Antrim Wind project underway, with turbines visible from Gregg Lake

This summer, Antrim Town Beach visitors had a prime view of the first three Antrim Wind turbines going up. The project, which has a total of nine turbines across Tuttle Hill and Willard Mountain, is on track to be completed and online by the end of August, Select Board Chairman John Robertson said. “Everything seems to be right on schedule,” Robertson said. The Select Board expects to schedule a meeting to get a more specific review of the construction schedule this month, Robertson said. Antrim Wind is owned by a subsidiary of TransAlta, which operates more than 20 wind farms and 900 turbines across Canada, the United States and Australia. Selectman Mike Genest took a five-day trip to Alberta at the end of May to tour a TransAlta run wind farm and see the company headquarters and wind control center. The trip made him feel secure about the future operation of Antrim’s turbines, he said. “I was very happy to see their level of expertise,” Genest said. When complete, the Antrim Wind project is expected to produce 28.8 megawatts of energy from nine turbines. TransAlta has already secured two long-term power purchase agreements for the sale of the energy.