Agenda - Planning Commission - 07/12/2012

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Zoning Bulletin May 10, 2012 I Volume 6 I Issue 9 Particular Uses —State Agency Approves Wind Energy Project Opponents dispute finding that project will have "attributable" "tangible benefits" Citation: Friends of Boundary Mountains v. Land Use Regulation Com'n, 2012 ME 53, 2012 WL 1134914 (Me. 2012) MAINE (04/05/12)—This case addressed the issue of the interpretation of "tangible benefits" required for approval of a wind energy project under Maine statutory law. The Background/Facts: In December 2009, TransCanada filed an applica- tion with Maine's Land Use Regulation Commission ("LURC") for a permit to construct the Kibby Expansion Wind Power Project in the townships of Kibby and Chain of Ponds. As initially proposed, the project was a 45 megawatt wind energy generation facility, including 15 wind turbines, created as an expansion of an existing 44-turbine wind facility operated by TransCanada. Following the public comment period, LURC voted to approve TransCana- da's amended application. Among other things, LURC's decision found that the project would provide "significant tang[ible] benefits" as a result of the following: "the employment of several hundred workers during construction; economic benefits to local businesses during the construction period; the cre- ation of one permanent job in operations and maintenance; a $110,000 grant from TransCanada to the Department of Labor (DOL) to support green jobs training in Franklin County; $13million in anticipated income taxes over the next twenty-five years; a $110,000 grant from TransCanada to the High Peaks Alliance (HPA) to support land conservation in Franklin County; and $10 mil- lion in property taxes over the next twenty years." LURC also noted that TransCanada planned to contribute approximately $660,000 to the local com- munity over the next 20 years as part of a "community benefits package," Maine statutory law, 12 M.R.S. § 685-B(4-B)(D), requires that a developer of a wind energy project (here, TransCanada) must demonstrate that the proposed generating facility "[w]ill provide significant tangible benefits." "Tangible benefits" is defined under 35-A M.R.S. § 3451(10). Effective July 12, 2010, "tangible benefits" was defined as meaning:environmental or economic improve- ments or benefits to residents of [Maine] attributable to the construction, opera- tion and maintenance of an expedited wind energy development, including but not limited to: property tax payments resulting from the development; other payments to a host community, including but not limited to, payments under a community benefit agreement; construction related employment; local purchase of materials; employment in operations and maintenance; reduced property taxes; reduced electrical rates; land or natural resource conservation; performance of construc- tion, operations and maintenance activities by trained, qualified and licensed workers . . . ; or other comparable benefits, with particular attention to assurance of such benefits to the host community or communities to the extent practicable and affected neighboring communities. © 2012 Thomson Reuters 9