So long coal, oil, nuclear power. Brewster may not be the breeziest town on Cape Cod but it stands to be the first to power all town buildings with wind energy via two towering turbines hunkered down near Route 6.
So long coal, oil, nuclear power. Brewster may not be the breeziest town on Cape Cod but it stands to be the first to power all town buildings with wind energy via two towering turbines hunkered down near Route 6.
BREWSTER - So long coal, oil, nuclear power. Brewster may not be the breeziest town on Cape Cod but it stands to be the first to power all town buildings with wind energy via two towering turbines hunkered down near Route 6.
"We're working feverishly toward having a town-sponsored wind turbine in the town of Brewster," said Selectman Greg Levasseur. "We have signed an exclusivity agreement with the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative for 180 days. This doesn't hurt our potential chances to work with another group down the road."
Brewster is the first Cape town to sign such an agreement (Harwich is negotiating). Eventually the co-op wants to power all of Cape Cod with 25 to 30 turbines.
"Essentially the goal is to offset the …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]BREWSTER - So long coal, oil, nuclear power. Brewster may not be the breeziest town on Cape Cod but it stands to be the first to power all town buildings with wind energy via two towering turbines hunkered down near Route 6.
"We're working feverishly toward having a town-sponsored wind turbine in the town of Brewster," said Selectman Greg Levasseur. "We have signed an exclusivity agreement with the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative for 180 days. This doesn't hurt our potential chances to work with another group down the road."
Brewster is the first Cape town to sign such an agreement (Harwich is negotiating). Eventually the co-op wants to power all of Cape Cod with 25 to 30 turbines.
"Essentially the goal is to offset the municipal electrical load," assistant town administrator Jillian Douglass, secretary of the energy committee, said. "This will reduce the rate and stabilize the town's price for energy. The power production agreement is for a long time so it is not subject to market whims. And it's the benefit of having green energy."
The Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative was organized in 2007 as a tax-exempt energy co-op that now includes Brewster, Barnstable, Harwich, Dennis, Tisbury, Bourne, Eastham, Barnstable County and the Cape Light Compact. They can borrow money, issue bonds and generate and sell energy.
Maggie Downey of the Cape Light Compact and the cooperative noted that as a rural electric co-op they're eligible for financing from the federal government and can apply to issue clean renewable energy zero-interest bonds. The town had to sign the letter of intent because the application deadline is Aug. 1.
In this case, the co-op will own two turbines in Brewster (which will cost around $4 million apiece to construct), pay rent and sell energy to the town at a cut rate. It will be responsible for obtaining necessary federal and state permits and funding the construction.
Brewster recently looked at several possible turbine sites in town, suggested in a consultant's study prepared by the firm Black and Veatch. The current thinking is to locate the turbines off Freeman's Way near Route 6. A Brewster Water Department site has been more or less ruled out, as the department has reservations, so likely locales include the Captains Course parking site, behind the Freeman's Way recreation fields or at Commerce Park.
"It will come down to which one of the sites is most beneficial and the easiest to develop," Douglass said, adding, "So, we will look at each site separately."
Levasseur said preliminary discussions have pegged the annual rent at around $50,000 per turbine. The hope is the town will pay 8.5 cents per kilowatt for the electricity when it is resold to the town. It pays 17.5 cents per kilowatt now so the savings would be significant.
The lower rates are possible because electricity will be pumped into the grid and by using net metering the generated power will offset the town's use. Douglass said the cost to interconnect to NStar's grid isn't known and that will impact the final rates.
"When you look at the numbers we will be taking in $400,000 to $600,000 for the town of Brewster after electric bills are paid," Levasseur said. "We're going with the cooperative because we don't have the expertise. This starts the clock running."
Levasseur estimated the permitting and financing could take 18 months, then construction could begin.
The Black and Veatch study looks at turbines that were industrial in size, close to 400 feet high, but the collaborative may choose different turbines since they will be building them. They should be 1.5 MW turbines.
Selectmen voted 5-0 in favor of signing the letter of intent. The town meeting also has to approve the project.
"Our goal is to try to bring one site at least to the November town meeting," Douglass explained.
The project also requires a special zoning permit from the planning board, approval by Cape Cod Commission, Massachusetts Natural Heritage Endangered Species Program and the Federal Aviation Administration.
"We're really in the very first stages here," Douglass noted.