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Community Wind Collaborative

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Municipalities wishing to participate in the Community Wind Collaborative (CWC) may apply for specific packages of CWC grants and services offered by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. 

These packages are designed to assist municipalities at successive stages of project planning and development. The two primary sets of services are the (1) Feasibility Study and (2) Standard Financial Offer. 

Communities who wish to apply for a Feasibility Study must first obtain a Municipal Wind Turbine Site Survey from one of MTC’s pre-approved technical wind consultants. The site survey helps municipalities identify locations that may be appropriate for a wind project. The site survey must be completed before a municipality is considered eligible for the Community Wind Collaborative.

1) Feasibility Study
A Feasibility Study is a series of related studies aimed at establishing the technical and economic feasibility of a municipal wind project in a specific location. MTC offers feasibility studies at no charge to Massachusetts municipalities that meet certain criteria.  To be eligible for a Feasibility Study, a municipality must first undertake a municipal Wind Turbine Site Survey conducted by a technical wind expert designated by MTC. If the site survey identifies a suitable site for a community scale wind turbine, and the municipality is interested in pursuing such a project, it is invited to apply for a Feasibility Study.

The CWC Feasibility Study focuses on two areas: wind monitoring and technical analysis. During the wind monitoring phase, wind experts will work with the municipality to erect a meteorological tower and collect twelve months of wind data using standard anemometry equipment.  During this time, MTC also assigns a technical consultant to undertake a technical analysis of the proposed project. This technical analysis consists of a site screening analysis, photo simulations, airspace review, and other analyses as warranted by the project.  The technical consultant also performs economic and financial modeling based on the wind data.  The results are presented together in a Feasibility Study. A municipality can draw on the Feasibility Study to inform its decision about whether to proceed with a community scale wind project.

2) Standard Financial Offer
The Standard Financial Offer (SFO) is designed to assist municipalities committed to a wind project on municipally-owned or controlled land through late-stage development hurdles. Through the SFO, MTC offers municipalities (1) access to the services they need to develop the project, and (2) project financing in the form of an agreement to purchase Renewable Energy Certificates from the project.  Application for the SFO proceeds in two phases. In Phase 1, a qualified Massachusetts municipality committed to developing a wind project of at least 500 kW on municipal land submits an application requesting that it be awarded the Standard Financial Offer. The municipality must know the location and general size of its project, and must have obtained formal project approval from Town Meeting and any municipal agency, authority, or board that controls the project site. It must also present a CWC Feasibility Study or an equivalent analysis to demonstrate that its project is feasible. If an award is made, MTC will issue an award letter and reserve sufficient funds to cover the Renewable Energy Certificate (“REC”) Purchase portion of the award. In addition, MTC will provide the municipality with up to $150,000, or the equivalent in services, to assist it to develop the project and seek development partners (developers, contractors, electric co-ops, etc.). In Phase 2, a municipality that has received a REC Purchase award proceeds to contracting with MTC once the project developer is known. 

If you have specific questions about the program, please contact Marybeth Campbell, 508-870-0312 x 238.