GMP President unveils plans for $150 million wind farm in Lowell
Project will have 21 turbines, generate 63 megawatts
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GMP President and CEO Mary Powell said the project is part of the utility's energy vision it unveiled two years ago to focus more on low-cost and reliable renewable energy. |
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By DANIEL BARLOW Vermont Press Bureau - Published: May 22, 2010
MONTPELIER – Green Mountain Power officially unveiled its Kingdom Community Wind project Friday, a plan to build 21 turbines along three miles of ridgelines in the northern Vermont town of Lowell.
The utility submitted a 1,300-page proposal to the Vermont Public Service Board detailing its plan for the $150 million project, which the utility says will be able to power about 20,000 homes when it is up and running.
The long-awaited project is the largest renewable energy proposal in Vermont since GMP built a 50 megawatt wood-burning facility in the 1980s. This new project, GMP officials said, will generate 63 megawatts of power from turbines placed on the Lowell Mountain range.
GMP President and CEO Mary Powell said the project is part of the utility's energy vision it unveiled two years ago to focus more on low-cost and reliable renewable energy. The company now runs the Searsburg wind farm, the largest wind facility in the state.
"We refuse to accept the suggestion that we have to choose between low-cost dirty energy and expensive green energy," Powell said Friday afternoon.
The project is proposed for 3.2 miles along ridgelines in Lowell and would supply between 6 and 8 percent of the utility's generation needs and 4 percent of the generation needs of the Vermont Electric Cooperative, which is a partner in the project.
Official announcement of the wind farm comes months after voters in Lowell – population 738 according to 2000 Census numbers – voted to allow the project to go forward at town meeting.
That vote saw 75 percent of voters cast ballots in support of the project and while it was not necessary for the plan to go forward, GMP officials said they wanted support from the town before applying to the state for approval.
"It's a perfect site for wind turbines," Powell said. "But if Lowell didn't want us to be there, we weren't going to do it."
In the rural Vermont town of Albany, whose population of 850 lives next to the town of Lowell, about 100 residents turned out for a meeting Tuesday to decide what approach to take on the upcoming wind project.
Selectboard Chairman Carl Chaffee said the town eventually voted to apply for "party" status so it can play a role in the proceedings before the Public Service Board, which will review the project and decide whether to approve it. A separate motion for the town to oppose the project failed.
"It was a big turnout," Chaffee said. "People were split on the project."
Proposals for large wind projects have generated some vocal opposition from communities as residents worry about the visual and environmental consequences. GMP officials said they are conscious that some people might not be convinced yet.
As part of the project, GMP has agreed to set up what it calls the Good Neighbor Fund, a proposal to pay the five towns surrounding Lowell money based on their portion of the land within a five mile radius of the turbines.
Those payments would at minimum be $10,000 a year for 10 years.
Powell said GMP sought to "create a new paradigm for how [these projects] should be done."
"We're breaking some new ground with this approach," said Robert Dostis, the director of customer service and external affairs for GMP. "We know that with these projects comes a certain amount of outreach to describe the economic benefits."
While conceding that it could be an optimistic timeline, Powell said she hopes to have Kingdom Community Wind up and running in late 2012. The utility plans to fund the $150 million project by taking half the cost in debt and having an investor pay for the other 50 percent.
Daniel.Barlow@timesargus.com
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