Community Municipality APPLICATIONS

From lower energy bills to community thought leaderships, municipalities win when they implement wind power.

• Meeting RPS goals: Many local governments have enacted Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards to lead their communities into a greener world. When a town erects a community-scale wind turbine, it makes a marked impact on RPS goals and acts as a visible sign of the town’s commitment.
• Green economy: Your community-based wind turbine – and each new installation it fosters – will bring high value engineering and construction jobs to your local community.
• Lower operational costs: See your town’s electrical costs drop the second your blades start spinning.
• Tax payer benefits: When infrastructure costs go down, your residents benefit with balanced municipal budgets and a lower tax burden.
• Stable cost of power: You’ll know what your wind-powered electricity will cost for 20 years or more so you can safeguard your budget against the volatile and increasing costs of energy.
• Educational opportunities: A turbine in your town’s backyard offers experiential science, math, civic, and environmental lessons for local schoolchildren. (Visit our “wind for schools” page for more information.)
• Energy independence: creating power locally empowers communities to take control of their energy future.

Learn more about the benefits of wind power here.

When considering which turbine to purchase, municipal leaders will be thinking about siting considerations as well as economics. Often the chosen solution is not based on one

• Load matching: All else being equal, municipal leaders will want to choose a turbine – or two or three – that can support as much of the town’s electricity needs as possible to gain the greatest benefit from site-based generation. The Northwind 100 will produce enough power to make a real bottom line impact on your town budget. Call for Northwind 100 specifications
• Aesthetic fit: The turbine’s height profile and operational sound levels will be a consideration if it will be located near residential neighborhoods, a school, or other community areas. We call the Northwind 100 “community-scale” because it fits nicely into a community setting, and our advanced technology makes it an extremely quiet machine. More on aesthetics.
• Technology: Not every wind turbine is created equal. A turbine’s technology and design can affect many things including energy capture, maintenance requirements, and sound performance. Because of the Northwind 100’s advanced Permanent Magnet Direct Drive technology, your town does not have to be located in a wind tunnel, your residents don’t have to listen to noisy gearboxes, and you don’t have to implement costly maintenance programs. Towns can participate in the windpower revolution and stay focused on what they do best – providing for the resident’s needs.   
• Proven operation: As with any major capital investment project, you want to know that your wind turbine is not a concept waiting for a test site. The Northwind 100’s proven operation in the harsh conditions of remote Alaskan villages give you comfort and peace of mind that your investment is with you for 20 years or more. See the Northwind 100s installed base (PDF).
• Upfront cost and lead time: Your financial options will help you determine what type of investment your municipality would like to make in wind power.  Most Northwind 100 installations cost approximately $500,000, which for many towns is a more attractive option than a multi-million dollar utility-scale turbine installation. See more about the Northwind 100 costs and lead time.

Want to know more about how the Northwind 100 fits your town's requirements? Contact us today.

At Northern Power Systems, we are committed to helping towns bring lower, more stable energy costs to their budgets. We do that by providing a leading edge turbine designed for high performance and low maintenance, and surrounding it with supporting products and services that can be tailored to fit any customer’s needs.

Northern Power Systems’ wind power solution set includes:

Northwind 100 wind turbine:

• Excellent energy capture, even in marginal wind
• Rugged and low maintenance design
• Quiet operation
• Made in the USA

Supporting products:

A community-based wind power project often needs more than just a reliable turbine to satisfy multi-faceted goals.

• Based on Northern Power Systems’ proprietary SmartView turbine monitoring platform, our web-based tools make it easy to track how your Northwind 100 is working for you:
• AdminView: Your personalized owner account will allow you to track energy production and turbine operation from any computer in the world – or right from your office PC.
• FleetView: Do you have two or more turbines supporting your operations? You can track their performance from one customer friendly web interface.
• PublicView: This offering allows municipalities to share general information about their turbine’s operation.
• A branded demonstration kiosk can be located wherever you choose, and will act as a public showcase for your town’s turbine
• Co-branded, standards-based curriculum and turbine-specific datasets are also available. You can offer these valuable educational tools to your local schools to solidify partnerships and further enhance the value that your community will get from your turbine.

Service and support:

As with every community wind application, we are committed to being with you every step of the way. Some of the ways we do this are:

• Project planning and development advice
• Technical support for installation
• Ongoing maintenance support and advice
• Remote turbine monitoring and support

More about Northern’s products and services

Towns like yours are putting up a Northwind 100 project to capture the wind and lead thier communities in the green revolution. When will you be adding your name to our installed base?

• Municipal case study: The City of Medford
• Full list of Northwind 100 case studies
• The Northwind 100 installed base (PDF)

Municipal leaders can consider a few different options for financing their wind power projects.

• NEW! Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG). This federal program that is part of the 2009 stimulus program offers grants on a state-by-state basis to state and local governments and Native American lands for projects that reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions. Your community wind project could be potentially be eligible for 100% funding through this program. The deadline for your state or municipality to apply to this one-time stimulus money is June 25, 2009. Contact your State Energy Office to find out how they plan to use your state’s money.
• State grants and incentives: States like Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Illinois, and Vermont offer attractive incentives for wind energy projects. Taken together with the federal EECBG grant, the 0% CREB bonds, and/or local fundraising (see below), your town could get a turbine spinning with little out-of-pocket costs. Check the DSIRE website for the latest information on your state’s programs.
• Clean Energy Bonds: CREBs are zero-interest loans available to municipalities, schools, Native American organizations, and rural electric cooperatives. With a zero-interest loan, you can use your electricity savings to make loan payments so your budget is not adversely affected. In February 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allocated an additional $1.6 billion for CREBs. More information on CREBs
• Local fundraising: Your community may want to have a “turbine drive.” The added benefit of raising funds from individual contributors and local businesses is that it helps to drive early excitement for your project.
• Town bonding: Towns can bond separately for their turbine just as they would a new municipal building or capital equipment purchase.
• Private funding: Private businesses can take advantage of some incentives that are not available to public municipalities. The 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) recently enacted in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is applicable to any wind power system sized at 100 kW or less. An additional benefit to companies with a tax appetite is that wind turbines can be depreciated over five years. You may be able to work with a private business that could be your benefactor. See “PPA/Private funding” below if you have a possible full-system benefactor who is a tax paying entity.
• PPA providers: There are companies whose business model includes developing and owning wind turbines at schools and other sites, and then offering the turbine host a PPA (Power Purchase Agreement). This allows for-profit companies to take advantage of tax breaks and other incentives that are not available to municipalities and pass them on. The PPA is usually structured so that turbine hosts get the power produced at the site and pay for it at rates that are more stable and often lower than what is offered by the local utility.

The Northern team can help you navigate through some of the incentives available to you as a diesel grid operator. Contact us today.

Or, for more information on incentives available in your state or at the federal level, check out the DSIRE website.

Learn more about wind power financing here.

Putting up a wind turbine is much like building a house. In general, the steps are as follows:

1. Feasibility
2. Engineering and design
3. Installation
4. Commissioning

It should be noted that the process for many municipalities may involve some additional components, such as:

• Community involvement: There is almost always a public education and review process, but municipalities in particular will want to put a heavy emphasis on early community notification and involvement. This helps with community acceptance and can even promote other environmental changes around your community.
• Multiple bids: Many municipalities need or want to pursue a public, multiple-bid process. It is helpful if you can let your engineering/design and turbine supplier partners know if this will be the case so we can best support that process. You will also want to plan for that in your project time line.

Your wind project is unique to your needs and desires, but you will have a team of contractors and suppliers supporting you, including Northern Power Systems. Whether you are just getting started or are ready to buy a wind turbine for your community, we can help you. Contact us today.

Learn more about wind power step by step here.

• Wind for Municipalities (PDF)
• DSIRE website for information on state and federal incentive programs
• Information about the federal Clean Renewable Energy Bond (CREB) program
• State Energy Office contacts for EECBG block grant information