By
TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff
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| Mark DePasquale, founder of Wind Energy Development LLC, signs an agreement to replace the Portsmouth High Scholl wind turbine. (Tim Faulkner/ecoRI News) |
PORTSMOUTH
— A symbol of Rhode Island's sputtering wind industry is getting a second life
and, perhaps, delivering new energy into the local wind business.
The
Town Council's unanimous vote on Nov. 6 to allow the broken high-school turbine
to be taken down and replaced, with a $1.4 million payment from developer Mark
DePasquale and additional state funds, is a turnaround for the embattled
project that Gov. Lincoln Chafee has called a "symbol of
embarrassment."
The
336-foot-tall turbine has been out of service since June 2012 because of a
faulty gearbox. In the three prior years, the first large-scale windmill in the
state delivered profits, earning the town $348,000 in revenue. But after the
mechanical failure, and the supplier going bankrupt, the town was stuck with
several expensive options for repairing or even dismantling the turbine.
As
town planner Gary Crosby considered proposals from wind developers and
manufacturers, the idle turbine was frequently singled out as an excuse for
towns such as Westerly and Jamestown to defeat wind-turbine proposals. Plans
for small wind farms and single-turbine projects also fell by the wayside.
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| DePasquale's first wind turbine was literally in his own backyard at NK Green near Wickford Station. |
But
DePasquale, founder of Wind Energy Development LLC, has quietly pushed ahead.
He built the state’s second commercial turbine in 2012, at a housing
development he owns in North Kingston.
After
spending more than $3 million to address connection issues with National Grid,
DePasquale plans to build turbines in bulk. He received approval for 10 more
turbines in and around the former Picillo pig farm in Coventry. He plans on
building a renewable-energy education center near a new turbine on Victory
Highway in Coventry.
Twelve turbines and towers are on order from German
manufacturer Vensys-Goldwind. The turbines cost $2.6 million each and are
expected to be shipped to the Port of Davisville in North Kingstown next summer
and be operating by November 2015.
DePasquale
plans to erect 65 turbines in five years across Rhode Island. Once the new
Portsmouth High School turbine is operational, he hopes to revive some of the
projects that failed in other communities.
In
the Portsmouth deal, DePasquale agreed to pay a $1.45 million lump sum to the
town within six months and another $500,000 across several years. The town will
pay DePasquale for the electricity from the turbine for 25 years at a price of
15.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. The new turbine is expected to be operational
within two years.
The
Town Council choose the upfront payment because it covers the $1.4 million the
town owes on a $3 million loan local voters approved to build the turbine.
“It
will make us whole as quickly as possible,” Town Council member Michael
Buddemeyer said.
The
attorney general's office also gave the town $250,000 from a settlement fund
created by a Clean Air Act lawsuit.
Crosby
said DePasquale’s offer was selected after he was unable to find an option that
gave the town a stream of revenue from the turbine. “Our goal was to cover our
losses and we were able to do that,” he said.
DePasquale
said it costs $7.4 million to take down the broken turbine and build a new one.
The expense is about $1 million more than a new turbine installation. But, he
said, it’s a premium he is willing to pay in order to get the project running
and revive wind energy in the state.
He
called Portsmouth “pioneers of the state” for building the first and only
municipally owned turbine. “This is good for the town," DePasquale said.
"This is good for me. We’ll get the turbine running and we’ll help other
municipalities get turbines up and running.”