Why Here?

Kingdom Community Wind (KCW) is a grid-connected wind energy project proposal on 3 miles of ridgeline on a portion of Lowell Mountain in southwestern Orleans County, Vermont. The project could consist of 20 to 21 wind turbines, each capable of generating between 1.5 to 3.0 megawatts of power.

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.

KCW is conveniently located near existing roads and highways. State Route 100 parallels the Lowell Mountain range to the west through the town of Lowell, and State Route 14 parallels the mountain range to the east through the town of Albany. To the north, State Route 58 climbs up over the mountain range, connecting the east and west sides of the ridge. Access to the ridgeline will be by a private two to three mile road off Rte 100 in Lowell.

Existing transmission lines along both Route 58, to the east and west of Lowell, and Route 100 to the north, will facilitate transmission of the power to Vermont utilities. It is anticipated that KCW will connect to these lines using one of the two existing substations, one owned by Vermont Electric Co-Op (VEC) and the other Central Vermont Public Service Corp (CVPS) - both located near the intersection of Rtes 58 and 100 in Lowell village. This close proximity of existing infrastructure minimizes the ecological and visual impact of building additional transmission lines.

Available wind resource, close proximity to existing roads and transmission facilities, low potential for significant environmental impacts, no residences or camps proximate to the proposed location, and strong local and in-state support of clean renewable energy make Kingdom Community Wind one of the best sites for a wind turbine project in northern New England!