Feasibility Re-Erecting Falmouth Massachusetts Wind Turbines

Commercial turbines installed today are 2 Megawatts and cost roughly $3-$4 million installed.

Falmouth Town Meeting in November 2019 voted Article 14 to spend 2.5 million to move the wind turbines and more down the road.

No one told them at today's prices they could have a brand new wind turbine installed for about the same price.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative now the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center was the original owner of two foreign-made Vestas V-82 type 1.65 megawatt wind turbines.

The cost of two turbines at that time 5.2 million for both and around 5 million to install them in 2010 and 2012. Totally lost due to no permits 10 million.

The turbines could not be sold at auction in 2008 and the state gave Falmouth 1 million dollars in advanced renewable energy credits to take one of the turbines.

The gear-driven wind turbines were designed in the late 1990s and today nearing the end of their life.

The replacement of a gearbox and blades today surpasses the original cost of a Vestas V-82 and indeed the cost of a brand new larger wind turbine.

Costs today for a utility-scale wind turbine range from about $1.3 million to $2.2 million per MW of nameplate capacity installed. Most of the commercial-scale turbines installed today are 2 MW in size and cost roughly $3-$4 million installed.

Both the two town-owned wind turbines installed in 2010 and 2012 have not operated since Massachusetts Superior Court shut down the nuisance in June 2017.

Falmouth Town Meeting voted 2.5 million in November 2019 to disassemble and store both gear-driven wind turbines designed in the late 1990s.

The spending continues engineering, litigation, and future finances.

Massachusetts Dept of Environmental Protection Brokered A 5 Million Loan Through the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust using the State Revolving Fund Called A Project Regulatory Agreement on Falmouth Wind II.

Debt remaining ARRA loan 3.5 million plus 2 percent interest

If a buyer could not be found, there is the possibility of scrap salvage value for the wind turbine components.

Raw materials which have salvage values are generally steel (tower) and copper (generator windings and wiring). The wind turbine consists of four steel tower sections, totaling 119,500 kilograms (approximately 131.7 tons) of steel.
There are an estimated five tons of copper in the wiring and windings of the generator and transformer for each wind turbine.
Based on this data, the scrap value of steel and copper is estimated to be $51,000 per turbine, or $102,000 total, less the cost of some minor materials preparation and transportation.

Why Thousands of Wind Turbine Blades Wind Up in Landfills