HOW POTENTIAL VENDORS VIEW EDDINGTON'S PROPOSED WIND ORDINANCE

A few days ago I sent an email to Travis Bullard, Senior Development Manager for Eolian Renewable Energy. I asked him to respond to their company's perspective to the proposed Wind Ordinance as it is currently written. I did this based on my observations at an Eddington Selectmen's Meeting where Mr. Bullard and one of his associates presented existing wind noise charts for Black Cap Mountain, the only area viable for wind turbines in Eddington and which would be directly impacted by the proposed Wind Ordinance.

The following is the email response I received today from Mr. Bullard. Voters in Eddington might want to read his information, particularly if they have not, or will not be attending this Thursday's Public Hearing on the proposed Ordinance.

Please note, the bold emphasis in Mr. Bullard's response has been added by this writer. Since Maine must come up with several Billion dollars before 2028 to cover the unpaid retirement costs for Maine employees and teachers, all property owners can expect their taxes to go up in the coming years to meet that demand. Therefore, it would behoove all of us to look at anything that is going to add to our local tax base.*****

"Hello Rusty:

Thank you very much for your inquiry regarding the proposed wind energy ordinance in the Town of Eddington. As you know, Eolian has participated in the public meeting process surrounding the proposed wind ordinance and has offered detailed feedback to the Planning Board and Selectmen.

As you mention in your email, Black Cap Mountain has been identified as a potential location that may be suitable for wind turbines due to the available wind resource, the existing site impacts (access road and 11 communications towers) and relative proximity to transmission for grid interconnection, as well as the lack of nearby residences. Based on initial review it also appears to be free from any significant critical environmental restrictions. It is almost certain that this would be the
only possible location for a commercial wind energy facility in town. In looking for suitable locations to site wind energy facilities in Maine and throughout New England, Eolian focuses exclusively on sites that have existing impact such as this and that can lead to high performance wind facilities with minimal additional impact. And we focus only on projects in the smaller range of the commercial spectrum, which we believe are the best fit for New England landscapes.

It is our view that if this proposed Ordinance were passed, permitting a wind facility in Eddington would not be possible. Again, we have provided detailed documentation on specific sections of the Ordinance that we believe create onerous restrictions to the point where permitting would be impossible. Mostly, these relate to the sound regulations, which are not based on scientific studies or measurable impacts, but rather on arbitrary setback requirements that cannot be achieved anywhere in town. There are a host of other issues with the ordinance related to enforceability as well that I would be happy to discuss with you from our perspective. We believe that the record also shows that others who have experience with wind energy facilities concur with our concerns. So, very simply, we believe this Ordinance, in effect, prohibits commercial wind development in town.


With regard to the benefits of wind energy developments, if one were to occur in Eddington, there are many. First is revenue: wind facilities pay substantial amounts each year into a town's tax base. The exact amount of money depends on the total project size and other factors, but wind facilities are often the largest taxpayer in town and provide steady revenue every year for the duration of the project life. These additional tax benefits come at no additional cost to the town, because there is no increase in town expenses for policing, fire, schooling, road maintenance, sewer and other municipal services as there are with many other forms of economic development. In addition to direct tax revenues, there are substantial local benefits that accrue indirectly during construction and operation, including construction job creation, direct purchases from local vendors, lease payments to landowners, and creation of maintenance jobs.

In addition to direct and indirect economic benefits, wind energy often acts as a de facto open space preservation tool.Landowners who lease their properties to wind energy facilities receive revenue from lease payments from wind turbines that use a very small portion of the land. These benefits allow landowners to keep large forested parcels in tact. In some instances, wind facilities are able to directly conserve land as conservation areas associated with the project, and in other instances the preservation effect results as a natural by-product of the revenue from the wind turbines.On Black Cap, where there are currently 11 towers, four of them with lighting at elevations of up to 400 feet tall, bringing a wind energy facility would allow for removal of certain towers and consolidation of the remaining towers, hence cleaning up the skyline and arguably improving the scenic character. Turbines do attract visitors, which can help boost local tourism.

Finally, in New England, power prices are driven largely by natural gas, which is fossil fuel based and subject to great future price uncertainty, as well as deleterious effects from drilling for the fuel (or mining in the case of coal), and carbon emissions from burning it. Wind facilities bring stable long term power to the New England grid and Maine's domestic power supply from clean domestic sources.

In all, we believe that the Black Cap Mountain site in Eddington has the potential to be a successful site for a moderately sized wind facility. We are hopeful that there will be an opportunity to advance a project there someday in the context of an Ordinance that would properly regulate, but still allow wind to be a part of the town.

Thanks again for reaching out and please let me know if you would like to connect further by phone.

Best Regards,

Travis
___________________________
Travis Bullard
Senior Development Manager
Eolian Renewable Energy LLC
155 Fleet Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801
603.570.4842 Office
603.457.0065 Fax
207.272.3898 Mobile
tbullard@eolian-energy.com
www.eolian-energy.com"