About Us - History

WindPole was founded in 2007 after conversations on distributed generation between Steve Kropper and the management team. They were exploring a power grid topology that would be community based, less vulnerable to supply interruptions, and not subject to the monumental permitting battles that characterize large nuclear or coal fired central station power plants and some off-shore wind farms. They focused on wind, but needed an edge to address the two impediments to wind power development: community opposition and the associated time and cost penalties of contentious permitting. They found the answer in a mostly forgotten communications network built during the Cold War.

Research found proud veterans of AT&T's Long Lines Division eager to talk about AT&T's national network of point to point, line of sight microwave TAG towers. This national defense and civilian communication network comprises over 1,000 sites. It was designed to maintain communication links to all major metro areas in the US in the event of nuclear attack. The WindPole team reasoned that the towers could serve a purpose in aiding wind resource evaluation and that the tower's host communities would be receptive to reuse of the TAG tower sites to solve the nation's energy problem. All sites have permitted access roads and power links to the electrical distribution grid thus addressing a cost and permitting impediment to many wind power projects. In addition, the communication towers hold operating permits from various Federal agencies including the FAA and FCC. Again, the sites have attributes that can accelerate wind power development and lower the development cost.

Further digging identified Boston based American Tower as the current owner of the network, acquired in a complex agreement with AT&T. WindPole approached management at American Tower and an agreement was struck for WindPole Ventures to initiate development on the sites.