MASSACHUSETTS: Multiple Installations in Massachusetts!

The Bay State is a busy state for small wind installers! Wind turbines were installed recently at an environmental education center in Charlton, as well as on Martha’s Vineyard and a farm on Nantucket. A six-day workshop for installers is planned for May.

Northwind 100 kW Installation at Environmental Education Center

During the last week of March, Northern Power Systems installed its first Northwind-100 turbine at Nature’s Classroom, an environmental education center in Charlton, Massachusetts. This turbine is built by Northern Power of Barre, Vermont and is rated at 100 kilowatts. The turbine awaits its final approval when National Grid commissions the turbine to operate.

Nature’s Classroom provides environmental education to students throughout New England. To date, it has worked with over half a million children and 450 schools. The school hopes the project will be a leading example in green building and energy efficiency and expects to achieve a Gold rating under the LEED Rating System, a national green building guideline. Nature’s Classroom plans to install solar photovoltaics, as well as the wind turbine. The project’s renewable energy and green building elements will be featured in the organization’s educational programs, and will serve as a valuable demonstration of renewable energy functioning as the primary source of a building’s electricity.

“I think Nature’s Classroom should be on the forefront and I’m happy to go forward with all energy alternatives, but I think it has its problems,” John G. Santos, the organization’s founder and executive director, said in an interview.

Mr. Santos said the $432,000 project was funded in part by a $270,000 grant from Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. The 100-kilowatt turbine is expected to generate 87,600-kilowatt hours per year, or about 25 percent of the school’s power needs. “It’s a very long payback period of about 12 years,” he said, adding, “It’s a big bite for us to take.” He is not convinced of its practical value. “As an ethical decision, I support it tremendously. As a business responsible decision, I’m a bit leery,” he said, noting some research suggests the energy returned will be less than what engineers have touted.

Work to install the 125-foot-tall tower was completed by New England Breeze LLC in early April. New England Breeze made a time-lapse video of the install, which you can see by clicking here.

For more information, click here.

Source: North Power Systems, New England Breeze and various online news organizations

Tenth turbine installed on Martha’s Vineyard

Great Rock Windpower announced that they recently installed their seventh Endurance S-250 wind turbine on Martha’s Vineyard. This is the tenth grid-tied turbine to be installed on Martha’s Vineyard. “Now the turbine awaits the upcoming strong spring winds to test its full potential. If it’s as windy up there as everyone says it is, the turbine should produce well,” says Gary Harcourt of Great Rock Windpower. This installation makes Martha’s Vineyard a stronghold for small wind, with 10 turbines within a 4 mile radius. “With the new MTC rebates and federal tax credits, things are looking up for small wind in Massachusetts,” says Harcourt.

Source: Great Rock Windpower

WES installs 250 kW Turbine at Nantucket’s Bartlett Farm

Wind Energy Solutions Canada, together with Lighthouse Electrical Contracting, Inc., reports that the WES30 250kW turbine they installed at Bartlett Farm on Nantucket started running in early April. Bartlett’s Farm is Nantucket Island’s oldest and largest family-owned farm. The Bartlett Family has been farming the same land since arriving on Nantucket in the early 1800s. Vegetable and small fruit crops are grown on 100 acres of production land and in over 100,000 square feet of greenhouses. An attached market opened in 2006, and offers a wide selection of organic foods, prepared meals, and household staples. The process of obtaining a wind turbine for the farm was started later that year. Grants from the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative covered about 60% of the project’s total cost. The turbine will provide all the electrical needs of the farm stand and approximately 80% of the farm’s overall electrical usage.

The turbine is expected to produce approximately 500,000 kilowatts of power annually. It starts operating at a wind speed of about 6 mph and it will turn out of the wind at a wind speed of 56 mph. It is expected that it can survive winds of up to 134 mph, and should last for 20 years.

This project was documented by Plum TV. Click here to watch the video.

Source: Wind Energy Solutions and Bartlett’s Farm

Installer Workshop on Cape Cod in May

Cape and Islands Self-Reliance Corporation is hosting its annual small wind installers’ workshop from May 4th through May 9th in Cotuit, Massachusetts. The installation will consist of a 15 kW Proven turbine on a monopole tower. Participants will install a grid-tied 15 kW Proven turbine on a 100′ monopole over the course of the 6 day workshop. This workshop will offer tower-climbing opportunities, too.

Ian Woofenden, Sr. Editor of Home Power Magazine and Northwest Coordinator for Solar Energy International will be co-instructing the workshop with Megan Amsler, Executive Director of Self-Reliance and Conrad Geyser of Cotuit Solar.

The fee for this workshop is $750 for Self Reliance members and $800 for non-members. Registration is limited to 15 attendees and is on a first come, first serve basis. Comprehensive handouts and lunches are included. Click here for more info and to register for the workshop.

Source: Cape & Islands Self-Reliance Corporation

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