Wind power project breezes along
The new owners of the Berkshire Wind project on Brodie Mountain are on the brink of ordering 10 1.5 megawatt wind turbines for installation at some point during the coming two years.
According to Ed Kaczenski, lead staff engineer for Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corp., four requests for bids were sent out in early August to the only four manufacturers of the 1.5 megawatt turbines - GE, Fuhrlander, Suzlon and AEER.
"We expect to select a wind turbine supplier early in the fourth quarter of this year, and by the end of the fourth quarter we expect to release the RFP (Request For Proposal) for the construction of the project," Kaczenski said.
The $45 million Berkshire Wind Project on Brodie Mountain was bought by Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corp. - a collaboration of 14 members of the nonprofit Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co. - on June 12 for $4 million.
During the 10-year history of the project development, Distributed Generation Systems had invested more than $6 million, according to statements made by company president Dale Osborne.
But during the past couple of years, the venture had languished due to litigation filed by a neighboring development project, Silverleaf Resorts. The lawsuit since has since been settled.
Kaczenski noted that delivery of the turbines could take up to two years. But during that time, construction will start possibly as early as the spring of 2009.
"Basically the entire wind farm will be ready to receive the wind turbines when they're delivered and then after delivery it should take approximately four months to erect the wind turbines and commission the project," he said.
The most probably time frame for completion is in 2010, he added.
The access road and the service road that interconnects the wind turbines on the ridge line has already been completed, Kaczenski said. The road will need to be enhanced in the grades and turn radii so it can accommodate the transportation of the long components associated with the wind turbines, such as the tower components and the blades, up to the ridgeline.
Construction of the turbine foundations and installation of the electrical infrastructure will also be part of the construction project, he said.
David Tuohey, MMWEC spokesman, said the organization is hosting a conference for its members at Cranwell next week, and that during the conference some of its members will tour the site.
The Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corp. borrowed $8 million from PeoplesBank of Holyoke to finance the purchase of the project and to begin the purchase process for the wind turbines.
The purchase included easements, permits, agreements, engineering documents and developed property.
The wind farm should generate enough power for 5,000 households.
The cooperative's municipal utility members include Ashburnham, Boylston, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield and West Boylston.
Essentially, cooperatives own power supplies and buy power in bulk for members.
The Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative group and Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co. have no members in Berkshire County.