Community Toolkit > Energy > Renewable Energy > Wind Power

Wind Power Installations

Hull, Massachusetts

Community Profile: Hull is a small town of approximately 10,500 year round residents located on a peninsula in Boston Harbor, about 8 miles from downtown Boston. The community is governed by a board of selectmen and assisted by a town manager.

Project Outline:

In 1998 a group of concerned Hull citizens led by Malcolm Brown and Andrew Stern formed Citizens for Alternative Renewable Energy (CARE) to look into the possibility of installing a wind turbine in Hull to replace a smaller one that had gone offline in 1997. CARE petitioned for Hull Municipal Light Plant (HMLP) to take on the project and in 2001 the town accepted a bid from the Danish corporation Vestas to install their V47 turbine rated at 660kW. This turbine, nicknamed Hull Wind I (HWI), began producing electricity on December 27, 2001.

Due to the success of the project, an additional wind turbine, nicknamed Hull Wind II (HWII), was recently installed on the town’s closed landfill. Another Vestas product, this turbine is a V80, 1.8MW design, capable of producing 5 million kWh per year and powering approximately 750 homes. Currently HWI and HWII provide 2% and 9%, respectively, of Hull’s total power needs.

Cost & Savings:

• The total cost the purchase and installation of HWI was $753,000, with yearly recurring cost of $30,000 for maintenance and insurance. This was paid for out of the project’s proceeds. As of December 1, 2005 it was estimated that HWI had saved the town over half a million dollars.
• The total cost of HWII was estimated at $3,000,000 with recurring annual costs of $31,000 and a payback period of less than 9 years. The financing was provided by the proceeds of the project.
• As of August 2, 2006 the total output of HWI was 7,148,253 kWhs with HWII having put out an additional 775,815 kWhs.
• CO2 Savings from HWI and HWII are approximately 1,200 tons and 3,000 tons, respectively, per year.
• Currently Vermont is offering rebates for small wind projects.

Benefits:

• Lessons learned from the Hull Wind projects include the benefit of having community support. Since the turbines are run by the town of Hull, all financial and environmental benefits are funneled directly back to the town residents. It was also important to find appropriate sites, a reputable and responsive turbine supplier, and to involve a municipal electric company as an active participant in the process.
• Other communities taking on wind power include a number of coastal towns in Massachusetts, including Ipswich, and the Cape Wind Project. There is also a new facility in Berlin, NH, a proposed project in Lempster, New Hampshire and numerous proposed projects by Endless Energy Corporation in Maine and Vermont.
• For more information on the Hull Wind Projects, visit their website online or contact Malcolm Brown or Andrew Stern.
• For information on alternative energy resources contact Native Energy.

Eliot, Maine

In June 2008, the town of Eliot, Maine made environmental history by approving ordinances to govern wind and solar energy systems. The two ordinances permit small wind and solar energy systems and allow the town to regulate wind turbines and solar panels to ensure they're installed and operated safely. Specifically, the ordinances spell out regulations such as setbacks and height limitations.

Significance:

Before these ordinances passed, it was unclear whether a resident could obtain approval for a small residential wind turbine or solar panels in Eliot. Energy Commission Chair Dan Gair said currently, without these ordinances, the planning board can call into question the building of either kind of device. "By adopting it and codifying it, then it becomes an accepted permitted use," Gair said about solar power devices and wind turbines. Secondly, the ordinances provide clear guidelines on what is allowable and permissible, in regards to both kinds of energy saving items. "They would send a statement that alternative power systems are welcome in town.

Eliot’s approval of the ordinance establishes the town as the third Maine municipality to have an ordinance governing small wind energy systems — and the first in southern Maine. Eliot joins Wiscasset and Damariscotta, which adopted small wind power (less than 100 kilowatts) ordinances in June 2006 and in February 2008, respectively.

Process of Implementing the Ordinance:

1. The Eliot Energy Commission formed in November 2006 with the goal of promoting energy conservation and local energy production.
2. The Commission had an energy audit done in February 2007 to assess costs and recommend changes for town buildings. It also distributed fliers to residents with suggestions on how to reduce energy consumption. More recently, the commission completed a comprehensive energy plan for the town.
3. Two ordinances were written. The wind ordinance was written to include standards such as height, setbacks and the wind turbines will need to meet Eliot noise ordinances that are quite strict according to Energy Commission Chairman Larry Dow, who researched and wrote the ordinance.
   
   The solar ordinance clarifies that solar energy equipment is a permitted use in the town. Dow says the ordinances clearly define what is allowed. "The solar one is pretty simple — it just makes a positive statement that solar power and solar energy sources are encouraged in the town of Eliot," he said.
   
   For the wind energy ordinance, restrictions are set on tower height, set backs, placement and safety precautions, among other items.
4. Eliot voters approved the ordinance in June 2008. The solar measure passed 852-158. The wind power measure passed 831-183.
5. A Planning Board meeting was held in December 2008, and a draft of each ordinance was sent back to the Energy commission after the town's attorney reviewed and made changes to the drafts. The commission reviewed the changes at its December 12th meeting at the Eliot Town Hall.
6. If approved, the drafts will be sent back to the planning board, where a public hearing will be held on each ordinance.
7. If approved by the planning board, the ordinances will be sent to the Board of Selectmen, who will decide whether or not to place the ordinances on the town meeting warrants for June 2008.

Links and Downloads:

• Draft of Energy Ordinance: http://www.eliotmaine.org/Solar%20Energy%20Systems%20Rev%20D.pdf
• Eliot Energy Commission: http://www.eliotmaine.org/index.html

Process for Initiating Wind Projects

• State-specific wind activities and resources can be found at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Powering America site for Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
  
• To initiate a wind project in your community, first you will need to evaluate if there is substantial wind in the area to support a turbine. Good approximations of wind speeds can be found by viewing wind maps of New England.  This site in particular allows for you to enter the specific coordinates of your town and then generates detailed information regarding the speeds, frequencies, and prevailing directions of wind at your location. Wind Powering America also provides state specific wind resource maps.
• Next, you will need to complete a year long study wind resource assessment to determine seasonal and diurnal variations in wind speeds at the proposed site.  Due to its proximity, Hull was able to secure corollary data from both Logan International Airport and nearby Thompson Island. In areas where wind speed records are not readily available, communities have a number of options for collecting their own data.  If possible, communities can collaborate with a nearby university or other educational institution. Hull did this successfully with the University of Massachusetts Renewable Energy Laboratory. Towns can also hire private companies such as AWS TrueWind or independently set up instrumented meteorological towers to collect time-series data. Measurement sensors typically include anemometers at multiple heights (for wind speed), wind vanes (for direction), temperature gauges, and barometers (for pressure).
• Once the feasibility of the project is assessed, the town should determine if any zoning ordinances would need to be changed to allow for the wind turbine.  In Massachusetts, municipal light plants are exempt from zoning requirements, so this was not an issue. An example of a model zoning ordinance can be found at this website. Examples of zoning ordinances are available for Minnesota and Montana, but could be adapted for any state.
• If your state does not have net metering, refer to these model ordinances to get adopted: AWEA and Massachusetts.
• Support of the community is crucial in the implementation of a wind turbine project. A good resource for planners to hand out to the community to educate and gain support is the Wind Powering America Small Wind Electric System Consumer Guide. These state specific guides can be accessed by using the following links:

Maine

New Hampshire

• See a model ordinance for residential wind in your NH municipality.

Vermont