Plan to Power Islands With Wind OK’D

The cooperative that supplies electricity to Vinalhaven and North Haven is moving ahead with what it says will be the largest coastal wind turbine project in the Northeast.

Members of the Fox Islands Electric Cooperative voted 382 to 5 this week in favor of the plan to erect two or three turbines that will provide electricity directly to residents of the two Penobscot Bay islands without going through the power grid.

The co-op said the turbines are expected to generate 3.5 to 5 megawatts more power than a wind project in Hull, Mass., a coastal town of more than 11,000 year-round residents that gets about 12 percent of its power from two turbines.

Vinalhaven and North Haven have a combined year-round population of 1,500 that balloons to 4,500 during the summer. The turbines are expected to generate enough power for all winter residents, enabling the co-op to sell excess electricity into the grid; in summer, the co-op will have to import power to meet all of its customers’ needs.

The overall cost of the project is expected to run between $10 million and $13 million, according to Bill McGuinness, policy specialist with the Island Institute, which has been working on the plans.

George Baker, a professor on leave from Harvard Business School, said the co-op is working to secure private financing.

"We’re poised to move forward quickly through the planning process, working hand-in-hand with municipal leaders," Baker said. "The only element that might get in the way is the difficulty of acquiring turbines."

State Rep. Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven, said the project should hold down electricity costs on the islands, which now average $120 a month.

"Over the past five years, island residents have seen significant increases in their electricity bills, even before the current energy crisis," she said. "We have a unique opportunity to stabilize and … lower our electricity rates while also producing our own renewable energy."

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