Right now Massachusetts has wind turbines up and spinning at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Jiminy Peak, the IBEW in Dorchester, and in Hull. There are also more than 50 cities, towns, businesses, and institutions currently working with MTC to explore wind projects. Businesses like Varian Semiconductor Equipment in Gloucester plan to install large wind turbines over the coming year. Holy Name High School is hoping to have its turbine up by the end of the year or early in 2008.
The myriad benefits of wind power include:
• Decreased reliance on polluting fossil fuels
• Increased energy independence
• Greater diversity of energy supply
• Financial benefits for communities
• Jobs for engineers, electricians, technicians, and other professionals
Below is an excerpt from an earlier post regarding the many challenges that wind projects face in this region.
Wind energy projects take time to develop and build. Nationally, successful wind projects have generally taken four to seven years from conception to completion. In New England, the timeframes have been longer because the barriers are often greater. The challenges facing projects are often site- or community-specific, but they frequently include:
• Wind turbine availability
• Limited land availability
• Wind monitoring requirements[dsm1] [dsm2]
• Project financial viability
• Public opposition
• Permitting/regulatory issues
Let’s look at these one at a time:
1. Wind Turbine Availability. During the past two years, wind turbines have been in short supply. Worldwide demand has been high and some manufacturers have been hesitant to invest in new factories in case demand slacks off because of the possible sunset of the Federal Production Tax Credit or other factors. The manufacturers have been able to sell almost all their turbines in large batches to major developers in the Midwest and elsewhere who are building large projects requiring scores of turbines. When the relatively smaller projects in New England try to secure turbines, they are often quoted high prices and delivery dates a year or two in the future.
2. Limited Land Availability. The most successful wind projects have generally been built in locations where land is plentiful and inexpensive. Not only does it cost less to buy or lease the land, but it’s easier to plan a large project with dozens of turbines. That’s an advantage, because it is almost as much work and money to develop, plan, and permit a large project as a small one.
Massachusetts has a long history of settlement and a relatively dense population. In many parts of the state—and particularly in coastal locations with good wind resources—it is difficult to secure large tracks of land. Wind projects therefore are smaller and more likely to be in close proximity to neighbors. Developers often have to negotiate for parcels from several land owners and they have to conduct additional studies to make sure that nearby landowners won’t be negatively impacted.
3. Wind Monitoring Requirements. Before a wind project can proceed to construction, it generally needs to monitor the wind at the proposed site for at least a year. Small differences in average wind speed can make a big difference in the economics—and financial viability—of a project. Because a turbine’s production varies with the cube of the wind speed, a location with an average wind speed of 17 miles per hour will generate considerably more than twice as much electricity as a site where the average speed is only 13 miles.
In addition, different wind patterns can require different models of wind turbines. A particular wind turbine model may be designed for locations with steady winds, relatively slow winds, or where there is significant turbulence and fluctuations in wind speed.
Compared to the relatively flat Great Plains, where winds may be similar in nearby locations, Massachusetts has a highly varied landscape in which wind patterns can be quite different in nearby locations. Even if the wind has been measured in a spot a few miles from a proposed wind project, it will likely still be necessary to measure the wind in the exact location of the proposed project.
4. Project Financial Viability. A wind project’s economic prospects depend, not just on wind speed, but the ability to sell the energy generated for a good price. Financiers may not be interested in investing in or loaning money to a project if it doesn’t have a guaranteed long-term contract with a party that will buy the electricity for a pre-determined price.
In most cases, wind projects also require significant revenue earned through Massachusetts’ Renewable Portfolio Standard in order to be financially viable. Unfortunately, a project cannot be assured of this important revenue stream, because its value varies from year to year, and it could be eliminated or substantially reduced at any time because of regulatory or legislative action. So, here too, financiers often want some certainty before investing. That’s why MTC established the
Massachusetts Green Power Partnership (MGPP)—to provide a guarantee of the revenue stream for particular projects. This program set aside more than $42 million for four wind projects (99 MW).
5. Public Opposition. Wind projects, like all energy projects, can have negative impacts and disadvantages, as well as benefits. Public concerns about wind projects typically are related to the visual appearance of the turbines and the potential for noise in the immediate vicinity of the turbine. In a relatively densely populated region like Massachusetts, where many citizens value the preservation of the existing landscape, it is not surprising that some people view wind turbines as undesirable intrusions. And because there are few places where people can see working wind turbines, it can be difficult to envision what a proposed wind project with look like.
For this reason, it is important that a wind project undergo careful scrutiny to make sure that most of its neighbors will be comfortable with it. Unfortunately, in some cases where the vast majority of a town has supported a project, a relatively small group of opponents have been able to use legal mechanisms to delay a project for an extended period of time. In the worst cases, delay and litigation can burden an otherwise good project to the extent that the developer abandons the project.
6. Permitting/Regulatory Issues. All types of developments, not just wind projects, need to overcome many hurdles on the way to construction. Many policymakers and citizens have noted that the slow permitting process in Massachusetts can make business expansion difficult and costly. Because the developers of relatively small wind projects often have limited resources, they do not always have the ability to overcome permitting hurdles quickly or efficiently. That’s why MTC established the
Predevelopment Financing Initiative—to help developers make it through the earliest, most risky stages of the development process
In addition, wind projects face some unique hurdles, such as securing approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Several projects that initially seemed highly promising either died or need to undergo time-consuming reengineering because of objections from the FAA.
Even with all these challenges, the Renewable Energy Trust is doing everything possible to support projects across the state. The efforts by so many advocates and local leaders will pay off as more projects reach their goal of wind installations this year and beyond.
