This past Friday, June 19th at 11:00 a.m., over 500 folks gathered in the small town of Lempster, New Hampshire, to celebrate the completion of the first modern, utility-scale wind farm in the state!   Iberdrola Renewables, the developer and owner-operator of the 24 megawatt (12 turbine) project, celebrated this milestone by hosting a wind farm dedication onsite with members of the local community, political dignitaries, customers and partners.

The attendance turnout was impressive, especially given the fact that the weather conditions were not exactly ideal.  But, the periods of drizzle and rain did not deter people from spending a few hours outside, or dampen their excitement and enthusiasm for being part of the celebration.  Attendees were greeted at the dedication with music from a lively local band, High Ground.   Local businesses, landowners, and town administrators all addressed the audience and spoke to how the wind farm project was already benefiting  the community by generating additional revenue, jobs, and business activity.  One Lempster business in particular, Sturgeon’s General Store, proudly displayed new Lempster Wind Farm t-shirts for sale – which will surely be a popular item for town residents and visitors.    After the program, which included Governor Lynch and U.S. Senator Shaheen, attendees ate a delicious BBQ lunch and took tours of a wind turbine, which provided a chance for every interested individual to get up close and personal with the impressive 396 feet tall clean energy machines.

As a Community Energy employee, I have attended a handful of wind farm dedications and each one has definitely told a unique local story.  However, they all share a common thread of community pride for harvesting a home grown energy resource for their state which creates jobs, decreases our nation’s dependence on fossil fuels and cleans up the environment.  Personally, I really appreciate events like the Lempster dedication because they make the intangible Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) commodity come to life and easy to understand.  Although Community Energy customers might purchase RECs from a combination of wind farms across the United States, these purchases are helping drive the demand for the next wind power projects, so in essence all REC purchasers are in some way a part of a local community story, too.

Community Energy was pleased to attend and share the dedication event with customers Cascades, Windham Professionals and Two C Pack, who each purchase Renewable Energy Certificates to match 100% of their electricity usage.  We are proud to have them on board!