Published: October 28, 2009 12:04 am      

Somerset County receives $7M power boost

BERLIN — For years, leaders in this Somerset County community have considered using wind power to boost their electrical system.

Those efforts received a big boost Tuesday, when the federal government announced a $7 million “clean renewable energy bond” for a three-turbine project just east of Berlin.

“It’s a positive thing for the project,” said Kerry Claycomb, Berlin’s secretary. “The lower the cost of the project, the lower the power costs.”

Berlin is one of the few area communities that purchase electricity wholesale and then supply customers through a borough-owned distribution system. Hooversville and East Conemaugh boroughs are other local examples.

Berlin, which buys electricity from American Municipal Power Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, had to raise its residential customers’ rates by an average of 2 cents per kilowatt in 2008.

Officials say wind power from nearby turbines could stabilize those rates for the future.

“If we can acquire some power from wind, and do it at a cost that’s less than what we’re paying for power otherwise, it just makes sense,” Claycomb said.

American Municipal Power and Berlin officials have developed a plan that would place three 1.8-megawatt turbines on White Horse Mountain in Brothersvalley Township. The borough already leases land there from Berlin Borough Municipal Authority.

“The project is in the permitting phase at this point,” said Kent Carson, a spokesman for American Municipal Power.

Project costs have been estimated at $15 million. So Carson said Tuesday’s announcement by the U.S. Treasury Department is “great news.”

The $7 million comes in the form of bonds that help energy-project developers get lower-cost financing for their projects. Investors receive federal tax credits, which greatly reduces the amount of interest a developer must pay when borrowing, Treasury Department officials said.

If the Berlin project is constructed, the borough would be able to buy up to 51 percent of the power generated by the turbines, Claycomb said. The remainder would go to other communities that buy electricity from American Municipal Power, he said.

“We’re still going to have to rely on fossil-fuel power, but we’re trying to diversify,” Claycomb said.