get a turbine due to a backlog of orders. But, we think we could be generating wind power by late in 2008."

If you missed the recent public forum, you can catch a replay this week on Cox. And you can always learn more about the project and read FAQs at the PEDC Sustainable Energy site.