Chilmark eyes wind agreement

Chilmark took the first official step on the Island to hold the offshore wind industry more accountable Tuesday, on the heels of a more proactive Nantucket, which has pushed for better communication and compensation from offshore wind officials this summer.

The Chilmark Select Board decided Tuesday to open up dialogue with other Island towns to gauge interest in collaborating on actions similar to Nantucket’s, which have included legal settlements and demands for increased dialogue and participation. The town’s interests are beyond just Vineyard Wind 1, and include all other wind farms off the coast of the Island.

Jeffrey Maida, Chilmark Select Board member, presented the agenda item to the board, and said the Island needs better communication from offshore wind officials for projects near the Vineyard, and possibly even funds for emergency situations after the blade failure last summer.

“I think it’s real important that we have some money somewhere for cleanup if something happens,” Maida said at the Chilmark town offices Tuesday. If the tide or wind had been different, the broken blade debris could’ve easily washed up on Vineyard beaches, Maida added: “I think we need to think down the road that something could seriously happen, and it’s going to cost a ton of money to clean it up.”

The board is also looking to review a community agreement reached with Vineyard Wind, which is the first of its kind in the offshore wind industry. The agreement has been the subject of some criticism among Islanders for having a conflict of interest, as the group that negotiated the agreement on behalf of the Island receives payment from Vineyard Wind.

“Regardless of the content or merits of the so-called community benefits agreement, it’s just fundamentally defective from a process standpoint, and so I think the town, Chilmark, and other towns, need to revisit this question, and they need to represent their citizens in coming up with a proper agreement,” Fred Khedouri, a Chilmark resident who was present at the select board meeting on Tuesday, told The Times.

The members of the board said that if other towns were to work together, there’d be a variety of input on the Island’s concerns.

“Working as an Island instead of just Chilmark will be very helpful to present our concerns as an Island, not just as one town,” Maida told The Times Wednesday. The only motion made Tuesday was to gauge interest in collaboration from other towns.

Edgartown, where town officials have discussed legal strategy with regard to Vineyard Wind in executive session, expressed interest in working with Chilmark.

“Edgartown would welcome the opportunity to collaborate with any Island towns to develop an approach similar to Nantucket’s progress with Vineyard Wind, and ensure mutual benefits for the Vineyard as a whole,” James Hagerty, town administrator, said Wednesday.

Earlier this summer, Nantucket received $10.5 million in a settlement from GE Vernova, the manufacturer of the Haliade-X blade that broke last summer, and publicized a list of 15 demands to Vineyard Wind officials after town officials said the developer didn’t meet expectations set forth in Nantucket’s community benefits agreement (CBA), also known as the Good Neighbor Agreement, signed in 2020.

Some of the demands made by Nantucket, on the basis of its Good Neighbor Agreement, which has the town as a party to the contract, are the establishment of communication protocols, an escrow fund for potential cleanup costs, and public input on new emergency response plans. The town of Nantucket and Vineyard Wind officials started talks in late August, and plan to reconvene on Sept. 12 to continue negotiations.

Vineyard Wind is the only offshore wind project to hold a CBA with the Vineyard. Recently made public in August, 10 years after the original document was signed, the Vineyard’s CBA was negotiated through the nonprofit Vineyard Power, and outlines obligations for the developer and nonprofit. It arranges for Vineyard Power to support and advocate for the Vineyard Wind 1 project in the community in return for a fund and customized benefits for the Island, such as energy savings for low-income ratepayers, investments in solar and battery-storage projects on-Island, and modernization of the Tisbury working waterfront, as well as maintaining communication with the towns, fisheries stakeholders, and tribal communities.

The agreement also precludes the nonprofit from providing services to any competing organization, including other offshore wind projects, without the consent of Vineyard Wind.

It differs from Nantucket’s Good Neighbor Agreement in that Nantucket’s was meant to resolve adverse effects of the wind farm under the National Historic Preservation Act, and includes agreements about the color of the turbines and installation of the aircraft detection lighting system.

“I think it’s important to understand what the community benefits package that was agreed to on our behalf actually provides to the town,” Matthew Poole, select board member, said on Tuesday.

Khedouri — who wears multiple hats in Chilmark as owner of Martha Rose Fisheries, member of the zoning board of appeals, and Land Bank commissioner — was there as a resident. He suggested the community benefit agreement should be revisited, because Vineyard Power receives $181,967.82 annually (with a 2 percent adjustment every year for “reasonable and necessary expenses, including staffing needs to execute the tasks”), and is an advocate for Vineyard Wind.

In referencing the idea that Vineyard Power represents the Island in negotiating with Vineyard Wind, he explained to The Times, “I mean, you don’t have to be a conflict-of-interest lawyer to figure out that that’s a conflict.” 

Khedouri, who worked in the White House under Ronald Reagan as associate director for natural resources, energy, and science at the Office of Management and Budget, among other roles, believes Chilmark should create its own agreement to supplant the current CBA.

When asked whether the nonprofit would be open to talks with towns about the agreement, Richard Andre, executive director of Vineyard Power, said the nonprofit “remains committed to support[ing] the towns, and we encourage continued dialogue directly with Vineyard Wind and other offshore wind developers.”

The discussion didn’t involve just Vineyard Wind, which is the main subject of Nantucket’s recent moves. Board members are looking at other developments as well. “I feel that all the wind farms should be willing to work with the Vineyard,” Maida told The Times. 

There are currently nine projects — at different stages from finished to under construction to not fully permitted, or even halted by the federal government — off the coast of the Vineyard.