FAA Clears Potential Municipal Wind Turbine Site

by Alan Pollock

            HARWICH — Having nixed five other potential sites around town, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has determined that one parcel of town-owned land could be used for a large-scale municipal wind turbine.

            The site is on water department land a quarter mile off Westgate Road in North Harwich.  The location is north of Robbins Pond, and about four-tenths of a mile west of West Tupelo Road. It is within 72 acres of woods, close to the Punkhorn Parklands in Brewster.

            “I think we’re getting somewhere,” Utility and Energy Conservation Commission Chairman Barry Worth told the board of selectmen Monday. 

            Steve Wiehe of Weston and Sampson Engineers, Inc., the town’s consulting firm, said his company concluded that none of the originally proposed turbine sites were usable when the unexpected ruling came through from the FAA on the North Harwich site.  The determination, “which I was quite surprised to find,” Wiehe said, concluded that while the location is in the holding pattern for aircraft waiting to land at Chatham Municipal Airport, it is apparently not close enough to pose a problem.  The ruling indicates that a structure up to 500 feet above ground level would have “no substantial adverse effect” on air navigation. 

            The FAA had ruled that turbines in most parts of town would have to be 179 feet or shorter, too short to generate enough electricity to be worthwhile. 

            With a 500-foot height limit, the North Harwich parcel would be capable of hosting large, high-output turbines of up to 2,000 kilowatts, Wiehe said.  Their study indicated that turbines that generate less than 600 kilowatts are not economically feasible, even if several of them are built.  At the North Harwich site, average wind speeds at around 230 feet above the ground are estimated to be very favorable, he said.

            Last week, town meeting adopted a zoning bylaw amendment to allow large-scale wind turbines in town, up to 300 feet, or with a special permit, 400 feet.  By comparison, the 660-kilowatt turbine at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay is 242 feet tall, measured to the top of the uppermost blade.

            While some of the hurdles for a municipal wind project have been cleared, others remain, including the cost.

            “It’s still difficult to find a single, large-scale turbine,” Wiehe said.  The recently passed revision of the Massachusetts state building code toughened the requirements for structures to resist wind loads, he noted.

            “A more robust tower is what the most likely result of that will be,” he said.  That means that large-scale turbines will become more costly and less available, Wiehe added.

            Weston and Sampson presented selectmen with a matrix of cost scenarios for wind turbines of various sizes.  A 600-kilowatt turbine would cost in the range of $1.5 to nearly $2 million, and would pay for itself in between 12 and 15 years.  By comparison, a 2,000-kilowatt turbine would cost between about $4.5 and 4.9 million, but has a payback of between four and five years.  Other scenarios in the matrix considered the cost if the town issues bonds for the project, and if the town receives grant funding from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.  A new state incentive program can provide up to $600,000 in design and construction funds, and there is a June 4 deadline for applications under the first round of funding, Wiehe said.

            Under a different financial model, the town could take part in a regional power purchase agreement through the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative, allowing a third party to build a turbine at no cost to the town, and agreeing to purchase the electricity it generates at a steady, low rate over a number of years.

            Some partnership with Brewster is also a possibility, Worth said.  While Brewster is still in the process of selecting a site for their turbine, it is possible that the two towns could negotiate one contract, he said.

            “I would just ask that Chatham be included in these discussions,” board of selectmen Chairman Robin Wilkins said.  Chatham may have interest in collaborating on a renewable energy project, since it may have difficulty building turbines in its own town because of the airport, he noted. 

            Selectmen voted unanimously to ask the town administrator to bring together a meeting of the cooperative, Brewster officials and other involved parties, and report back to the board during its first meeting in June.

            Worth said the North Harwich land is likely large enough to host several turbines, “however the water department has plans for what they’re going to do there, too.”  The town already has one public water supply well on the parcel. 

            Selectman McManus took issue with the description of the property as “water department land,” saying it remains town property.  The board of water commissioners are in charge of the land, “but they are only the custodians of it with the agreement of town meeting authorization,” he said.

            Selectman David Marsland asked who would pay for the maintenance of municipal wind turbines, and how much it would cost each year.  The typical upkeep of a 2,000-kilowatt turbine is between $60,000 and $80,000 annually, less for a smaller turbine.  If the town built and operated the turbine, it would assume those costs; otherwise, it would be borne by a third party under the regional cooperative, Wiehe said.

            Responding to a question by Town Administrator James Merriam, Wiehe said the site could probably support three or four 2,000-kilowatt turbines, which would generate enough electricity to cover the town’s entire municipal electric bill.

5/14/09