Berkshire Wind Purchase

(Wakefield, MA) – Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (WMGLD) has taken the first step in building its green energy portfolio with the signing of an agreement to purchase the assets of Berkshire Wind Power LLC. WMGLD was one of 14 municipal electric utilities that purchased the assets for $4 million as part of the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company’s Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative.

Under the agreement, the cooperative purchased all of Berkshire Wind’s assets, including easements, permits, agreements, engineering documents, developed properties and other assets that will enable the owners to build and operate the ten (10) 1.5 megawatt wind turbines on Brodie Mountain in Hancock, Massachusetts.

An access road has already been constructed and some excavation work has been done. The next step, according to WMGLD General Manager Pete Dion will be to purchase the 340-foot tall turbines sometime in early Fall.

WMGLD will be the second largest shareholder, owning nearly 10% of the project that is expected to have a total capacity of 15 megawatts. Peabody Municipal Light Plant will be the largest shareholder with ownership of just under 17%.

“This is a great opportunity, not only for the WMGLD, but also for reducing our dependence on fossil fuels,” said Dion who now serves on the Berkshire Wind Cooperatives Board of Directors. “When the project goes on line as expected in 2010, Berkshire Wind will be just a piece of our portfolio and will help diversify our mix of energy sources.”

The other 13 communities joining Wakefield in the Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative are Ashburnham, Boylston, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, and West Boylston.