A Step in the Right Direction

The Norco County Commissioners came to an agreement with Pennwind on a new lease of county land yesterday. The new agreement calls for Pennwind to pay the county a 6% royalty on a kilowatt produced versus 3% in the original contract. The acreage from the lease was reduced from 900 to 75 acres.

Pennwind still has deed and title issues to settle with a California-based company on the 30 million dollar project.

Like I indicated before, once the project is completed the cost to produce a kilowatt should relatively remain stable of the life of the 29-year lease.

Northumberland County Blowin In The Wind

Northumberland County's effort to partner with a private firm for a proposed wind farm south of Shamokin may be blowin' in the wind very soon. Commissioner Vinny Clausi was not on the board when the original deal was signed back in 2007 by the previous board.

The sticking point seems to be the flat fee of 56,000 per year the county will see over a 20-year period. Pennwind want to sell it's lease to a California company. Pennwind have leased the land since 2007 for a grand total of $3.

Sawicki becomes annoyed. Why isn't there solid figures on the acreage???

If the meeting becomes public with Pennwind the question to ask is how much of the cost of electricity generation by a wind farm will be fixed over the life of the lease. You put up an wind farm and it's done?

Thanks to our Pennsylvania legislators having no balls, the rate caps for electricity have expired. While the $56,000 flat fee royalty seems promising in the first few years, would it be more prudent for the county to look for a percentage?

Why was the first lease given away so cheaply?