July 23, 2016
Massachusetts

UCT considers opting out of wind deal

By KATIE GOERS | The Bourne Enterprise | July 22, 2016 | www.capenews.net

Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School has had a contract with a local wind turbine developer since 2013, but the school has yet to see any energy generation from that contract.

This past January, Future Generation Wind requested an extension of the contract to June 30. However, that date has now come and gone.

Tech school superintendent Robert A. Dutch said that the company now has until the middle of August to begin generating energy. If there is still no energy being generated, the school may begin looking at ways to get out of its contract.

Future Generation Wind was started in 2010 by Keith A. Mann of Buzzards Bay. His plan for the company is to generate wind energy using four wind turbines that were recently constructed on the property of his family’s Plymouth cranberry farm, which is at the Bourne/Plymouth town line.

The electricity generated would then be sold to Eversource for credits, which would then be resold to customers to apply to their Eversource bills. UCT entered into the contract in the hopes of saving as much as $30,000 per year on electricity, Mr. Dutch said at that time.

In addition to UCT, Mr. Mann had deals with the towns of Marion and Rochester, as well as with the Old Rochester Regional School District.

While the turbines have yet to spark any electricity, they have sparked anger on both sides of the town line. Neighbors in both towns are angry that the project was allowed to move forward. A group of Bourne residents even filed suit in court against the town, saying officials did not do enough to force Mr. Mann to seek permits from the Bourne Health Board.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/07/23/uct-considers-opting-out-of-wind-deal/