January 26, 2012
Massachusetts

Work begins on Hoosac windmill project

By DIANE BRONCACCIO, Recorder Staff, The Recorder, www.recorder.com 26 January 2012

MONROE – Work began last November on putting in some access roads needed for the installation of a 19-turbine, $90 million Hoosac Wind Project – with nine of the 1.5 megawatt turbines to be installed on Crum Hill in Monroe and 10 to be installed on Bakke Mountain in Florida.

Also, the foundation for a substation is being constructed on River Road.

According to spokesman Paul Copleman, the wind turbine components themselves are scheduled to arrive in June.

The wind turbine electricity generating facility was first proposed in 2003, but construction has been held up by several legal battles during the past eight years.

The project has been changed form 20 proposed turbines to 19.

The Hoosac Wind project is owned by, and will be operated by, Ebertrola Renewables. [sic*]

The 340-foot-high turbines will have 250-foot-diameter rotors and ancillary systems. The project, with completion expected in 2012, will have the capacity to power about 9,500 homes in the region.

Residents in the two neighboring towns, which approved the project in 2004, are to receive a $9,000-per-megawatt payment in lieu of taxes over the next 20 years. Monroe’s fewer and 100 residents expect to see about $121,000 per year in new revenue while the fewer and 700 residents in the Berkshire County town of Florida expect their town will get about $162,000 per year.

[*Iberdrola Renewables]

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/01/26/work-begins-on-hoosac-windmill-project/