June 16, 2016
New Hampshire

First utility signs on to buy power from Antrim Wind

By Meghan Foley, Sentinel Staff | The Keene Sentinel | June 15, 2016 | www.sentinelsource.com

ANTRIM – There is at least one taker for some of the 28.8 megawatts of electricity that would be generated by a proposed wind farm here.

The N.H. Electric Cooperative has become the first utility to agree to purchase power from the Antrim Wind project, the Union Leader reported today.

The firm has signed a 20-year agreement to purchase 25 percent of the electricity, or 7.2 megawatts, the wind farm is expected to generate, according to the report.

The cooperative, which is based in Plymouth, has about 80,000 members in 115 communities.

Antirm Wind Energy, the developer of the project, announced in October 2015 it had filed an application with the N.H. Site Evaluation Committee for approval to build nine wind turbines on Tuttle Hill and the Willard Mountain ridge line.

The electricity generated from the turbines would power about 12,300 New Hampshire homes, according to the firm’s application.

If the project gets the committee’s approval, construction of the turbines and their supporting infrastructure is scheduled to start in October, and cost from $63 million to $65 million, the application said.

A tentative date of December 2017 has been picked for when the wind farm would start operating, according to the application.

This is the second time the project is going before the Site Evaluation Committee.

The committee denied the group’s initial application in 2012, citing concerns about the effect the wind turbines could have on the look of the surrounding natural area.

The town’s selectmen and many residents supported that wind farm proposal, citing economic benefits. But several residents, particularly those living near the Tuttle Hill area, came out against the project, with noise, safety, health and environmental concerns.

That version of the project had 10 turbines producing 30 megawatts of electricity, bigger than the one being proposed now.

A subcommittee of the Site Evaluation Committee made a decision in July 2015 that cleared the way for Antrim Wind to start the approval process again from scratch.

At the time of the October 2015 filing, Eolian Renewable Energy was one of the owners and developers of the project along with Walden Green Energy LLC.

John B. “Jack” Kenworthy, head of development of Walden Green Energy, told the Union Leader the company bought Eolian in March, and has offices in Portsmouth and New York City. Kenworthy was chief executive officer of Eolian.