Let’s not hand over our community to Everpower/Allegany Wind

As a former wind energy professional, I have personally experienced the ruthlessness of many wind energy developers during my many years in the wind business. Litigation is one of their frequent tools used to force their agendas. They lie, withhold critical information, and turn neighbors against each other. Some wind farm developers and operators seriously wrecked farmers’ properties in the Altamont Pass, Calif., where I was employed.

Wind farm developers and operators, including some in Western New York, have a history of violating worker safety, cutting corners on turbine maintenance, falsely promising employees advancement, and making life miserable for employees who wish to perform their jobs responsibly. Given this, if a wind farm is installed in our community, can we be assured we will be properly informed as to the dangers involved?

The infrastructure of constructing and operating a wind farm is highly technical and must be done with utmost care and meticulousness. If the system is not properly engineered, if the power distribution hardware is installed incorrectly, if the transformers are not correctly specified, there can be serious consequences such as transformer fires AND distribution line failures compromising landowners’ safety. There was an incident in which a local wind farm operator here in New York was required, during a severe blade icing condition, to continue operating the machines even though the site manager warned of serious consequences. This resulted in a blade failure costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was fortunate that the machine did not go into a runaway condition, creating a sizable threat to residents’ safety.

Does the town have the time and expertise to oversee whether the engineering of the infrastructure and the turbine installations are done properly? Can we afford to trust Allegany Wind to be honest and open with their work when reporting on their compliance with the town’s specifications? Will they provide a map of the underground cables? Can we trust that Allegany Wind will not increase the turbine tip speed ratios late at night ramping up the sound far above the advertised levels? (The tips of their proposed turbines reach speeds of about 200 mph.) Can we trust Allegany Wind to install the high voltage underground power cables to the depth required to assure landowners’ safety? Can we trust that Allegany Wind will not run the turbines during icing conditions, posing a threat to residents, hunters, and snowmobilers of Chipmonk and Knapp Creek areas from flying ice chunks? Can we trust that the transformers will be specified and sized to prevent hazardous and destructive transformer fires? Will Allegany Wind maintain turbines correctly without violating the safety of workers and local residents? Of note, most windfarms experience several turbine failures during their lifetime.

Is the Allegany Fire Department capable of handling a fire in a turbine motor hundreds of feet in the air? Is the town prepared to deal with a runaway of a 117 meter, 384-foot-high wind turbine rotor, requiring evacuation of residents within several miles of the machine?

Everpower/Allegany Wind representatives have already violated their contract with the town of Allegany numerous times. Then, rather than completing the required study for the project changes they demanded, they brought not just one, but two costly lawsuits against the town. Do we really want to allow these individuals, already acting as our enemies, to have the contractual right to do large-scale, risky business here?

Is it worth a few local businesses making some money, mostly temporary, on this installation at the expense of the well-being and safety of neighbors living and visiting in proximity of the wind farm for the next 20 years and beyond?

These questions need answers before we even consider Allegany Wind/Everpower’s demands. Otherwise, we must tell them NO.

Those of you sincere people who believe Allegany Wind’s promises need to take a long hard look at what Allegany Wind is pushing on us. Take a look at what happened, and is happening, in Howard, Andover, and other communities who have let these scoundrels in.

The bottom line for supporters of Allegany Wind: Will you be able to comfortably look your fellow community members in the eye if the events I described above occur?

To discuss and act on these issues contact Concerned Citizens of Cattaraugus County at concernedcitizens.homestead.com, and, Allegany residents, please vote for and support the current board members on election day even if the ballot says they’re unopposed. And please spread the word! Thank you.

Barry K. Miller, P.E.
Hinsdale

Source

'Wind Turbine Syndrome' Blamed for Mysterious Symptoms in Cape Cod Town

Sue Hobart, a bridal florist from Massachusetts, couldn't understand why she suddenly developed headaches, ringing in her ears, insomnia and dizziness to the point of falling "flat on my face" in the driveway.

"I thought I was just getting older and tired," said the 57-year-old from Falmouth.

Months earlier, in the summer of 2010, three wind turbines had been erected in her town, one of which runs around the clock, 1,600 feet from her home.

"I didn't put anything to the turbines -- we heard it and didn't like the thump, thump, thump and didn't like seeing them, but we didn't put it together," she told ABCNews.com.

Hobart said her headaches only got worse, but at Christmas, when she went to San Diego, they disappeared. And she said the same thing happened on an overnight trip to Keene, N.H.

"Sometimes at night, especially in the winter, I wake up with a fluttering in the chest and think, 'What the hell is that,' and the only place it happens is at my house," she said. "That's how you know. When you go away, it doesn't happen."

Read the entire article

Hwy 402 Protest October 19 2013

Despite impending permit denial, First Wind signed contract for Bowers Mountain wind project

By the beginning of August, it was clear the Maine Department of Environmental Protection was going to deny First Wind’s permit application to build the Bowers Mountain wind project, a 16-turbine farm in Carroll Plantation and Kossuth Township in eastern Penobscot County.

But that didn’t stop the company from signing a long-term deal to provide electricity generated at the yet-to-be-built farm to Rhode Island residents and businesses. The company was confident enough that it would succeed in the state’s appeals process that it put up nearly $1.5 million, which it could lose if it’s not able to build the project.

The DEP’s staff on July 24 recommended that DEP Commissioner Patricia Aho deny First Wind’s application because of concerns over the impact the wind turbines would have on views from the area’s lakes. The official applicant is Champlain Wind LLC, a subsidiary of Boston-based First Wind, which operates four wind farms in Maine.

Nine days later, on Aug. 2, First Wind signed a 15-year deal with National Grid, a utility that supplies electricity to customers in Rhode Island and surrounding states, to have the Bowers Mountain project up and running by March 2017, and sending electricity to businesses and residents in Rhode Island at a cost of 7.8 cents per kilowatt hour. That price is competitive with other energy generation sources, though still more expensive than electricity coming from the region’s natural gas-fired power plants.

On Aug. 5, Aho followed her staff’s suggestion and denied First Wind’s application for a permit to build the Bowers Mountain project because it would have “an unreasonable adverse effect on the scenic character and existing uses related to scenic character” in the area, which includes eight lakes deemed Scenic Resources of State or National Significance within eight miles of the project site.

First Wind has appealed the decision to the Board of Environmental Protection, which is a seven-member citizen board that is part of the DEP but has independent authority when it comes to things like deciding appeals of the commissioner’s licensing actions. That appeal is underway.

It is not uncommon for wind developers such as First Wind to sign such deals, known as power-purchase agreements, before the projects have been permitted or built. The long-term arrangements provide stability for the developer and reduce the cost of financing the project, according to Matt Kearns, First Wind’s vice president of development in the Northeast.

However, why would National Grid sign a long-term deal with a developer whose project it was clear was going to be denied a crucial permit and throwing the project’s entire existence into question?
Requests to speak to the National Grid staff who negotiated the deal with First Wind were denied. However, Deborah Drew, a National Grid spokeswoman, sent the Bangor Daily News the following statement:

“We believe this is a positive project and a good deal for Rhode Island customers. The development process is a lengthy one and most projects at the time of bid and award or contract execution do not yet have permits in hand. The fact that Champlain Wind has received a denial simply means they are in a better position than many developers to address permit issues sooner rather than later.”

So, rather than being a liability, Drew believes the DEP’s initial denial is a benefit.

The appeal process is underway, and Kearns expects a hearing to be scheduled in the next two months or at the beginning of 2014.

First Wind argues that its project complies with existing law, and that the DEP denied its project based on higher standards not outlined in statute.

“It basically looks to us as [if] a new standard has been created that does not currently exist in the law. That’s particularly troubling,” Kearns said. “We’re not asking to get a permit every time, but in this case we met the standard, and the DEP’s own expert said we met the standard, so it’s a little bit hard for us to understand. It sends a distressing signal to the business community, to any business looking at investing in the state, if we can’t expect balls and strikes to be called fairly.”

Kearns is confident the appeal will be successful.

If it’s not successful, First Wind could face penalties stemming from its deal with National Grid. While the deal is complicated with various opportunities for First Wind to extend milestone deadlines toward completion of the project, the bottom line is that if First Wind does not get its DEP permit and does not complete the wind farm by March 2017, it would forfeit nearly $1.5 million it put up in security, Kearns said.

The appeal process did work for another developer, Passadumkeag Wind Park LLC. In November 2012, Aho rejected the company’s initial application for a permit to build a 14-turbine wind farm on Passadumkeag Mountain in Penobscot County, but the BEP reversed her decision in March 2013 and allowed the project to move forward.

Source

IS BP LEAVING CAPE VINCENT? YES, NO, MAYBE?

Yesterday rumors were flying all over town that BP was leaving after their long reign of terror in Cape Vincent.  As of yet I have been unable to get a confirmation that BP is leaving .
Yesterday a comment came in to the post that I did about BP leaving .That hits the nail on the head

There may be a lot of conflicting news but the good news is that something is brewing. My reaction to this news tells me just how good I am going to feel when these wind bastards pull the plug. What a relief. I only hope all the rumor is true.  

It has just been confirmed  that there was a meeting hosted by BP Thursday night at Aubreys.  So, there is something to the story.  

Source

First Wind moves into solar with 17MW projects

Massachusetts-based wind-farm developer First Wind has announced that the company’s first solar power projects, comprising 17MW capacity, have begun construction in the company’s home state. First Wind secured financing and a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the University of Massachusetts (UMass) and agreements for net metering with two local towns, Millbury and Orange.

The projects will be located in the towns of Millbury and Warren, with a 3MW installation in Millbury and 14MW spread across three sites in Warren.

First Wind claims that around 85 construction and related jobs can be created by the projects, which will be built by Borrego Solar Systems and are expected to be completed and operational by June 2014. The plants will generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of around 3,100 Massachusetts (MA) households, reducing yearly carbon dioxide emissions by around 19,000 tonnes.

The projects have been financed by a loan from KeyBank National Association with tax equity from US Bank. First Wind will pay taxes to Millbury and Warren each year, US$130,000 and US$50,000 respectively to each community.

The PPA agreement with the University of Massachusetts is part of the university’s plan to cut carbon emissions, with electricity supplied by the PV projects mostly powering the university’s Lowell and Medical Center campuses. Overall the university is also expected to save over US$1 million in energy costs each year through the projects. Millbury and Orange, the two towns that will also purchase electricity from the PV plants, will save US$110,000 and US$85,000 in electricity costs each year respectively.

Deval Patrick, governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has committed to the goal of installing 1,600MW solar power generating capacity by 2020, with the commonwealth having surpassed a previous target of 250MW by May 2013, four years earlier than anticipated.

Paul Gaynor, First Wind chief executive officer said: “It is exciting that we are able to develop and build our very first solar projects in our home state of Massachusetts, which has led the way on renewable energy issues, and we are excited that we are able to add some clean energy projects right here in the Commonwealth, which will further enhance our growing portfolio of projects and customers in the north east. We are also very pleased to partner with UMass to deliver clean, renewable solar power to their campuses while delivering genuine economic benefits to the host communities and cost-competitive clean, renewable energy for years to come.”

Source

Wind Company Pattern a Winner After IPO

Pattern Energy Group successfully goes public—and more wind power companies could follow.

What a difference three years can make. In 2010, First Wind tried to do an initial public offering, but never made it out of the gate. This week, in a sign of wind power’s now-entrenched place on the U.S. energy landscape, Pattern Energy Group had a successful IPO, raising $352 million.

Of course, there was more that was different about this IPO than the date it took place; as Reuters pointed out, “Pattern has solid cash flow and has been largely profitable, factors that may have helped the company get a better pricing and drive the stock up on debut.”

Still, the success of the Pattern IPO does say something about the state of the larger industry.

Utilities like wind because it’s a reliable way to meet renewable portfolio standards, and it is becoming more and more economically attractive, with its levelized cost of energy falling by half in the past four years. That led the financial firm Lazard to write recently that “while many had anticipated significant declines in the cost of utility-scale solar PV, few anticipated these sorts of cost declines for wind technology.”

To be sure, federal support has been very helpful in keeping the price of wind within shouting distance of very cheap natural gas. Yet earlier this year, the Berkeley Lab reported that “even within today’s low gas price environment…wind power can still provide a cost-effective long-term hedge against many of the higher-priced future natural gas scenarios being contemplated.”

Pattern isn’t just dependent on the U.S. market -- it owns interests in four wind farms in the United States and one in Canada, has a partial interest in another in the U.S., and has two under construction in Ontario and Chile. Those wind farms add up to 1,041 megawatts of rated capacity. The projects generally have long-term power-purchase agreements, giving Pattern a very good expectation of continued, predictable cash flow.

The company (PEGI) priced its offering at $22, then bounced up to $23.98, before closing its first day of trading Friday at $23.27, up about 6 percent.

Source

14000 Abandoned Wind Turbines In The USA

http://toryaardvark.com/2011/11/17/14000-abandoned-wind-turbines-in-the-usa/

There are many hidden truths about the world of wind turbines from the pollution and environmental damage caused in China by manufacturing bird choppers, the blight on people’s lives of noise and the flicker factor and the countless numbers of birds that are killed each year by these blots on the landscape.

The symbol of Green renewable energy, our saviour from the non existent problem of Global Warming, abandoned wind farms are starting to litter the planet as globally governments cut the subsidies taxes that consumers pay for the privilege of having a very expensive power source that does not work every day for various reasons like it’s too cold or  the wind speed is too high.

The US experience with wind farms has left over 14,000 wind turbines abandoned and slowly decaying, in most instances the turbines are just left as symbols of a dying Climate Religion, nowhere have the Green Environmentalists appeared to clear up their mess or even complain about the abandoned wind farms.

The US has had wind farms since 1981:

    “Some say that Ka Le is haunted—and it is. But it’s haunted not by Hawaii’s legendary night marchers. The mysterious sounds are “Na leo o Kamaoa”– the disembodied voices of 37 skeletal wind turbines abandoned to rust on the hundred-acre site of the former Kamaoa Wind Farm…

    The ghosts of Kamaoa are not alone in warning us. Five other abandoned wind sites dot the Hawaiian Isles—but it is in California where the impact of past mandates and subsidies is felt most strongly. Thousands of abandoned wind turbines littered the landscape of wind energy’s California “big three” locations—Altamont Pass, Tehachapin (above), and San Gorgonio—considered among the world’s best wind sites…
    California’s wind farms— comprising about 80% of the world’s wind generation capacity—ceased to generate much more quickly than Kamaoa. In the best wind spots on earth, over 14,000 turbines were simply abandoned. Spinning, post-industrial junk which generates nothing but bird kills…”

The problem with wind farms when they are abandoned is getting the turbines removed, as usual there are non Green environmentalists to be seen:

    The City of Palm Springs was forced to enact an ordinance requiring their removal from San Gorgonio. But California’s Kern County, encompassing the Tehachapi area, has no such law

Imagine the outraged Green chorus if those turbines were abandoned oil drilling rigs.

    It took nearly a decade from the time the first flimsy wind turbines were installed before the performance of California wind projects could dispel the widespread belief among the public and investors that wind energy was just a tax scam.

    Ben Lieberman, a senior policy analyst focusing on energy and environmental issues for the Heritage Foundation, is not surprised. He asks:

    “If wind power made sense, why would it need a government subsidy in the first place? It’s a bubble which bursts as soon as the government subsidies end.”

“It’s a bubble which bursts as soon as the government subsidies end” therein lies a lesson that is going be learnt by those that sought to make fortunes out of tax payer subsidies, the whole renewables industry of solar, wind and biomass is just an artificial bubble incapable of surviving without subsides from governments and tax payers which many businesses and NGO’s like WWF, FoE and Greenpeace now think is their god given right, as the money is going on Green Climate Religion approved clean energy.

The Green evangelists who push so hard for these wind farms, as usual have not thought the whole idea through, no surprises for a left agenda like Climate Change, which like all things Green and socialist is just a knee jerk reaction:

    Altamont’s turbines have since 2008 been tethered four months of every year in an effort to protect migrating birds after environmentalists filed suit. According to the Golden Gate Audubon Society, 75 to 110 Golden Eagles, 380 Burrowing Owls, 300 Red-tailed Hawks, and 333 American Kestrels (falcons) are killed by Altamont turbines annually. A July, 2008 study by the Alameda County Community Development Agency points to 10,000 annual bird deaths from Altamont Pass wind turbines. Audubon calls Altamont, “probably the worst site ever chosen for a wind energy project.”

The same areas that are good for siting wind farms are also good for birds of prey and migrating birds to pass through, shame for the birds that none of the Green mental midgets who care so much about everything in nature, thought that one through when pushing their anti fossil fuel agenda.

    After the debacle of the First California Wind Rush, the European Union had moved ahead of the US on efforts to subsidize “renewable” energy–including a “Feed in Tariff” even more lucrative than the ISO4 contracts.

The tax payers who paid for the subsidies to build the wind farms, then paid over the odds for an unreliable source of power generation will, ultimately be left to pick up the bill for clearing up the Green eco mess in the post man made Global Warming world.


Updated November 24th

In answer to several allegations that the number of abandoned wind turbines was made up,  the following quote from the article and link will confirm this figure to be true:

    California’s wind farms — then comprising about 80% of the world’s wind generation capacity — ceased to generate much more quickly than Kamaoa. In the best wind spots on earth, over 14,000 turbines were simply abandoned. Spinning, post-industrial junk which generates nothing but bird kills.

House committee to probe wind tax credit as expiration date once again approaches

A House committee this week will revive a debate that has been dormant on Capitol Hill for most of this year with a hearing examining the implications of a key renewable energy tax credit that again is set to expire in a few months.

The future of the wind production tax credit was among the biggest energy policy issues debated in Congress last year, leading to an eleventh-hour extension in January as part of a broader fiscal package. Since then, lawmakers have turned their attention elsewhere, and the fate of the PTC fell in with broader negotiations around a comprehensive overhaul of the tax code.

Though it is scheduled to expire again at the end of this year, a modification that accompanied the last extension combined with a favorable Internal Revenue Service interpretation means wind developers can continue to benefit from the credit at least through 2015 as long as they meet certain criteria (Greenwire, Sept. 23).

Wind industry lobbyists are asking lawmakers to include an extension or phaseout of the credit in the evolving comprehensive tax reform package, which is expected to be unveiled sometime this fall. If the comprehensive effort seems likely to stretch past the end of next year, the industry may seek another short-term renewal as part of a tax extenders package. Meanwhile, conservative opponents of the wind incentive are ramping up their lobbying against it (E&E Daily, Sept. 25).

As the issue starts to come out of hibernation, the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Energy Policy will examine the PTC in more detail at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

A full witness list had not been posted by Friday afternoon, but a source familiar with planning for the hearing said it would feature testimony from an IRS representative as well as Robert Michaels, an economist with the conservative Institute for Energy Research, a think tank that opposes the credit.

Source

URGENT: House Subcommittee Hearing Today, 10/2 PLEASE CONTACT THESE SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS

The wind industry is requesting a phaseout by 2018, but wind projects can qualify for the full PTC until the start of 2016. http://www.law360.com/articles/474754/new-tax-credit-timeline-will-give-wind-industry-a-leg-up Does this make any sense? The wind industry is requesting a delay, hoping that a different Congress continues the PTC indefinitely. That is the number one reason for this Congress to NOT extend the PTC. If this Congress kicks the can down the road again, it WILL NEVER stop. Also, what mechanism of oversight is there with respect to the IRS? The IRS just so happens to have had some issues lately with respect to oversight and political activity. What if these projects really don't qualify or material that would be used in one project was actually purchased prior to or during the construction of a different project? How could both projects receive the PTC? What recourse is there to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse? The wind industry got a  phaseout on January 1, 2013. Let it be.

I just read this: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/10/01/house-committee-to-probe-wind-tax-credit-as-expiration-date-once-again-approaches/ There is a House Committee hearing concerning the PTC, TODAY 10/2. These are the fax and phone numbers for the members of Congress on this subcommittee:

PLEASE CONTACT NOW. PLEASE USE MY ARGUMENT IF YOU WISH. PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST. I JUST WANT IT RELAYED TO MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE.

James Lankford
Phone: (202) 225-2132
Fax: (202) 226-1463
https://twitter.com/replankford
https://www.facebook.com/RepLankford

Tim Walberg
Phone: (202) 225-6276
Fax: (202) 225-6281
https://twitter.com/RepWalberg
https://www.facebook.com/RepWalberg

Paul Gosar
Phone: (202) 225-2315
https://twitter.com/repgosar
https://www.facebook.com/repgosar

Thomas Massie
Phone: (202) 225-3465
Fax: (202) 225-0003
https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie
https://www.facebook.com/RepThomasMassie

Scott Desjarlais
T (202) 225-6831
F (202) 226-5172
https://twitter.com/DesJarlaisTN04
https://www.facebook.com/ScottDesJarlaisTN04

Rob Woodall
Phone: (202) 225-4272
Fax: (202) 225-4696
https://www.facebook.com/RepRobWoodall

Blake Farenthold
Phone: (202) 225-7742
Fax: (202) 226-1134
https://twitter.com/farenthold
https://www.facebook.com/BlakeFarenthold

Patrick McHenry
Telephone: 202.225.2576
Fax: 202 225 0316
https://twitter.com/PatrickMcHenry
https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanMcHenry

Patrick Meehan
Phone: (202) 225-2011
https://twitter.com/RepMeehan
https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanPatrickMeehan

Doc Hastings
(202) 225-5816
Fax: (202) 225-3251
https://twitter.com/dochastings
https://www.facebook.com/RepDocHastings

Jason Chaffetz
Phone: (202) 225-7751
https://twitter.com/Jasoninthehouse
https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanJasonChaffetz

Jim Jordan
T (202) 225-2676
F (202) 226-0577
https://twitter.com/Jim_Jordan
https://www.facebook.com/repjimjordan

First Wind Enters Solar Market on Massachusetts Projects

First Wind Holdings Inc. began construction on 17 megawatts of solar plants in central Massachusetts, the Boston-based wind-farm developer’s first photovoltaic projects.

The plants comprise a 3-megawatt facility in the town of Millbury and three sites with a total of 14 megawatts of capacity in Warren, First Wind said today in a statement. Borrego Solar Systems Inc. is building the projects and they’re expected to begin producing power by June.

The company will sell the majority of the output under a long-term contract to the University of Massachusetts. The towns of Millbury and Orange have also to buy a smaller portion, according to the statement. KeyCorp (KEY) provided construction and term facility loans and US Bancorp the tax equity.

Source

Wind energy company Pattern blows past IPO price in debut

* At a high of $24.30, company valued at $1.24 bln

* Raises $352 mln from IPO

* Shares jump as much as 10 pct

Sept 27 (Reuters) - Shares of Pattern Energy Group Inc rose 10 percent in their debut, as the recent rally in renewable energy stocks rubbed off on the first-ever public offering of a U.S. wind farm operator.

Pattern's IPO comes almost three years after First Wind Holdings Inc yanked its offering in November 2010 after investors balked at an unprofitable company with aggressive expansion plans. ()

However, Pattern has solid cash flow and has been largely profitable, factors that may have helped the company get a better pricing and drive the stock up on debut.

The company raised $352 million after pricing its offering at $22 per share, just above its expected price range of $19-$21. Pattern sold 16 million shares.

San Francisco, California-based Pattern owns and operates eight wind power projects in the United States, Canada and Chile, with a total power-generation capacity of 1,041 MW.

Pattern's net profit rose to $29.14 million for the first six months of 2013, from $6.44 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 62 percent to $102.54 million.

The company is expected to benefit from the extension of a critical tax credit by the U.S. Congress in January.

Siemens AG, the world's No.3 maker of wind turbines, said last month that it expects the global wind power market to more than quadruple by 2030, lifted by strong growth in Asia.

Pattern Energy's shares opened at $24.10 and touched a high of $24.30, valuing the company at $1.24 billion. Nearly 8 million shares changed hands by 12:30 p.m. ET, making it one of the most heavily traded stocks on the Nasdaq on Friday.

"Based on this success, I would anticipate other such filings coming shortly," IPOscoop.com founder, John Fitzgibbon said.

Pattern Energy is headed by Mike Garland, who led the North American infrastructure group of investment and advisory company Babcock & Brown that was liquidated after the financial crisis.

Private equity firm Riverstone Holdings bought Babcock's wind energy business and named it Pattern Energy Group LP, the parent company of the listed entity.

BMO Capital Markets, RBC Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley are the underwriters for the IPO.

Pattern Energy shares were up 7 percent at $23.45 in afternoon trade on the Nasdaq.

The S&P Global Clean Energy Index has jumped 40 percent from April, compared to an 8 percent rise in the broader S&P 500.

Source

First Wind to provide wind energy to Massachusetts

First Wind, a U.S.-based renewable energy company, said that through a bidding process overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, two of its planned Maine wind power projects have been selected by Massachusetts utilities to provide renewable wind energy to homes and businesses across the commonwealth.

The contracts, which still must be approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, will provide wind power from the 147 MW Oakfield Wind project in Aroostook County and the 186 MW Bingham Wind project in Somerset County.

The renewable energy from the Oakfield Wind project, which received siting approval from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in January 2012, is contracted to be sold to Massachusetts customers of four utilities as part of a 15-year contract. The Oakfield project will be a 48-turbine, 147 MW capacity project and will generate enough clean energy to power about 50,000 Massachusetts homes. Construction of the Oakfield project is scheduled to start by the end of this year and should be completed and online in 2015.

The planned Bingham Wind project would feature 62 turbines totaling 186 MW of energy capacity — enough to power almost 70,000 Massachusetts homes. Massachusetts utilities have agreed to purchase the power as part of a 15-year contract. The Bingham project is in the advanced permitting stages with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

In May, Massachusetts utilities opened up initial bidding from renewable power generators for contracts that would last as long as 15 or 20 years. The clean energy procurement process was initiated pursuant to Section 83A of the 2012 Massachusetts energy bill, which required all of the state’s electric distribution companies solicit proposals from renewable energy developers for the purpose of entering into cost-effective long-term contracts. Projects were chosen based on a variety of factors, including cost-competitiveness for consumers.

Both projects are expected to qualify for federal investment tax credits.

The two projects would be the sixth and seventh First Wind projects in Maine. The most recently completed project, the Bull Hill Wind project near Eastbrook, Maine in Hancock County, provides cost-competitive power to NSTAR.

Source

First Wind Selected for Multiple Award Task Order Contract by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Boston-based renewable energy company earns spot on list of 17 private companies pre-qualified to develop wind energy projects for U.S. DoD facilities nationwide

BOSTON -- 

First Wind, an independent U.S.-based renewable energy company, has been selected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, to compete for opportunities to supply wind energy to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) from projects developed at or near DoD facilities. This announcement from the DoD comes as the third in a series of four groups of renewable energy contracts that will be worth $7 billion and will support the DoD’s renewable energy initiatives.

“We are pleased to have been chosen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Defense to help them achieve their energy and sustainability goals,” said Paul Gaynor, CEO of First Wind. “The Huntsville Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOC) and establishment of the Energy Initiatives Task Force (EITF) streamlined the contracting process, and First Wind is eager for the opportunity to bid on projects that will deliver cost-effective clean energy to military facilities throughout the United States.”

As the largest energy consumer in the United States, the DoD has also announced MATOC contracts with solar and geothermal groups in an effort to increase energy security and the use of on-site renewable resources. By utilizing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), DoD will purchase renewable energy at long-term fixed prices and avoid the expense of financing, building and operating generation facilities.

With operational projects that have a combined capacity of more than 1,000 megawatts (MW) in six states across the United States, First Wind has a proven track record of developing, building and operating successful renewable energy projects for leading energy utilities and customers. First Wind’s projects have generated millions of dollars in investment and new revenue for host communities while delivering cost-effective clean energy to homes and businesses across the country.

Source

Wind investments blow Pickens off the Forbes 400 list

Businessman T. Boone Pickens was dropped from the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans after losing much of his fortune in the wind farming industry.

According to Forbes, Pickens’ fortune dropped below the $ 1 billion mark for the first time since 2005. His net worth once amounted to an estimated $2 billion, but now it sits at around $950 million.
He told the hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he had “lost [his] ass in the [wind] business.” He added, “the jobs are in oil and gas.”

In 2008, Pickens debuted his “Pickens Plan,” which aimed to increase the nation’s use of wind energy and decrease America’s dependence on OPEC oil. With the help of investors he spent 80 million dollars on TV ads to promote his plan and $2 billion on General Electric wind turbines. Pickens hoped that once the wind farm was constructed, it would be the largest in the world.

The plan collapsed after natural gas prices fell and selling wind power was no longer economically feasible. He lost $150 million of his personal fortune on the failed wind plan.

After his failure in the wind market, Pickens revamped his Pickens Plan to focus on the use of natural gas as well as any other American-based energy source.

He has made moves to convert all trucks from using gasoline to natural gas. As part of this effort, he has encouraged Obama to use subsidies in order to incentivize the trucking industry to make the switch.

Pickens says that this new endeavor is mainly an effort to “end America’s addiction to foreign oil,” though critics also speculate that although the former billionaire is now 84, profits are driving his interest in energy policy.

The American energy man wants the world to know that he will be able to survive living off of his mere $950 million. When ESPN’s Darren Rovell confronted Pickens over Twitter about his new status as a millionaire, Pickens tweeted, “Don’t worry. At $950 million, I’m doing fine. Funny, my $1 billion charitable giving exceeds my net worth.”

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