Editor’s note: This commentary is by Walter Meisner, who is a senior business developer for Iberdrola Renewables, focusing on renewable energy development in the New England region.
The Stiles Brook Wind Project team recently announced our final project proposal to the towns of Windham and Grafton. This proposal was the result of hundreds of conversations held with residents of both communities. The final proposal includes an enhanced economic benefits package and a reduced number of turbines. The proposed Stiles Brook Wind Project would offer a substantial positive impact on the economies of Windham and Grafton, promote rural vitality, help preserve working forest that is open to the community, and help fight climate change.
The enhanced economic benefits package includes a direct annual payment that will be evenly distributed to full-time adult Windham and Grafton residents. This payment addresses the concern that we repeatedly heard from residents that under our original proposal, which relied on property tax breaks to supply the economic benefit, those with more expensive properties would see a greater property tax reduction. This final proposal more equitably distributes economic benefits from the project across both communities, including both property owners and renters, to ensure that low income and middle class Vermonters receive the same benefit as those with more expensive properties, while still allowing for property tax reductions.
In total, Iberdrola’s annual payments to the towns and their residents would save every Windham and Grafton resident a significant amount of money. Once built, the project would contribute a total of $1.5 million per year to the communities and residents, up from $1 million as originally proposed.
The updated project layout would thus reduce both the project’s visibility and sound levels.
The project’s annual payments would be divided into two types of payments: town payments, which go to the town government, and community payments, which go to a separate, independently managed community fund. The town payment would have two components: municipal property taxes owed by the project, and a supplemental payment that the Select Board and voters would determine how to allocate each year as part of the town budget. The community fund, to be administered by a third party trustee, not Iberdrola Renewables, would hold and distribute money specifically earmarked for the permanent residents of the town, such as the annual partnership payments and other charitable contributions and scholarships. The partnership payments would total $350,000 in Windham and $215,000 in Grafton, resulting in every full-time Windham resident receiving $1,162 and every full-time Grafton resident receiving $428 (based on the current number of registered voters in each respective town).
Our final proposal also includes four fewer turbines as we also heard a concern from some Windham residents about the potential effect of turbines sited closest to residences. In response, we have reduced the number of turbines in Windham from 20 to 16, and generally reconfigured the layout to shift several turbines further from residences. The updated project layout would thus reduce both the project’s visibility and sound levels.
With these changes, Iberdrola Renewables believes more than ever that the Stiles Brook Wind Project would have a positive impact on the towns of Windham and Grafton by providing substantial economic benefits and helping lower our dependence on energy sources already harming our economy and environment by generating clean renewable energy in Windham County.
