Ex-state rep agrees to pay misled wind turbine customers

By Jeannie M. Nuss, Globe Correspondent

A former state representative agreed Thursday to pay nearly $500,000 in restitution for misleading customers of his wind turbine business, according to a statement released by Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Former Democratic Representative Mark Howland of East Freetown will have one year to pay $488,000 in restitution for violating the Massachusetts Consumer Protection act by deceiving customers – mainly in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth, according to the agreement filed in Fall River Superior Court.

Howland and his company, WindTech-Co, made false representations promoting the sale of wind turbines and failed to properly install them, Coakley said.

If Howland does not pay the restitution within a year, he will have to pay $638,000, the attorney general said. He is permanently prohibited from operating a business that sells alternative energy systems.

Howland could not be reached for comment Thursday.

“Now more than ever, it is crucial that consumers seek out clean and sustainable alternative energy sources,” Coakley said. “This settlement will help ensure that consumers need not fear for their safety or that they are being taken advantage of as a result of contributing to environmentally-sound solutions.”

Coakley’s office filed a complaint and emergency order in Bristol Superior Court in March 2007 to shut down WindTech-Co and freeze its bank accounts. The attorney general identified more than 160 affected consumers, most of whom were residential homeowners, attorney general's spokeswoman Amie Breton said.

Howland misrepresented the power generation capabilities of the turbine systems and did not inform customers that local permits were required for installation, the complaint alleged.

Local building inspectors notified customers in many cases that construction of the turbines would have to stop and that systems already installed violated zoning laws, Coakley said.

Most installations also did not meet the requirements of the turbines’ manufacturer, which posed safety threats and failed to generate the intended energy capability, according to the attorney general.

In addition, Howland told customers that the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative – a state-affiliated agency that encourages private homeowners to install wind or solar systems – would reimburse customers for a large portion of the purchase of turbine systems, Coakley said.

By informing customers that the reimbursement was automatic, Howland left out the Technology Collaborative’s cap for pending projects by a single contractor.

After receiving numerous complaints from the customers, the Technology Collaborative referred the matter to the attorney general in January 2007.