On July 26, approximately 150 residents met at the Vinalhaven School for the 35th annual meeting of the Fox Islands Electric Cooperative membership. Elliot Brown presided, joined by fellow board members Addison Ames, Marjorie Stratton, Bobby Warren, Wyman Philbrook, Peter Drury, Paul Quinn and Rex Crockett. Fox Islands Electric Cooperative (FIEC) General Manager Charles “Chip” Farrington gave an overview of the co-op’s operations, debt structure and rate history, explaining that, during the past five years, electric power rates had increased between 20 and 40 percent, based on prices that the co-op had to pay to buy power on the New England energy market, and because of the debt structure to pay for the new submarine cable. However, due to old cable debt being retired and additional revenue from the Fox Islands Wind project, Farrington explained that the co-op was able to adopt a small rate reduction of less than one percent in 2009. He also spoke on the inverse relationship between electricity production from the wind project and the price of electricity on the Fox Islands, clarifying the reasons for month-to-month variability of the per-kilowatt price.

George Baker, CEO of Fox Islands Wind, LLC (FIW) then gave an overview of the organization’s operations, including its management committee, which include Elliott Brown, Addison Ames and Chip Farrington of FIEC; Bill Alcorn, who is a partner in the land leased by FIW for the wind farm; Philip Conkling of the Island Institute; and Jim Bildner of North Haven, one of the investors in the early phases of the project. FIW’s structure, as explained by Baker, is that of a subsidiary owned by FIEC and a passive “tax equity” investor, Diversified Communications of Portland, which put up $5 million to help finance the project.  Diversified Communications receives significant tax benefits that the federal government uses as an incentive to encourage renewable-energy development.

Baker went on to describe how FIW sells all the power produced by the wind farm to the co-op at cost (the cost equals the debt payments on principal and interest for construction costs, plus taxes, insurance and warranties). He stressed that all the benefits are passed through to the ratepayers, leaving no profit for FIW. 
Baker then showed a graph of the output of electricity from the wind farm compared to projections. There was more downtime from one turbine than projected, especially during the month of February before a software problem in that turbine was identified and fixed. But February’s lower output has been offset by the higher winds than anticipated in some other months, so overall the wind farm production is just about on target, with rates expected to average between 6 and 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour for the year.

The next part of Baker’s presentation was a description of the work underway to establish the wind project’s compliance with its Maine Department of Environmental Protection permit and to study concerns about sound raised by some neighbors. There was a great deal of interchange among the attendees on these topics. One question from the audience concerned reports in the media that some people are experiencing a pressure wave from the turbines; Baker responded to the question of whether or not there is a way to measure this phenomenon by stating that the sound engineer is trying to measure very low levels of vibration, but has only detected vibrations at very low levels near the turbines, emphasizing that it is very difficult to detect and measure with existing equipment. When asked if Vinalhaven’s original wind power ordinance had guidelines and criteria for low-level vibration, Marjorie Stratton, Vinalhaven town manager and FIEC board member, replied that the planning board decided to go with the guidelines that the State had established rather than do it themselves because the local code enforcement officer had no training or experience with sound measurements to determine if there is a violation. Another attendee, Cathy Frierson, a seasonal neighbor of the wind farm, suggested that, since wind-turbine noises seem louder on the ridge along the backside of the wind farm, it might be a good idea to measure sound there, with which George Baker concurred. 

There was a question about communication between neighbors of the wind farm and FIW.  Baker acknowledged the difficulty of maintaining an open dialogue since the Fox Islands Wind Neighbors group has retained a lawyer and there have been threats of legal action. Colleen Conlan, who had earlier stated that she used a fan at night to mask the turbine noise, using more electricity than she normally would, argued for a more collaborative approach, stating that not all of the neighbors who are bothered by the sound have hired a lawyer, and that she is putting her trust in the community and in FIW to do the right thing.

Baker then described all the efforts of FIW to go “beyond compliance,” including four major initiatives, beginning with the Noise Reduced Operation study in February, which was launched in response to neighbors’ requests to “do something.” Unfortunately, said Baker, some of the neighbors declined to participate in the study, which was designed to determine whether randomly turning down the turbines at night made a difference in lessening the disruptive experience of noise to the neighbors. Other efforts include research by a team from the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colorado, which is proposing to study the effects of the turbine noise from a outside, technical perspective. In addition, FIW has received a Maine Technology Institute grant of $25,000 to conduct an active noise cancellation feasibility study that uses sound measurements of the turbines sound to produce an offsetting sound wave that cancels the sound inside of homes; this technology has yet to be tried in the context of mitigating wind turbine sound. Finally, FIW is waiting to hear from General Electric, the manufacturer of the project’s turbines, about the possibility of the FIW project becoming a beta test site for new blade technology that might reduce turbine noise.

Before the meeting concluded, one member of the audience expressed the importance of community collaboration, and stressed the need to take care of each other and work hard to avoid anxiety and mistrust. Another attendee, year-round resident Dana Barton, focused on the positive outcomes of the project, stating that, as a lifelong resident of the island, he sees the wind project as providing great benefits, lowering prices for electricity and helping year-round islanders continue to live there.

After the presentations ended, the election results for the board of directors were announced; all incumbents were reelected.