Green Mountain Power has announced that for a third year, due to power generation at its Kingdom Community Wind Farm on Lowell Mountain, five Northeast Kingdom Towns will receive Good Neighbor Fund payments, according to a statement from GMP. This year, GMP will distribute more than $188,000, an increase of $62,000 over last year as a result of increased power generation at the Lowell facility. The Good Neighbor Fund was developed by Green Mountain Power to share direct value to neighboring towns.
Eden just received its Good Neighbor Payment of $72,061. Candace Vear, the town clerk and treasurer in Eden, said, “It’s nice to see GMP follow through on its promise and deliver a benefit to towns around Kingdom Community Wind. Our town plan is supportive of the project because of the clean energy it produces and the value we see as a neighboring town. This money will support important priorities of our town.”
Green Mountain Power established the Good Neighbor Fund to benefit communities around the wind farm, in addition to the benefits of increased economic activity in the area from construction and maintenance, as a way to support the economic vitality of the area. The Good Neighbor Fund makes annual payments to the five towns within five miles of the project for the first ten years the plant operates, and the payments are based on the amount of power produced.
GMP is making Good Neighbor payments this week to the following neighboring towns: Albany, which will receive $65,048, Eden $72,061, Craftsbury $31,057, and Westfield and Irasburg will each receive $10,000. Towns decide how best to invest the funds. Some towns lower their municipal tax obligation while last year Craftsbury installed solar panels with the funds.
“When we invest in energy projects like KCW, it is important that we have the support of neighboring towns. We are so pleased to be able to deliver on our promise to benefit surrounding communities,” said Dorothy Schnure, GMP Corporate Spokesperson. “The strong performance at the wind plant benefited the local community directly by increasing the amount we distribute through the Good Neighbor Fund.”
The 21 turbine project in Lowell came online in November 2012 and is an important part of GMP’s strategy to keep electricity rates stable. KCW continues to provide tremendous value for GMP customers, especially during winter, when generation at the plant is at its strongest, enabling GMP to avoid purchasing additional power when regional market prices tend to be at their highest. In addition, selling renewable energy credits from KCW to neighboring states and no longer being able to claim the associated energy as wind power has provided millions of dollars of revenue that is directly used to reduce GMP’s power supply costs and retail rates for customers. In 2014, Kingdom Community Wind generated 179,385,000 kilowatthours, enough to power nearly 25,000 homes.
Source: GMP. 2.17.2015