Secretary Chu Announces Closing of $117 Million Loan Guarantee for Kahuku Wind Power Project


Washington D.C. --- Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced that the Department of Energy has finalized a $117 million loan guarantee for Kahuku Wind Power, LLC, the owner and operator of the Kahuku Wind Power project. The project includes the development of an innovative 30 megawatt (MW) wind power plant that will supply electricity to approximately 7,700 households per year. According to company estimates, the project, located in Kahuku, Hawaii, will create over 200 jobs on the island of Oahu.

"This project is another example of America's leadership in the global clean energy economy," said Secretary Chu. "Through the Recovery Act, we are supporting innovative projects that are adding to our workforce in the short term while laying the foundation for additional job creation in the long term."

"This project represents what our national energy policy is attempting to accomplish: clean energy displacing imported oil in Hawaii to generate electricity, and in the process reducing our carbon output and creating green jobs," said Senator Daniel Inouye

"The Kahuku wind project will bring Hawaii 30 megawatts closer to energy independence," said Senator Daniel K. Akaka. "Reducing our reliance on imported oil will mean cleaner skies and more local jobs. This project is an important step forward."

"There is an urgent need to establish renewable energy sources in Hawaii and the state has mapped an ambitious plan to achieve this. The federal loan guarantee announced today boosts this effort," said Congresswoman Mazie K. Hirono. "The Kahuku Wind Project is the type of project that Hawaii needs to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and keep billions of dollars in our economy."

The project is expected to be the first to meet reliability requirements for wind and solar energy set by Hawaiian Electric Company, the only electric utility operating on Oahu. Successful integration of these new, clean energy technologies is expected to result in increased renewable energy generation and wind energy expansion in Hawaii.

The Kahuku wind power plant uses twelve 2.5 megawatt Liberty wind turbine generators manufactured by Clipper Windpower of Carpinteria, California and a 10 megawatt battery energy storage system (BESS) manufactured by Xtreme Power Inc. of Kyle, Texas. The BESS will modulate and smooth fluctuations in power output caused by changes in wind levels. When completed, Kahuku will produce the first-ever combined installation of Clipper wind turbines and Xtreme's battery energy storage system.

First Wind Holdings, LLC, the project sponsor and independent U.S.-based wind energy developer, successfully built and currently operates Hawaii's largest wind energy facility, the 30 megawatt Kaheawa Wind project in Maui. Kaheawa Wind serves nearly nine percent of Maui's annual electricity needs with clean, renewable energy.

Including this loan, the Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office has closed or offered conditional commitments for loan guarantees to support 13 clean energy projects

Wayland-Cohocton wins wireless classroom
School to receive 20 notebook computers, wireless access, and more


By Tyler Briggs
The Evening Tribune
Posted Jul 28, 2010 @ 08:47 AM
Wayland, N.Y. — Students at Wayland-Cohocton Central School may notice a few new things in the classroom when school begins in the fall.

That’s because the school was one of three across the country to win the eighth-annual “Win a Wireless Lab” sweepstakes.

Wayland-Cohocton will receive a 21st century classroom valued at approximately $48,000.
The prizes include 20 notebook computers or tablet PCs; three wireless-access points; an interactive whiteboard; 20 response devices; a video projector; a document camera; a laser-jet printer; a video camcorder; a mobile cart; and $5,000 Discovery Education grant.

The contest was put on by CDW Government LLC and Discovery Education.

More than 118,000 entries were submitted, the most since the contest began in 2003. Entries arrived from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, including 7,000 Twitter entries.

Besides Wayland-Cohocton, the other winning schools were from Mechanicsville, Va., and Swansea, Ill.

“Today’s students have been surrounded by technology almost since birth,” Bob Kirby, vice president of K-12 education at CDW, said in a release. “Their teachers use technology extensively in their private lives, but tight budgets mean schools cannot always bring technology to the classroom. The Win a Wireless Lab sweepstakes can help bridge that gap.”

Winning the contest will help Wayland-Cohocton tremendously, Anita Pragle, the middle school library aide who applied to the contest on behalf of the school, said.

“Our middle school students have two labs and 13 computers in the library, which is not enough for a whole class lesson,” she said. “When the new technology is fully integrated, more students will benefit, and we should see student engagement increase. More access to these state-of-the-art tools will help prepare our students for their future, where the importance of technology and 21st century skills continues to grow.”

During the school year, CDW and Discovery Education officials will be at Wayland-Cohocton Central School for a local kickoff event and teacher professional development.

Copyright 2010 Hornell Evening Tribune. Some rights reserved

Finally, everyone will realize what Golisano and Pitman representing, Empire Wind Energy, LLC, had in mind. This article listed below does not even mention Alfred. From the beginning Golisano stated he was against Wind Power, then the flip-flop. Pitman and Golisano performed their "magic tricks" at many different towns in the area, presenting his ideas for a more lucrative program for communities to benefit from Wind Energy. Cohocton Wind Watch (CWW) hammered the Town of Cohocton, asking why don't you listen to them? Does the quote- "When it sounds too good to be true, it usually is" sound familiar? I, personally, attended many of his quorums at different towns; I have recordings of the same. They geared their meetings to whatever the public wanted to hear. Smaller turbines, sure; more money, sure; whatever you want, we'll give it to you. The one thing they never did was build anything. All they did was entice the towns into a false hope that they, too, would be able to experience some prosperity. What they have left is nothing, and in some cases debt caused by the "snake oil salesmen". They made some calls to the towns, not even speaking to them in person, or by letter. Wiped out their website and disconnected their phones, and slithered back into the shadows. Golisano doesn't even have a NYS residency anymore. For such a prominent benefactor, have you ever seen him give funds to anything that wasn't renamed in his honor? This is just another pat on the back, Tom, enjoy this one!
In Cohocton, we have a project, everyone has a cut in their town property taxes, we have a Town that is paying the bills and surviving. Thankfully, our town didn't listen to Empire Wind. As the Town of Benton stated, you need a good, honest developer, we are fortunate to have one!

EMPIRE WIND, LLC Gone...with the Wind





For three years, Empire Wind Energy, LLC had been whipping up dreams of wind towers and wind farms in the towns of Huron, Wolcott, Butler, Sodus, Rose and Galen. Countless meetings were held with each municipality and general presentations were made to the combined host towns. Along the way “Host Community Agreements” were formulated that promised jobs, revenue sharing and eventual ownership back to the host communites of any wind towers constructed.

Landowners were getting excited as every hilltop was proclaimed a possible windfall for wind generated energy. Farmers were ready to mow down trees and crops to cash in on the chance of getting in on the ground floor of green wind energy production. Towns throughout the area began changing zoning laws to allow for both small and giant wind turbines.

The idea was that Empire Wind Energy LLC, backed by Rochester/Paychex founder and billionaire Tom Golisano, would upfront the money for the projects and it would be a win-win for municipalities jumping onboard. Golisano, along with Pitman made a presentation to area business leaders, town board members, supervisors and county officials at a luncheon held at the former Cutter’s (Way Point) Restaurant on Sodus Bay in the Town of Huron two years ago.

According to Wolcott Town Supervisor Kim Park, the last time the towns of Wolcott, Butler, Sodus, Galen and Rose had a meeting with Empire Wind Energy back in April, the joint group was pushing to get progress reports and information from the Company.

Local town supervisors rallied around the plans that included huge tax incentives for the initial investor, but questions began surfacing concerning the eventual ownership of the wind turbines. After the tax credits expired, the host towns would eventually take over the wind power generating machines under the developed host community agreements. Plans were presented that showed how the host communities and landowners could gradually cash in on the green technology.

What wasn’t made clear was who would pay for upkeep once they became a landowner/municipality responsibility. Would the aging wind structures even be profitable? Could the wind projects generate the energy promised? What about potential grants? Could wind energy in this part of the state exist without grants and tax credits?

Wayne County participating towns and supervisors began getting the calls this past week. Empire State Wind Energy LLC, President and Chief Operating Officer Keith Pitman told Huron Supervisor Laurie Crane last Thursday that it was not economically feasible for Huron to get any wind turbines “at this time”. The remaining town supervisors also received calls from Pitman informing them that the projects were out of wind.

Park said she heard that costs for selling energy to the grid did not meet Company projections.

Empire State Wind Energy called Benton (Yates County) NY Town Supervisor Bob Clark last Tuesday. “He (Pitman) told me the proposed project would not happen, that it was not a profitable situation.” Clark said he also heard that Empire had ended their project in the Alfred area. “I did not have a good feeling about this from the beginning. A project is only as good as the developer,” added Clark.

Clark also said that, from the beginning, his town flatly refused to take ownership of any wind towers in their community agreement. “In ten years, those things go bad,” he commented.

Luckily, attorney fees accumulated by the towns following the Empire plan were paid, except in the Town of Huron, where Supervisor Crane said the company still owes their attorney about $5000. The other fees following through on developing the agreements have been paid by Empire Wind Energy.

Wolcott Town Supervisor Kim Park, along with Rose Supervisor Lucinda Collier, stated that although the potential wind project has derailed, they both sought only to advance any project that could bring a revenue stream into town coffers. “My town has minimal industry and it is my obligation to look for any resources for income,” said Collier. She stated that a great deal of time has been put in by the town board as well as zoning and planning boards based upon Empire’s proposals.

One supervisor said he became suspect when Pitman showed up in his town with his wife and one of his children to erect a sample wind testing tower on their own.

Calls to Keith Pitman’s private cell phone and the Company’s headquarters in Oneida, NY yielded only answering messages and no calls were returned.