Stratton to mull wind turbine
The town of Stratton and Stratton Mountain Resort are considering collaborating on an effort to install a wind turbine near the summit of Stratton Mountain.
The Stratton Planning Commission met a week ago on Wednesday night to further discuss the possibility of proceeding with the project, which is estimated to cost between $2 and $4 million.
When asked about the estimated cost of the project being discussed, wind advocate Eric Stevens — who is affiliated with Fairwind Vermont, a Londonderry based organization that promotes the fair development of the state’s wind energy resources — provided the commission with a loose cost estimate.
“A very ballpark figure for wind power is a million (dollars) per megawatt and if you’re going for only a few turbines it’s double that,” Stevens said.
Plentiful wind sources
The cost, though substantial, Stevens said could be recouped relatively easily because of Stratton’s great wind resources.
Discussions of the potential project, which the Select Board has also embraced according to Planning Commission Chairman Paul Schwippert, was initiated by the town as a result of the increased cost of gas and oil.
Board member John Wadsworth said once the topic arose one of his first thoughts, and knowing of Stratton Mountain Resort’s previous interest in constructing a wind turbine, was about how to partner with them to accomplish the goal.
Vice President of Lodging and Community Relations for Stratton Mountain Resort, Bill Nupp, confirmed the resorts previous interest and was receptive to the idea of building a turbine on the resorts land.
“I think we have to be amenable to exploring the concept,” said Nupp.
However, he did say that a number of technological issues, such as the site of the wind turbine, still existed.
Stevens said that the peak of the mountain is not the optimum location because icing becomes a problem above 3,000 feet.
The location of the wind turbine — the average lifespan of which is 15 to 20 years — is paramount to the project as it would determine its effectiveness.
“A good site should theoretically produce … about 30 percent (of the town’s electricity),” said Robert Macgregor, a wind advocate affiliated with Fairwind Vermont.
A wind turbine on Jiminy Peak — a mountain resort located in western Massachussets — that went online on Aug. 15, 2007 generates 4.6 million kWh (kilowatt hours) of energy a year, comprising a third of the resort’s power, according to an article on www.informationweek.com.
The height of the proposed wind turbine would also contribute to its effectiveness. Although there currently is no definitive height specified, Schwippert said that wind turbines range between 100 and 400 feet in height.
Board member Anne Patten questioned why Vermont’s ridgelines were always the proposed location for wind turbines when in Europe they are located on flat ground and in water, among other places. Macgregor replied that while there were few sites on flat plateaus and other areas, ridgelines seem to be the most reliable sources of wind.
Reliable though they may be, proposals to put wind turbines on ridgelines have met with controversy in the past. In 2005, a proposal to place five wind turbines on top of Mount Equinox met with resistance in part due to aesthetics. The same was true of a proposed wind project in Londonderry, according to state Representative Rick Hube (R-Londonderry) .
However, Stevens said that aesthetics could be less of problem for Stratton because of their wind potential. He told the planning commission that if they were to conduct the necessary research and present it as a business proposition the people who wanted to reject it on pure aesthetics “would have no chance.”
Aesthetics aside, one of the biggest problems the project would face if it proceeds would be the permitting process that may require not only the acquisition of an Act 248 permit — which pertains to new gas and electric purchases, investments and facilities — but an Act 250 permit as well. However, the necessity of obtaining an Act 250 permit would be contingent upon where the project was sited, according to Schwippert.
One of the alternative sites that is being considered because it is a good site for wind is the Stratton Town Forest. In order for the wind turbine to be built on that site the project would have to be approved by the Nature Conservancy, Schwippert said.
In a previous interview Schwippert estimated, although he could not say for certain, that if the project were to move forward it would take at least 18 months before the wind turbine was constructed.
Taxes could be another potential issue. If constructed, the wind turbine would increase the taxes for Stratton Mountain Resort — on whose land it would be built. The majority of that cost could be offset through revenue earned from the town’s one percent rooms and meals tax, according to vice chairman Kent Young. Also, Hube said there are several tax credits for building wind turbines.
The town of Stratton is not the only municipality interested in creating wind turbines. Stevens said that while Stratton is further along, there are interested parties in other towns around the state seeking to construct wind turbines.
Brandon Canevari — Editor
9 October 2008
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