“The claims Green Mountain Power makes for Lowell’s carbon avoidance are inflated. They claim that the wind turbine complex avoids 74,000 tons of carbon a year. That may sound like a lot, but it’s equivalent to the amount of carbon emitted by New York City traffic in less than half a day,” Whitworth said.

“The turbines are projected to last 20 years. … The amount of carbon (Lowell would avoid) is less than two weeks of carbon produced by New York City traffic. We traded an intact ecosystem, a vital wildlife habitat, for less than two weeks of New York City carbon emissions. It’s not a good trade.”