Portland, New York, United StatesWhat is community wind?
Community wind is a way to offset utility bill charges from energy generated by local wind turbines. Instead of installing a small wind turbine or solar panels on your own property, we build projects off site and transfer the benefits of wind energy to you in the form of utility bill credits.
What is a bill credit?
A bill credit is a refund on your electric bill. Your utility company will track how much renewable
energy is generated and apply a credit to your bill.
How does community wind work?
- We build a wind project in your area
- The project sends electricity into the local utility company’s power lines
- The utility company applies money-saving bill credits to your monthly bill
- You continue to receive the same electricity service from your utility
Will I save money on electricity bills?
Yes! Customers will always pay less on annual electricity bills than they would have otherwise paid the utility.
How much will Portland residents save?
We estimate that Portland residents will save more than $3 million on utility bill expenses over the life of the project.
Are there are any special benefits for Portland residents?
Yes! All Portland residents will receive:
- At least a 10% discount on utility bill credits (savings)
- Early access to sign up for bill credits
- A $100 sign-up bonus
Will the project affect farming?
Our project is carefully sited to minimize impacts to land underneath. By using existing access pathways and placing turbines in preferred areas of fields, landowners will be able to continue with their regular farming operation.
Will the turbines cause lots of noise?
First, unlike most commercial wind turbines, EWT turbines do not have a gearbox, so there is no noticeable mechanical noise. Second, our advanced controls and remote monitoring allow us to quickly turn down a turbine if it is found to be causing too much noise. Finally, EWT will prepare a sound impact assessment during the project development phase and will agree to periodic checks during operation to ensure the project does not violate any rules.
What about infrasound?
We are very confident that our wind turbines do not emit infrasound causing any health issues. There is little definite scientific evidence of health effects from infrasound and most authors argue that infrasound is not a problem with modern wind turbines (especially those without a gearbox). In fact, researchers in long-term study completed in April 2020 reported that “no evidence of health effects of wind turbine infrasound was found.”
(source: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. (April 2020). VTT studies the health effects of infrasound in wind turbine noise ina multidisciplinary cooperation study. Retrieved from: https://www.vttresearch.com/en/news-and-ideas/vtt-studied-health-effects-infrasound-wind-turbine-noise-multidisciplinary)
Will the project impact property values?
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) also points out that existing research demonstrates little or no evidence that home values are affected. For example, “Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) analyzed more than 50,000 home sales near 67 wind facilities in 27 counties across nine U.S. states, yet was unable to uncover any impacts to nearby home property values.”
Does the project include new substations and overhead power lines?
No, since it is a community distributed generation project, the turbines will connect to existing National Grid infrastructure; we will not build new power lines or large substations.
Does the Town of Portland receive any revenue from the project?
Yes, EWT will enter into a host community agreement with the town that will assure annual payments for the life of the project; we expect total payments to be more than $1 million. Most importantly, those payments are a source of secure revenue for the town since they are fixed at the beginning of the project.
Will EWT be around for the life of the project, or are they only the developer?
EWT is the project developer, wind turbine manufacturer, and long-term maintenance provider. We will monitor the turbines 24/7, visit the sites regularly, and remain available to answer your questions.
