More than nine years after it was first publicly proposed, and nearly a year after it was approved by state environmental officials, construction is about to begin on a commercial wind farm in western Washington County.
Downeast Wind, a project of Virginia-based Apex Clean Energy, has hired Woolwich-based Reed & Reed as the general contractor of the wind power project, which will include 30 turbine sites spread out among various locations in the town of Columbia and in townships 18 and 24 in the state’s Unorganized Territory.
Twenty of the turbines, each with a maximum height of 656 feet, will be north of the state’s 5,600-acre Great Heath ecological reserve in Township 18. Six turbines of the same height will be erected west of the heath, between the Pleasant River and the Deblois town line, and four more will be erected along blueberry barrens south of the heath in Columbia.
Some of the turbines will be erected roughly eight miles from a site in neighboring Columbia Falls where the Worcester family hopes to develop Flagpole of Freedom Park, which would feature a 1,461-foot-tall observation tower that would double as the world’s tallest flagpole. The Worcesters have not submitted any applications for their proposal.
The Downeast Wind project was first publicly proposed in 2014 and, after the company formally submitted its permit application to Maine Department of Environmental Protection in May 2021, the state approved the project in December 2022.
When completed, the $188 million wind project is expected to have a 126-megawatt capacity, which would be enough to power 37,000 typical houses for a year. The company says it hopes to connect the turbines to the grid in early 2025.
In approving the development, the state determined that only six turbines would be visible from the protected public Great Heath property. Because the heath does not get heavy use by the public, and because of dense vegetation along the Pleasant River that will largely screen the turbines from view, the state decided the project would not have an unreasonable impact on public use of the reserve.
The agency also determined that the project will not have an unreasonable impact on the scenic character or related uses within eight miles of the project area.
To mitigate the wind power project’s impact on wildlife habitat, Downeast Wind will contribute nearly $130,000 to a state natural resource protection fund; purchase a nearly 700-acre parcel in Jonesport to preserve as habitat for migrating songbirds; and set deed restrictions in a 500-acre parcel in Township 18 to offset potential impacts on sand pipers, which are listed by the state as a threatened species.
The company also agreed to curtail turbine blade speeds at night during certain times of the year to minimize the potential harm to bats.
Other Maine companies contracted to help develop the wind farm include Sargent Corp. in Orono, Comprehensive Land Tech in China, and Owen J. Folsom Inc. of Old Town., according to Apex Clean Energy. Construction of the turbine sites and related infrastructure is projected to create more than 300 temporary jobs, while six more people will be employed full-time for ongoing operations and maintenance of the site after construction is completed, Apex said.
Apex Clean Energy said the project will generate $20 million in tax revenue for the town of Columbia and for Washington County through tax-increment financing and community benefit programs, and an additional $30 million over 30 years in direct lease payments by the company to local landowners.