Ginn development may double LED's current power load

LYNDONVILLE, VERMONT - If the Ginn Company follows through on its development plans for Burke Mountain, it will need 16.512 megawatts of power over the next 15 years.

That is more than double what the Lyndonville Electric Department now provides.

"It's 115 percent more than the whole system load of 14.3 megawatts now," LED manager Ken Mason told the Lyndonville Village Trustees recently.

The village-owned utility calculates its future needs on 3 percent to 4 percent annual growth. Mason said he has been meeting with the Ginn people and if they do what they say, "those figures are out the window."

The Burke Mountain ski area and condominiums now use 3.042 megawatts of power. Plans to create a 15-acre complex of stores, hotel, lifts and a water park at the Mid-Burke area would require an additional 9.459 megawatts. Another 500 homes, a golf course, water supply system and sewage brings the total to 16.512.

Mason said he will invite Ginn representatives to come to a meeting of the trustees to explain the developer's needs.

Where that extra power will come from is a question that no one can answer right now. LED and other utilities around the state are facing a supply shortage by the year 2009, according to Scott Corse, general manager for Vermont Public Power Supply Authority. Corse was at the meeting to talk to trustees about a new project being planned in Swanton. VPPSA provides services to its 14 members which are owned by municipalities.

"LED and all the other utilities in Vermont will need a new power source," Corse said. "You can build or take your chances on the market."

VPPSA is proposing to build and operate a two GE turbine generating units run on natural gas in Swanton. If LED signs a power sales agreement with VPPSA, the village will agree to pay for 16.5 percent of the costs to build and operate the plant. Over the next 20 years, the total cost is estimated to be $6.1 million, Corse said. If LED chooses to purchase needed power from other sources, the cost will be about $12.8 million.

The proposed plant is small - 40 megawatts - compared to industry standards, Corse said. The total cost of $15.5 million will be shared by VPPSA members who decide to join in.

Village voters will have to approve the deal at a special village meeting, Corse said. Then the project will have to get approval from the Public Service Board, a process similar to wind development.

LED had a contract with East Haven Windfarm to buy power generated by four 1.5 megawatt turbines on East Mountain in East Haven, but the PSB denied a certificate of public good for the project in a recent decision.

Trustees expressed interest in the Swanton project and will plan a special village meeting.

"The sooner the better," Mason said. "In all the years I've been in this business, I've never seen prices go down."