View of Otter Creek Basin from Killington Resort. Photo: James Snook
The Rutland Region’s Resiliency Solutions
Renewable Energy Assets
Over the past 50 years, the Rutland region land use has changed dramatically as development has spread outward, while some agricultural land has grown into forests. The Rutland Regional Planning Commission (RRPC) is planning for the development of additional renewable generation facilities in the Rutland region, including solar, wind, hydro, and biomass. The existing renewable energy capabilities of solar, hydro, and wind in the Rutland Region is displayed in Figure 1.
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Figure 1: Existing Renewable Energy Generation in Rutland Region
Image from https://www.rutlandrpc.org/web-rrp-adopted-6-19-18.pdf.
Figure 2 displays the potential primary and secondary solar resources in the Rutland Region.
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Figure 2: Solar Resources in the Rutland Region
Image from https://www.rutlandrpc.org/web-rrp-adopted-6-19-18.pdf
Figure 3 forecasts the potential primary and secondary wind resources. Due to anticipated technological advances, residential scale (less than or equal to 10 kW) and commercial scale (less than or equal to 100 kW) is projected to be feasible in lower elevations throughout the region. The energy resource map includes 422,644 acres suitable for wind, although industrial scale wind is not included. Wind facilities that generate electricity with capacity of 5 KW or greater shall be designed, constructed, and operated such that it: 1) minimizes visibility, 2) shall not exceed 40 dBA max during daytime or 35 dBA at nighttime from the property line (RRPC, 2018).
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Figure 3: Wind Resources in the Rutland Region
Image from https://www.rutlandrpc.org/web-rrp-adopted-6-19-18.pdf.
References:
Rutland Region Planning Commission (RRPC). (2018). Rutland Regional Plan. Retrieved from https://www.rutlandrpc.org/web-rrp-adopted-6-19-18.pdf