Falmouth Wind Turbines Demolition Awarded Plus $975,000.00

Falmouth Wind Turbines Demolition Awarded Plus $975,000.00

Demolition of Falmouth Wastewater Treatment Facility Wind Energy Facility

The wind turbine machines, called Wind 1 and Wind 2, were installed more than 10 years ago. The first turbine was shut down in 2015 and the second one followed in 2017, after up to eleven lawsuits and multiple appeals.

The demolition bid was closed on April 14, 2022. The scope of work included the demolition of two town-owned 1.65-megawatt wind turbines.

The bid according to sources appears to have been awarded around May 1, 2022, to remove both wind turbines to the low bidder.

Note # Falmouth Wind II loan or a grant?

The Massachusetts Clean Water Trust made a loan (the “Loan”) to the Town of Falmouth (the “Town”) under Loan Agreement No. CWSG-09-36 dated January 22, 2010 (the “Loan Agreement”), to finance the wind energy facility (“Wind 2”).

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act "loan" on Falmouth Wind II was voted by town meeting members at a Special Town Meeting in June of 2009. Falmouth Wind II had to remain energy efficient or the ARRA money had to be paid back.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection provided the Project Regulatory Agreement loan on Falmouth Wind II between the town and Massachusetts Clean Water Trust.

The Massachusetts Clean Water Trust on May 5, 2022, authorized the acceptance of a lump-sum payment of not less than $975,000 from the Town of Falmouth in exchange for the cancellation of the debt of the town to the Trust under Loan Agreement No. CWSG-09-36 dated January 22, 2010, on Falmouth Wind II.