At first glance, the island of Vinalhaven is a picture of self-sufficiency. This fishing community 12 miles off the coast of Rockland, Maine is made up of strong, independent-minded people who enjoy a level of freedom from the mainland. But beneath this idyllic image is a hard truth: Vinalhaven is very dependent on extremely expensive, dirty imported energy.

Because electricity is imported through a 12-mile undersea transmission line, islanders pay 25 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity. For a fishing community dealing with slowing tourism and a badly hurting lobster industry, this is unsustainable. Now the community is addressing the problem by developing a 4.5 MW wind project, which will be completed this fall.

I just got back from the island, where I was was talking to some folks about the project. The idea was actually born in 2001, but the community let it die. No one was interested in seeing tall wind turbines in their view-shed and electricity prices were not high enough to raise a critical mass of concern.

Getting ready to pour the foundations for the turbines (right)

But as electricity and oil prices continued to rise, interest in the project grew as well. Then in 2006, a group of community members joined together to begin the process again. This time, it took hold. Residents voted overwhelmingly to approve the project last summer. Only 5 people on the island voted against it.

Why did it succeed the second time around?

“It was because of necessity,” said Adison Ames, a year-round resident and board member of the electric co-op. “If we didn't do anything, many long-time residents couldn't live here. We combated NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) because people had a direct stake in the outcome.”

Adison Ames (left) stands next to a solar system near the ocean

The island consumes about 10.5 MWh of electricity per year. The project is expected to generate more than 11.5 MWh each year. The community will sell excess electricity back to the mainland and also sell the RECs into the New England Power Pool. Those revenue streams, plus cheaper electricity, will create a direct, tangible benefit to people on the island.

The other big factor for success was having a local developer move the project forward. The local electric cooperative created Fox Islands Wind to spearhead the project. Rather than bring in an outside company (which concerned a lot of residents), community leaders decided to go about the process themselves.

“By doing this with people who live here, it created a whole different sense of trust,” said Ames. “We tried to work with a developer from somewhere else, but it didn't make people comfortable.”

Ensuring that people have a financial stake in a project and trust in the process are two of the keys to combating the NIMBY syndrome, said Ames.

According to last year's DOE report looking at the possibility of a 20% wind penetration level in the U.S. by 2030, around 25% of wind projects in the country are delayed or scrapped because of concerns from stakeholders about project citing, financial benefits and developer-stakeholder relationships.

Because of extraordinarily high energy prices there, Vinalhaven is kind of a unique case. But it does offer some lessons in stakeholder engagement.

“You need to create trust, you need to communicate everything that's going on and you need to show people how they will benefit. We did all of that,” said Ames. “It's not over with yet, but we are close.”

After years of hard work, three 1.5-MW GE turbines will be delivered to the island later this week.

Appears Courtesy of RenewableEnergyWorld.com

More cool stuff on Celsias:

Chasing a Legacy: NIMBY Opposition to Wind Power in the Northwest (+ Video)
The Age of Tradeoffs

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