By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff
PROVIDENCE — Portsmouth High School's busted wind turbine, which
Gov. Lincoln Chafee recently called “a symbol of embarrassment,” is getting
some assistance from the state.
In June, the Portsmouth Town Council approved a funding plan to
re-commission the 336-foot-tall wind turbine, which has been out of service
since June 2012 because of a broken gearbox. On Monday night, the Rhode Island
Commerce Corporation aided
the Town Council’s efforts by approving a plan to delay repayment of $270,000
in debt. The action helps the town replace the gearbox and make the project
financially viable, although much less profitable.
“The poor town was left with very few options,” said Chafee, who
serves as chairman of the corporation's board of directors.
The misfortune included a faulty gearbox, the bankruptcy of the
turbine’s manufacturer, the expiration of a repair warranty, and lack of
adequate oversight by the operation and maintenance company that monitored the
turbine.
Town planner Gary Crosby noted that Portsmouth bought the
turbine from a relatively new and unproven manufacturer. He said the
1.5-megawatt turbine was a success story for 39 months, after it went online in
March 2009. It generated more than 9 million kilowatts of electricity and $348,000
in revenue to the town, he said.
It will cost about $885,000 to replace the gearbox and repair
the turbine’s damaged blades. The town also owes about $2.1 million from a $3
million bond local voters approved to finance the turbine.
To cut that expense, the attorney general's office gave the town
$250,000 from a settlement fund created by a Clean Air Act lawsuit. Green
energy provider People’s Power & Light has agreed buy to the wind power
once the turbine is operational.
Once funding is in place, it’s expected to take three to six
months to repair the turbine.
On June 3, the Town Council reluctantly agreed to re-build the
turbine after reaching the conclusion that other options would leave the town
with significant debt. During the past two years, the town has spent $200,000
to seek solutions for the idle turbine while also making $680,000 in debt
payments.
Crosby, the Town Council and consultants hired to find a fix for
the turbine all recognized that once the turbine is repaired it still presents
several risks. Due to its history of mechanical problems it can no longer
secure an insurance policy to fund repairs.
To address this risk of future repair needs, $80,000 from
operations will be paid into a self-insurance fund annually. The town also will
add $65,000 to the fund. The new gearbox is expected to have a six-year
warranty.
On July 28, Commerce RI approved a plan that will allow debt
payments to also go into the insurance fund. If all goes smoothly, the town
will repay the principal of the Commerce RI loan in 10 years.
Board member Karl Wadensten, who supported the debt
restructuring plan, noted that the loan was unlike others issued by the state
economic development agency and therefore wouldn't set a precedent other
renewable-energy projects might follow. According to Commerce RI, similar wind
turbine projects have been funded with grants that didn't require repayment.