Kingdom Community Wind (KCW) is being proposed by Vermonters for Vermonters. The wind farm being constructed in Lowell, Vermont, holds the potential to meet the annual electrical needs of more than 20,000 average households, that’s about 50,000 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. KCW 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. It 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.
Clean Energy
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!
Local Utilities
Kingdom Community Wind is being developed locally, maximizing Vermont labor resources, technical expertise and funding where possible. Green Mountain Power and Vermont Electric Co-op are very interested in securing a reliable, long-term electrical supply to help bring price stability to their customers and members. The utilities are evaluating the benefits of partnering in this local Vermont renewable generation project to provide long-term, stably-priced power to customers of both utilities. This community wind project – with a focus on Vermont control, participation, jobs, and sharing of the benefits -- is unusual among wind projects proposed in Vermont over the last several years.
Local Ownership
Green Mountain Power and Vermont Electric Coop, two of Vermont’s electric utilities, are both interested in pursuing power sources for their customers that will be low cost, low carbon and reliable. Developing Kingdom Community Wind with Vermont electric-utility owners helps to assure price stability for generations of Vermonters. GMP would own the Project and VEC would receive long-term, stably priced power. This is consistent with VEC’s strategy of partnering with entities that are willing to invest capital in facilities from which VEC’s customers receive electric generation.
Green Mountain Power is strongly committed to renewable generation. Green Mountain Power owns and operates eight hydro plants in Vermont, generating the Company’s lowest cost power. It is in the permitting process for a solar plant in Berlin that would be the largest yet built in northern New England. And, of course, GMP has over 12 years operating experience of our 6 MW windpower plant in Searsburg, Vermont (since 1997). This generation plant has operated as projected, with a high degree of public acceptance and interest.
Local Jobs
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. KCW 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!
Local Dollars
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.