January 29, 2013
Massachusetts

Hanover fires turbine contractor

By Mark Burridge | Wicked Local Hanover | Jan. 29, 2013 | www.wickedlocal.com

Hanover Town Manager Troy Clarkson announced to selectmen Monday night that the town would terminate its contract with Lumus Construction, the builder of its wind turbine.

Clarkson said the contract needed to be terminated because the company still hasn’t managed to get the turbine up and running. The project was originally pegged for completion nearly two years ago.

“The contractor wasn’t fulfilling the contract,” he said. “The turbine needs to be spinning.”

Clarkson said the town would withhold the final $100,000 owed to the company in payment and, in fact, would look for a substantial return from the company.

Clarkson said there is a stipulation in the contract which requires the contractor to pay the town $1,000 per day for every day the turbine goes past the completion date without being finished. At this point, Clarkson said, it had been 700 days, so he expects the town to receive $700,000 from Lumus.

Clarkson said there is no lawsuit pursuing the funds but he expects the funds from the contractor.

“We are absolutely prepared to do anything and everything,” he said.

Lumus was given a seven-day notice in which the contractor could respond to the termination. Clarkson said there was no reply during that seven-day window.

Selectmen Chairman John Barry agreed with Clarkson that the action is the right thing for the town to do.

“There is a strong level of frustration with the fact the windmill isn’t spinning,” he said.

Clarkson said he had met with the town’s bonding agent previously who had advised the town to try to complete the project with Lumus but that, at this point, it had gone too far.

The turbine is currently standing and needs verification from a contractor to start running. Clarkson said the town would look to bring in a contractor that can verify the turbine’s ability to run so the machine can finally start making money for the town.

A visit to the Lumus Construction website lists main phone numbers for Woburn and Portland, Maine, but those numbers are not currently in service.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/01/29/hanover-fires-turbine-contractor/