|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
Date: November 5, 2010 Kate Plourd
(617) 315-9339
EIGHT WIND ENERGY PROJECTS RECEIVE $1 MILLION IN GRANTS FROM MASSACHUSETTS CLEAN ENERGY CENTER
MassCEC’s Community Wind program receives national award in clean energy leadership
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) today announced grants totaling more than $1 million to support eight new wind energy projects under the Commonwealth Wind Community Scale Wind Initiative.
“These grants will help communities and public and private entities across the Commonwealth reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, cut their emissions, and contribute toward Governor Patrick’s goal of 2,000 megawatts of wind power by 2020,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles, who serves as chairman of MassCEC’s board of directors.
MassCEC also announced that the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA)anational nonprofit organization that works with public funds and state agencies to advance clean energy technologies, projects, and markets, has awarded MassCEC’s Community Scale wind program a State Leader in Clean Energy (SLICE) award at its annual conference in Washington, D.C. CESA’s SLICE awards recognize state programs that are most effectively accelerating adoption of clean energy technologies and advancing energy markets.
The awards announced today include two design and construction grants totaling more than 5 megawatts (MW) in capacity, and six feasibility studies for wind energy that would total roughly 17 MW in capacity if built. The eight grants go to private and public projects, including cities and towns. The Commonwealth Wind Community Scale Wind initiative is a program of MassCEC’s Renewable Energy Generation division, which is funded by renewable energy charges on electric bills, generating approximately $23 million a year to support renewable energy installations and companies.
“The Community Scale Wind program proves that we can help communities lessen their dependence on fossil fuel through responsibly-sited wind projects,” said MassCEC’s Executive Director Patrick Cloney. “It is a great honor to receive national recognition for our success through CESA’s SLICE award.”
The wind projects receiving design and construction grants are in Plymouth and Cohasset. The five projects receiving feasibility awards will support efforts in the towns of Westport, Gloucester, Petersham, Blandford, and Amesbury, and a Springfield Water and Sewer Commission project that will be on a combination of publicly-owned land in Blandford, Russell, Tolland, or Granville.
Following Commonwealth Solar – the first MassCEC program defined by technology type – Commonwealth Wind is MassCEC’s grant program that supports wind energy projects. Commonwealth Wind’s Community Scale supports wind projects of at least 100 kilowatts in size; its Micro Wind program provides rebates for the installation of wind projects less than 100 kilowatts, typically for residential, small commercial or agricultural sites.
The goal of the Commonwealth Wind Incentive Program is to assist responsibly-sited wind energy projects of all scales in achieving successful and timely installations, while also supporting Governor Patrick’s goal of having 2,000 megawatts (MW) of wind power capacity installed in the Commonwealth by 2020.
Details of the grants can be found below.
Feasibility Study Grants
|
City of Gloucester
|
The City of Gloucester will investigate the technical feasibility of installing a utility-scale wind turbine to help offset the community’s electric utility demand and increasing utility costs. The site is a former landfill located in an area of West Gloucester with low population density. The site has relatively strong wind resources at 6.8 m/s at 70 meters. This feasibility study will include wind monitoring, wind resource analysis, financial projections, a permitting plan and both shadow flicker and acoustic studies.
The City also has an educational goal for the turbine and its accompanying instrumentation, which is to be used to directly educate the City of Gloucester’s residents about wind technology, energy issues and serve as an educational model for the City to demonstrate a responsible approach to energy generation.
|
|
Project Type:
|
Public
|
|
Location:
|
Gloucester, MA
|
|
Technology:
|
1.5 MW Wind Turbine
|
|
FS Grant:
|
$85,000
|
|
|
|
|
Harvard Forest/Harvard University
|
Harvard Forest will study the potential for a wind turbine project on four sites. The 1,200 hectare Harvard Forest has operated as Harvard University’s main ecological research and educational facility since 1907.
Harvard Forest seeks to reduce its dependence on carbon-based electricity and to reduce its energy costs through installation of a wind turbine(s). Energy generated by the turbine(s) would be used on-site to provide electricity for a variety of Harvard Forest uses, including scientific experiments related to climate change. In addition, a wind project(s) will offer educational opportunities for the Harvard University community at large. This feasibility study will include wind monitoring using SODAR (sonic detection and ranging) wind resource analysis, financial projections, a permitting plan and both shadow flicker and acoustic studies.
|
|
Project Type:
|
Private (Non-profit)
|
|
Location:
|
Petersham, MA
|
|
Technology:
|
100 – 900 kW Wind Turbine
|
|
FS Grant:
|
$43,954.40
|
|
|
|
|
Solaya Energy - Blandford Project
|
Solaya Energy, a division of Lumus Construction, Inc., a Massachusetts Corporation, has been selected by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Mass DOT) to lease a parcel at the Blandford Rest Area 2W off of I-90. Solaya intends to build one utility-scale turbine on the Mass DOT land for the purpose of producing electrical energy. In the proposed project structure, Solaya plans to sell the power to an offsite customer. Solaya plans to form a Special Purpose Entity, Blandford Wind LLC, through which all project finances will run.
This feasibility study will include wind monitoring, a wind resource analysis, financial projections, environmental analysis, a permitting plan and an acoustic study.
|
|
Project Type:
|
Private
|
|
Location:
|
Blandford, MA
|
|
Technology:
|
1.65 MW Wind Turbines
|
|
FS Grant:
|
$40,000
|
|
|
|
|
Spinnaker Power, LLC
|
Spinnaker Power is considering the construction of a 1.5 MW wind turbine at Pender Farms, a privately-owned farm property, located in Amesbury. Meridian Associates, Inc., a multidisciplinary engineering firm, has been retained to assist Spinnaker Power with a Site Feasibility Study and wind data collection. Spinnaker Power, based in Beverly, is dedicated to assisting public and private entities in developing renewable energy projects, with an emphasis on wind energy.
This feasibility study will include wind monitoring, wind resource analysis, financial projections, a permitting plan and both shadow flicker and acoustic studies.
|
|
Project Type:
|
Private
|
|
Location:
|
Amesbury, MA
|
|
Technology:
|
1.5 MW Wind Turbine
|
|
FS Grant:
|
$55,000
|
|
|
|
|
Springfield Water & Sewer Commission
|
The Springfield Water and Sewer Commission will pursue development of up to six wind turbine generators on one of six potential sites located in Blandford, Russell, Tolland, and Granville. The Commission will work with Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc. to study the feasibility of installing up to six land-based wind turbine(s) in the 1,600 to 2,000 kW range for a total of approximately 2 to 10 MW. The energy produced by the wind turbine generators will offset energy costs for the Commission through the net metering provisions of the Green Communities Act.
The Commission has a mission to provide an adequate uninterrupted, high-quality supply of water to their customers, to collect and treat wastewater, and return clean water to the environment. The Commission serves approximately 43,500 water and 550 fire accounts in Springfield, Ludlow, and the surrounding communities.
The feasibility study will include wind monitoring, a wind resource analysis, financial projections, environmental analysis, a permitting plan, and an acoustic study.
|
|
Project Type:
|
Public
|
|
Location:
|
Various sites in Blandford, Russell, Tolland, Granville
|
|
Technology:
|
2.0 – 10 MW Wind Turbine Project
|
|
FS Grant:
|
$85,000
|
|
|
|
|
Town of Westport
|
The Town of Westport is interested in pursuing a detailed feasibility study to investigate the siting of a 1500kW wind turbine for the benefit of the Town at a town-owned property located at 54 Hixbridge Road. The Town and Atlantic Design Engineers, LLC (Atlantic), along with the selected Met Tower provider and installer will comprise the project team.
The Town believes that wind power can help reduce the costs of electricity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote green lifestyles in the community.
The feasibility study will be comprised of a meteorological study, an acoustic study, visual impact analysis, and shadow flicker analysis.
|
|
Project Type:
|
Public
|
|
Location:
|
Westport, MA
|
|
Technology:
|
1.5 MW Wind Turbine
|
|
FS Grant:
|
$57,412.50
|
|
|
|
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION GRANTS
|
Pilgrim Wind LLC (Solaya)
|
Pilgrim Wind LLC, a joint venture between Solaya and Palmer Capital of Wilmington, will develop a wind energy project on Town-owned property at the Plymouth Waste Water Treatment Plant. The project will have an installed capacity of either 1650 kW, for one turbine, or 3300 kW for two turbines.
The power generated from this project will be sold to the Town of Plymouth and will provide electrical energy via direct connection to the Waste Water Treatment Plant and indirectly, via net-metering, to related Town-owned facilities. In addition, Pilgrim Wind LLC will pay the town an annual lease fee. At the end of a 10-year lease period, the Town will purchase the wind turbine facility for fair market value, and at the Town’s option, either own the facility themselves, or put ownership of the facility out to bid in order to purchase energy at an agreed-upon rate. The Town of Plymouth is projected to save approximately $1.67 million with the two turbine configuration or $739,000 with the one turbine configuration.
|
|
Project Type:
|
Public
|
|
Location:
|
Wastewater Treatment Plant, Plymouth
|
|
Technology:
|
One or two 1.65 MW Wind Turbines
|
|
D&C Grant:
|
$400,000
|
|
|
|
|
The Trustees of Reservations
|
The Trustees of Reservations (TTOR), a not-for-profit statewide Massachusetts land conservation organization, has teamed up with Applied Science Associates, Loria Emerging Energy Consulting, GZA GeoEnvironmental and Richard C. Gross, P.E. to develop a 1.8 MW wind turbine on their 824 acres of conservation land known as Turkey Hill in Cohasset.
TTOR plans to establish a private blocker corporation (or similar), enabling the project to both partner with private sector investors and monetize federal tax incentives
TTOR’s goal is to be a net zero carbon producer by 2017, by reducing its carbon footprint through energy conservation and the production of renewable energy. With more than 25,000 acres of conservation land in the Commonwealth, TTOR has rich land resources that can demonstrate the appropriate use of renewable energy and serve as a model for sustainable best practices. The organization states that the wind project is critical to meeting this goal.
|
|
Project Type:
|
Private (Non-profit)
|
|
Location:
|
Turkey Hill, Cohasset
|
|
Technology:
|
1.8 MW Wind Turbine
|
|
D&C Grant:
|
$260,000
|
|
|
|
Created by the Green Jobs Act of 2008, MassCEC’s mission is to foster growth of the Massachusetts clean energy industry through seed grants to companies, universities, and nonprofit organizations; job training programs; and workforce development grants. MassCEC is also home to the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, which supports the installation of renewable energy technologies.
###
|
|
