Kingdom Community Wind (KCW) is being proposed by Vermonters for Vermonters. Several Vermont utilities, working with area residents and landowners, are investigating the development of this clean, in-state renewable generation resource to serve our customers and neighbors. The wind farm being considered in Lowell, Vermont, holds the potential to meet the annual electrical needs of approximately 20,000 average households, that’s about 48,000 Vermonters! By harnessing the power of the wind locally, KCW will keep more of our electric dollars local and will contribute to stabilizing electric prices for generations to come. Kingdom Community Wind will help reduce the need to import power and will reduce pollution in our wider community.
Wind energy benefits come to the community in a number of ways. Wind energy has well known environmental and economic benefits. Clean, safe, renewable and, over the long term, less expensive than fossil fuel-burning generation, electricity generated by harnessing the power of the wind offers benefits to both local communities and the larger regional community of which we are all a part.
The US Department of Energy reports that significant reductions in pollutants would be achieved by converting more of the country’s electrical generation to wind. Due to the complex nature of the regional electric grid and the rules under which it operates, it is difficult to forecast the exact amount of emissions KCW will prevent, as the source of generation displaced by KCW will vary from time to time. On average, the American Wind Energy Association has estimated that each megawatt of wind capacity displaces 1,800 tons of C02 per year given the current mix of generation fuels, indicating that on average a 42 megawatt KCW facility would displace over 75,000 tons of C02 per year. On a larger scale, the US Department of Energy has estimated that meeting 20% of the country’s electrical needs with wind could “reduce the electrical sector’s natural gas requirements by about 50% and its coal requirements by about 18%” – which translates into avoiding up to 825 million tons of CO2 emissions annually, along with a multitude of other pollutants!
Kingdom Community Wind is committed to employing Vermonters, and is already providing development related jobs to members of the Lowell and wider Vermont communities. As the project moves forward, KCW looks to offer additional jobs related to construction, operations and maintenance, and tours of the facility. Kingdom Community Wind will most likely bring its share of tourists to the area (for example, our Searsburg Wind Facility has seen thousands of visitors over its twelve years of operation in southwest Vermont). Visitors boost business at local shops, restaurants and lodging establishments!
Vermont’s wind energy projects contribute to state and town budgets, and to our economy through jobs and stabilized electric prices. Annually, the KCW facility would expect to send hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Vermont Educational Fund through the wind-powered electric generation facilities tax and substantial property tax payments to the Town of Lowell. Specifics of such payments will be better understood once environmental and engineering assessments are factored in to the project configuration. These payments will be significant to Lowell in terms of its present budget, particularly since KCW would cause minimal, if any, additional demand for municipal services such as town road maintenance, schools or public safety services.
Kingdom Community Wind will further help keep Vermonters’ money in Vermont. Local ownership will mean fewer of our dollars are sent out of state to import power, or paid to out-of-state owners of in-state generation facilities. It all adds up to more dollars for the local economy.