Berkshire Wind Cooperative Announces New Wind Project on Brodie Mountain

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Contact: David Tuohey, Director of Communications & External Affairs (413) 308-1392 dtuohey@mmwec.org Berkshire Wind Cooperative Announces New Wind Project on Brodie Mountain July 12, 2018 -- The Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation (BWPCC), owner of the 10-turbine, 15-megawatt Berkshire Wind Power Project in Hancock, Massachusetts, is announcing “Phase Two” of the wind farm atop Brodie Mountain. Phase Two will include construction of two new wind turbines, bringing the site’s generating capacity to 19.6 megawatts. Plans include construction of two, 2.3-megawatt turbines adjacent to the existing turbines, with construction expected to start this fall and be completed in spring 2019, according to the BWPCC. Improvements in blade technology will allow the new turbines to begin operating and generating power at lower wind speeds, further increasing potential output for the wind farm. The turbine blades will utilize a feathered blade trailing edge, reminiscent of a bird’s wing, to minimize blade wake and sound levels. The additional turbines will be erected on land already cleared for the original turbines, minimizing environmental impact to the Brodie Mountain ridgeline. When it began operation in 2011, Berkshire Wind was Massachusetts’ largest inland wind farm. Today it is the state’s second largest wind farm, operating successfully at one of windiest sites in Massachusetts with an average capacity factor of nearly 40%. BWPCC embodies a cooperative initiative of the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC) and 14 of its member municipal utilities participating in the first phase of the project, including utilities based in the communities of Ashburnham, Boylston, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield and West Boylston. Participants in this second phase of the project include the municipal utilities in Boylston, Chicopee, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Peabody, Russell, Sterling, Wakefield and West Boylston. MMWEC signed a contract in 2004 with Berkshire Wind’s original developer to purchase all of the project’s output.