Templeton Light Plant inks wind energy deal

Templeton Light Plant inks wind energy deal

Eryn Dion
News Staff Writer
TEMPLETON — Templeton will soon be expanding its renewable energy portfolio, as Templeton Municipal Light & Water recently signed an agreement with Boston-based renewable energy company First Wind.

The contract, signed between First Wind and the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company, of which Templeton is a member, is a 20-year agreement allowing for the at cost purchase of energy produced by a wind farm being built in Maine.

According to TMLWP General Manager John Driscoll, the plant purchased 666 kilowatts of wind energy capacity, which will generate 2.5 million kilowatt hours of power a year of renewable energy for their light customers to purchase. Although exact pricing could not be disclosed, Mr. Driscoll said the rates would be comparably low and fixed over the course of the agreement.

“At this time it looks like a 20-year agreement,” he explained. “And knowing what our purchase price will be for these 20 years will greatly assist the TMLWP in keeping retail electric rates in town from fluctuating sharply.”


The wind farm, named the Hancock Wind Project, is being built in Ellsworth, Maine and will feature 17 turbines and produce 51-megawatts of power. While the facility hasn’t been built yet, First Wind’s Director of Corporate Communications John Lamontagne said it won’t be long before the company breaks ground.

“The Hancock Wind project is in an advanced stage of development,” said Mr. Lamontagne. “First Wind plans to start construction this year with a target completion date before the end of 2015.”

Templeton already draws a considerable amount of power from renewable sources, including Templeton Wind, whose turbine is located behind Narragansett Regional High School, and Berkshire Wind in Hancock, Mass., which combined make up 8 percent of the town’s power portfolio. With the addition of power from the Hancock Wind Project, that total will jump to 12 percent and 62 percent of the town’s power will come from clean, non-carbon emitting sources.

The Renewable Portfolio Standard issued by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources calls for 20 percent of a municipal plant’s power portfolio to be made up of renewable energy sources by the year 2020, a number the TMLWP is well on its way to achieving.

“The TMLWP is already at 15 percent for 2013 and will be adding another 4 percent by the acquisition of a portion of the First Wind renewable energy output,” Mr. Driscoll said.

Power generated by the Hancock Wind Project will be purchased by MMWEC, a non-profit agency and political subdivision that issues tax-exempt bonds to its members for the financing of electric power projects. MMWEC is partnered with 16 other municipal light plants in the state, including Boylston, Chicopee, Groton, Holden, Holyoke, Ipswich, Mansfield, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Russell, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Wakefield, West Boylston, and Westfield. Templeton Light has been a part of MMWEC since its creation in 1969 and receives many benefits from the organization, including rebate programs for customers and assistance with supply and compliance needs. MMWEC will purchase 75 percent of the power generated by the Hancock Wind Project, with the remaining 25 percent going to Burlington Electric Department in Vermont.

First Winds operates 16 wind energy projects across the country, with facilities in Maine, New York, Vermont, Utah, Washington, and Hawaii with a combined power output of 1000 MW, which, according to Mr. Lamontagne, is enough to power 300,000 U.S. homes for a year. They are also building four solar panel projects in Warren and Millbury Mass., slated to go online this year and provide power to the University of Massachusetts’ Lowell and Medical Center campuses.

A solar array is also in the works for Templeton, as permits put forth by Ten K Energy were approved by the town’s Planning Board and construction of the project, located on Farnsworth Road should begin in spring.

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Wind Action