Colchester, Vt.-based Green Mountain Power has filed with the Vermont Public Service Board for a permit to measure wind resources on a portion of the Lowell Mountain range for a proposed wind project.
Known as Kingdom Community Wind, the project would be owned by Green Mountain Power and would provide electricity to customers of Green Mountain Power and Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC).
Meteorological stations are proposed at three separate locations in order to get sufficient wind data to analyze the feasibility of the site. Although measurement towers were installed in 2003, additional wind data will make it possible to analyze the economics of installing wind turbines at the site.
Two of the measurement station towers will be over 200 feet tall and will therefore require Federal Aviation Administration-approved lights for airline safety. The towers will be located on land owned by Moose Mountain Forestry, a local timber harvesting landowner, and Wind Blown Energy, a renewable energy company.
The Lowell Mountain site could potentially produce as much as 50 MW of electricity, with the installation of approximately 20 2.5 MW wind turbines. Wind-speed data obtained through the wind resource measurement program will help inform the number and size of the wind turbines that would operate most efficiently on the site. The ultimate number of turbines installed will depend on a combination of wind quality and environmental considerations.
Green Mountain Power recently signed an easement agreement with Moose Mountain Forestry. If the project is developed, it would provide power for Green Mountain Power customers, and the utility would sell a portion of the power to VEC.
Green Mountain Power and VEC officials have been and will continue to be meeting with local residents and town officials to discuss the project.
SOURCE: Green Mountain Power
