By PAULA TRACY
New Hampshire Union Leader
GROTON — The tiny town of Groton has a huge new source of revenue.
The windfall is from a wind farm now going up along its ridge lines and visible from the Pemi-Baker Valley.
Selectmen inked a 15-year-agreement with the Spanish wind energy giant Iberdrola which brings in $528,000 in the first year. The 2012 Groton town budget is $546,000; if all approved warrant articles are included, it totals $742,000, according to Pamela Hamel, administrative assistant to the Selectboard.
Iberdrola is moving to complete its $120 million, 48-megawatt project by the end of the year.
The Groton payment in lieu of tax agreement states that once the turbines are licensed and operating, each of the 24 turbines will net the town $22,000 a year. The PILOT base fee also increases annually by 2.5 percent, Hamel said.
“It's huge,” Hamel said of the tax impact of the project, which is the only commercial business in town.
She said the community of just under 600 has nine miles of paved road, six street lights, one bridge, no fire department or ambulance, and a tax rate of $12.24 per $1,000 of assessed value. Groton sends about 70 children to neighboring Newfound Regional School District — the town's largest expense.
Hamel said the Groton Selectboard is first looking to use some of the money to capitalize reserve funds and to fix up the roads, which she said are in tough shape.
“We've been on a shoestring budget for so long,” she said.
She noted the town has already received construction payments for 2011 and 2012 totaling $100,000 and also netted $236,000 when the land being used for the project went out of current use. The town will still receive taxes on the private land, but at a higher rate beginning next April.
The reaction from townspeople to the 400-foot-high turbines has been “great,” she said.
Few residents even see the project from their property, because of the way the roads and views are configured.
“We're kind of disappointed about that,” she said.
She acknowledged that not all in the region are as enthusiastic, particularly those who live in the Baker River Valley who are used to looking at ridge lines without any structures.
Surrounding towns do not receive any income because the project lies solely in Groton.
New Hampshire will receive money through its utility property tax assessment, which has not yet been established. It will also receive business enterprise and business profits tax revenue.
The electricity from the project, estimated to be enough to power 20,000 homes, is being sold to NSTAR at an undisclosed price per-kilowatt-hour.
Ed Cherian, the project developer, said 18 of the 24 Groton turbines are now complete.
“We're actually ahead of schedule,” he said.
While he said there are likely individuals and landowners who are not happy with the sight of the towers, the project has enjoyed the cooperation and support of not only Groton, but Holderness, Rumney and Plymouth officials.
The company's first wind farm in Lempster is half the size of the Groton project and almost four years old.
http://www.unionleader.com/article/2...WS05/708279935