OAKFIELD, Maine — It has been nearly six years in the making, but First Wind’s plans to erect 48 turbines along the hills of Oakfield are finally taking shape.
Once complete, it will be the largest single wind farm in the state, covering a span of about 150 acres.
According to First Wind’s website, the project “will span the low-lying ridges of the Oakfield hills, on a site designed to maximize the use of pre-existing commercial logging roads and infrastructure.”
Dave Fowler, director of development for First Wind, said construction began in December 2013 and involved hundreds of employees, predominantly sub-contractors, who have been busy building new roads, the electrical collection system and creating the bases for the turbines.
The first turbines will be placed in the spring of 2015. They will be shipped either from Denmark, Canada or the Midwest, Fowler said. The anticipated completion date is in the fall or early winter of 2015.
Forty turbines will be located in Oakfield, with the remaining eight placed in unorganized territory. If the turbines were all placed in a straight line, it would encompass a five-mile stretch of land, Fowler said. Nearly a dozen employees will remain on site once completed.
Electricity generated from the turbines will be transmitted along a 59-mile line to a substation in Chester, near Lincoln.
First Wind was originally granted permission from the town and DEP for 34 turbines along Sam Drew Mountain in September 2009 at a special town meeting. Construction never commenced as the Martha A. Powers Land Trust challenged the project. Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court rejected the Land Trust’s appeal in March 2011.
Permission from a vast number of landowners had to be obtained before any road construction could commence, Fowler said.
“This is a unique project for us in that there are so many landowners involved,” he said. “Most of our projects are large woodlot owners, but this one had a lot of area that had been subdivided and we have the transmission line. I have close to 200 agreements with landowners.”
Situated approximately 2.5 miles from the center of Oakfield, the project will consist of 48 turbines capable of generating 148 megawatts of power. The turbines will stand 450 feet high and have the capacity to produce enough clean, renewable energy to power more than 62,000 homes. Some of the windmills will be visible from Interstate 95.
In its six years of development, First Wind has worked closely with the town to solicit significant community input in designing the project. As part of the local review process, First Wind made numerous commitments that go beyond what is required under state law and incorporated those changes into the DEP application.
According to the company’s website, “When Oakfield Wind comes online, it will deliver cost-competitive green power for project customers and suppress market clearing prices for the region. A 50-mile transmission line will enable the project to serve load throughout ISO-NE. The impacts don’t stop there: Output from Oakfield Wind will avoid over 160,000 tons of (carbon dioxide) that would result from conventional generation sources in the region.”
Fowler acknowledged there are those individuals who oppose wind farms, but said for the most part the Oakfield project has been free of controversy.
“We had such strong support from the local residents that (the opposition) was driven off,” he said. “The local community has had a lot of input in how this project was ultimately designed.”
Fowler said the town of Oakfield did not have a land-use ordinance in place prior to their arrival, but has since crafted such a policy, with the help of First Wind officials.
The project will bring significant economic benefits to the town — $14.7 million in tax revenues over 20 years, and an additional $12 million in community benefit payments during that time. That money goes to a town fund, and can be used for town priorities such as a public safety building, fire engines and road improvements. Each year, at town meeting, residents will be asked how they wish to spend that year’s funds.
Town Manager Dale Morris previously stated the town would receive an annual $600,000 payment, which is required to satisfy the community benefit clause of the environmental permit application with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
The first $600,000 has been already been received by the town, Fowler said.
The town previously identified 14 projects it would be able to fund over a 20-year period with the TIF money it receives from First Wind. Among those projects are the construction of a centrally located public safety building to include the town office and fire station at a cost of about $2.5 million.
Some of the other projects envisioned by the town include:
• Acquisition and replacement of fire station equipment, including two new fire trucks, at a total cost of $750,000.
• Local road reconstruction of about 21 miles, at a cost of $7,525,000.
• Purchase and replacement of public works equipment, including a plow truck, grader, backhoe and other equipment, at a cost of $392,000.
• Capital improvements for the village area of town ($750,000).
• Construction of a town salt shed and materials ($900,000).
Morris also previously stated any full-time resident who receives a Homestead Exemption on their tax bill will also receive a check in the amount of about $2,300 a year for 20 years. Seasonal residents, which total about 100 people, will not receive the tax rebate. There are 235 full-time households in Oakfield.
