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Local
| 11/4/2009 10:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Lowell Voters To Establish
Wind Project's Future
Robin Smith
Staff Writer
ST. JOHNSBURY - Voters in the town of Lowell will get to decide whether they want a wind power development on the Lowell ridgeline.
The Lowell Board of Selectmen will conduct a referendum by Australian ballot about Kingdom Community Wind at town meeting in March, board Chairman Richard Pion said Tuesday.
And Green Mountain Power officials said Tuesday that they will abide by the will of the Lowell voters.
"There will be a vote. We want it," GMP project manager Charlie Pughe said. "If it's favorable, we'll go ahead [with Kingdom Community Wind]. If it's not, we won't."
Most Lowell residents are aware that they will get to vote on Kingdom Community Wind, Pion said.
A public vote would take place right before GMP hopes to apply to state regulators for a certificate of public good for the project.
Pughe and other GMP officials met with reporters and the editorial board of The Caledonian-Record Tuesday in advance of a public meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Lowell Graded School.
On Thursday, GMP and Vermont Electric Cooperative representatives will talk about the project with residents from Lowell and area towns.
The meeting will be moderated by Bill Stenger, Jay Peak Resort CEO and co-owner.
GMP and the co-op are partners in the wind development, which could bring 16 to 24 large turbines to the ridgeline. The development would have the capacity to generate between 40 and 60 megawatts of electricity for both utilities.
No Municipal Tax Burden
GMP has come close to a deal with Lowell selectmen about annual payment in lieu of taxes to the town of Lowell for the wind site, GMP and town officials said.
A contract has not been signed but Pughe said there is a "gentlemen's handshake" about a payment plan.
The proposed deal would cover the entire municipal budget and highway fund, eliminating municipal and highway taxes, Pion said.
It could be more than the municipal and highway budgets, allowing Lowell to save for the future, Pion said.
If the wind towers have the capacity to generate 40 megawatts, GMP will pay Lowell $420,000 a year.
Payments increase with the power output of the project, officials said, to a maximum of $525,000 annually in lieu of taxes if the wind development has the capacity to generate 60 megawatts of electricity.
And the payment will increase by $25,000 every five years for the life of the project.
"The town has a lot to benefit from it actually," Pion said.
Neighboring townspeople would benefit. Vermont Electric Coop will be able to buy wind power at cost from GMP, GMP officials said. And GMP will pay for half of the upgrade of the local transmission system.
Vermont Utility
The GMP officials said it is a real advantage for a Vermont utility to be building a wind power development in Vermont.
GMP used to be a publicly traded utility before it was purchased two years ago by Gaz Metro, a Quebec company.
Gaz Metro is prepared to invest what is needed to generate green power in Vermont, said Dorothy Schnure, GMP spokeswoman.
And GMP has more than 100 years of a track record as a utility in Vermont, she said.
That track record includes making payments to towns where production facilities are located, they said.
Wind-generated electricity will mean that GMP will not be as dependent on power generated by southern New England power plants, they said.
Timetable
GMP is seeking a certificate of public good for three wind measurement towers, two as tall as the hubs of a turbine and requiring aviation warning lights.
A hearing on the tower application will be conducted 7 p.m. Monday at the school.
GMP hopes to put up the towers in February to collect information about wind consistency and speed. That information will help the utility decide what type of wind turbines will suit the site.
They expect good results.
"We are highly confident in the wind resources" on Lowell's ridgeline, Pughe said.
In March, if the Lowell vote is positive, GMP will apply for the certificate for the whole project. The utility does not have to wait for the wind measurements to go forward because the final details can be added to the application later, officials said.
The development could cost $100 million to $150 million. If regulators approve it, it could be under construction in 2011 and operational in 2012, in time to garner federal tax credits for wind development.
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