August 8, 2016

Fairhaven Wind LLC will be presenting a summary of its first four years of operations in the Town of Fairhaven at tonight’s Selectmen’s meeting.  A few months ago, Fairhaven Wind notified the Selectmen and the Town Administrator that the cumulative net income to the Town from the 2-turbine, 3 megawatt project had exceeded $1 million.  Fairhaven Wind will present the details of the benefits received by the Town as well as information on past and current operations.
 
History
 
Originally conceived in 2004 when the Town passed a bylaw allowing the construction and operation of wind turbines within the Town’s boundaries, years of effort by the Town with the support of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) resulted in the collection of sufficient wind data to allow the Town to issue a request for proposals to private developers.  CCI Energy LLC was the entity selected by the Town and CCI partnered with Palmer Capital Corporation to permit, structure, and document the project for financing. 
 
During the development of the project, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts passed the Green Communities Act of 2008 which allowed the parties to restructure the arrangements so that the Town could receive additional benefits through net metering the power to the Town’s electrical accounts.  The MassCEC continued its support of the project by contracting to purchase the Renewable Energy Certificates from the project.
 
Overcoming many obstacles, CCI and Palmer were joined by Solaya Energy LLC to form Fairhaven Wind LLC which, with the assistance of MassDevelopment, closed on financing with Cambridge Savings Bank in November 2011, completed the construction of the project, and commenced operation in May 2012.
 
Operations
 
Tonight’s presentation will include information on the total number of kilowatt hours produced to date by the project (almost 23 million) and the environmental benefits from this non-polluting energy source.  These benefits include the elimination of over 35 million pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
 
 While significant, production has been lower than the original projections because the average wind speed in Fairhaven over the past 4 years has also been lower than the long term historical average wind speed in Fairhaven. The production has also been reduced due to the implementation of a mitigation plan developed in concert with the Town of Fairhaven and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection which commenced in 2013 and monitors wind speed, wind direction and precipitation to reduce noise levels.
 
Otherwise, Fairhaven Wind believes operations have been relatively good.  No major components have failed and, over the past year, Fairhaven Wind has upgraded software and hardware provided by American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) to provide more information and faster troubleshooting.  With these upgrades, AMSC also can monitor the turbines from its operations headquarters in Austria to assist our on site operators.
                                        
Economic Benefits to the Town
 
The Town of Fairhaven receives benefits from the project by a combination of lease payments and electricity cost savings.  The Town purchases all of the power produced by the two wind turbines and receives net metering credits from Eversource in accordance with rules and regulations of the Commonwealth.  The price paid by the Town for power from the turbines is set in a long-term power purchase agreement with Fairhaven Wind, with a base rate of 7.43 cents per kilowatt hour in 2012 and escalating with inflation to be 8.14 cents per kilowatt hour today.  In contrast, the net metering credits received by the Town have averaged almost twice the base rate, ranging from 12.23 cents to almost 19 cents per kilowatt hour during this same time period.
 
In early 2015, Fairhaven Wind issued a press release stating that the Town had accrued over $500,000 in benefits from the project.  Only a year and a half later, those benefits have doubled to over $1.066 million as of July 1, 2016.  Fairhaven Wind continues to provide a significant source of income for the Town of Fairhaven and is on track to supply over $300,000 to the Town in 2016.
 
Conclusion
 
Fairhaven Wind is proud to be part of this public-private partnership with the Town of Fairhaven.  These savings flow directly into the coffers of the Town and can be used for public safety, infrastructure, education or any other purposes that the Town deems appropriate.  As the host community, the Town is actively doing its part to combat the growing threat of climate change which will challenge coastal communities such as Fairhaven in the future.
 

Fairhaven Wind LLC recently reported to the Town of Fairhaven that the wind turbines at the Town’s wastewater treatment facility had reached a milestone in terms of the total benefits provided to the Town from this public-private partnership.  From power sales through the end of 2014, the Town had accrued over $500,000 in income from the project.
 
Sumul Shah, spokesperson for Fairhaven Wind, issued a statement saying “All of us associated with Fairhaven Wind are very proud of what the Town has accomplished and the benefits which we’ve been able to provide to Fairhaven.  In addition to the dollar savings, the Town has contributed to cleaner air for its residents and the citizens of the Commonwealth by hosting this project which generates energy from the wind.”
 
All of the electricity produced by the turbines is net metered to the Town’s municipal accounts.  Eversource (formerly NSTAR) sends the Town a check each month for the electricity produced, which payments may then be used to help cover other Town expenses.  To date, these monthly payments have totaled over $2 million.  In turn, the Town contracted directly with Fairhaven Wind for the power it consumes and shares some of the excess net metering credits with Fairhaven Wind to help to cover the costs for installing and operating the turbines.  Fairhaven Wind also makes lease payments to the Town.
 
As of the first of the year, electricity prices from Eversource increased substantially and the basic service charge is now more than twice the rate being charged in the summer of 2012 when the turbines were first operating.  In contrast, the base power rate charged to the Town by Fairhaven Wind for power from the turbines has gone up less than 5%, from 7.43 cts to 7.78 cts/kilowatt hour.  As a result, the monthly net benefits to the Town have skyrocketed, with a record high of over $52,000 for the month of February.
 
“This has been more than a win-win for the Town of Fairhaven” Mr. Shah added. “Fairhaven Wind leases small parcels of land near the waste water treatment plant and, at virtually no cost to the Town, the Town has been reaping financial benefits ever since the turbines commenced operation. We are optimistic that these benefits will only increase in the future as Fairhaven Wind is currently implementing upgrades to the turbine’s hardware and software systems to improve annual energy production.”

Learn about a recent Noise & Health report by reading the Fairhaven Neighborhood News.

Representatives of Fairhaven Wind LLC will be attending the Fairhaven Board of Health meeting on Tuesday, April 24, 2012 to address health related issues regarding the wind turbines.