WTG

Portsmouth wind turbine on CNN

The Portsmouth Wind Turbine generator was featured on CNN this morning — here's the clip.

Portsmouth Economic Development Committee Chair Rich Talipsky provided this update on the testing in an e-mail to local media this afternoon:

The WTG is going though a series of manufacturer acceptance tests. It consists of a number of 10 minute runs followed by data review. When the manufacturer is satisfied with operation, they must run the WTG in automatic mode for a minimum of 12 hours without problem as the final test before they present it to the Town for documentation review, inspection and acceptance. So, you will see the WTG running today for 10 minute periods with periods of shutdown and then it will be in its 12 hour acceptance run. The 12-hour acceptance run is expected to start late today (Wednesday ) or tomorrow (Thursday).

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Portsmouth turbine still testing

You may have seen the blades of the new Portsmouth Wind Turbine turning this morning on your way to work (indeed, if you are in the northern part of the island, it would be tough to miss it) but according to an AAER worker on his way into the site during lunch hour, the machine is still undergoing final testing.

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Portsmouth WTG on CNN Wednesday

Portsmouth's wind turbine will be featured on CNN this Wednesday, according to an e-mail just sent to local media by the Portsmouth Economic Development Committee (PEDC).

CNN has a week long feature titled "Road to Rescue" focused on nationwide efforts by industry, state and local government and citizens to turn around our troubled economy. It will run this week March 16 - March 20. Rhode Island is featured as one of the states hit hardest by the downturn and Portsmouth (with the installation of the Wind Turbine Generator at the High School) is featured as a community that is doing something positive to help improve local economic conditions. CNN will broadcast live on Wednesday from near the High School featuring the WTG. They interviewed both our Town Council President Peter McIntyre and Gary Gump (chairman of our PEDC Sustainable Energy Subcommittee) this past week. They expect to broadcast live from the remote beginning at 9 AM possibly through 7 PM. The Portsmouth interviews from earlier this week will most likely run some time during the 9 AM hour and probably air once an hour thru the day interspersed with the live feed from the HS site. There will be a CNN reporter and production crew at their CNN remote during the Wednesday program.
— via PEDC press release

W00t! Congratulations to the EDC and everyone who made this possible.

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WTG blades to turn by next week

If you live in the northern part of town, you can't miss Portsmouth's newest landmark, the sleek white wind turbine behind the high school. But if you've been watching for the blades to start spinning, you'll need to be patient for just a little while longer.

In an e-mail yesterday, Economic Development Committee (EDC) Chair Rich Talipsky said that the pre-commissioning checkout of the turbine is proceeding slower than expected.

"This is only the second installation of this type wind turbine in the US and the manufacturer is exercising a high degree of scrutiny on their work to ensure quality," said Talipsky. "The checks, that were estimated to take 1-2 weeks to complete [...] are going to take about the full two weeks original advertised. That places the estimated date of power operations at about next Wednesday March 18."

As Mrs. Lovett says, "Soon will come, soon will last. Wait."

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Portsmouth cuts ribbon on WTG

09mar7_ribbon_cut.jpg
Portsmouth Town Council President Peter McIntyre and AAER VP of Sales Daniel Charette cut the ribbon on new wind turbine.

A crowd of more than 100 packed the parking lot below the Portsmouth wind turbine this afternoon as local and state officials joined in a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of the project. The new 1.5-megawatt turbine was hailed as a success for the Town and a model for Rhode Island.

"You are showing the state the way," said Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts, thanking the town officials for their hard work and the voters of Portsmouth for their support of the project. "You are showing all of us state-wide how a local investment can transform the community, and the economy. You've done a great thing for all of us."

09mar07_turbine_roberts.jpg
Lt. Gov. Roberts points to the Portsmouth WTG. "What a beautiful thing that is."

Andy Dzkevich, commissioner of the RI office of energy resources echoed Roberts. "We're happy to see the way Portsmouth approached this project," said Dzkevich. "It really is a model for every other municipality in the state. We're looking forward to seeing this thing being very productive for the town."

Attending the ceremony on behalf of turbine manufacturer AAER was VP of Sales Daniel Charette, who said, "We are very proud at AAER to be part of this tremendous historical moment for Portsmouth." He and Portsmouth Town Council President Pete McIntyre held the scissors for the ribbon cutting.

McIntyre acknowledged the five years of hard work by the Portsmouth Economic Development Committee, who received a warm round of applause "And they're all volunteers," he said. But he singled out the voters of Portsmouth as the real driving force behind the project. "This could not have happened without the support of the citizens of Portsmouth [who] went to the voting booth in November 2007 and overwhelmingly approved the project," said McIntyre. "We have been humbled by the confidence that the people of Portsmouth put in us to turn this project into reality."

Portsmouth Sustainable Energy committee chair Gary Gump served as master of ceremonies, and introduced Brother Christopher of Portsmouth Abbey who provided the same invocation used when they dedicated their turbine. "They had such good luck with it," said Gump, "We want to be sure we sprinkle ours with the same good luck."

According to Gump, there are a few remaining mechanical checks being performed, but the turbine should be producing power within the next couple of days. The group of current and former officials who worked to make the project happen posed for a photo in front of the tower.

Click to view on Flickr
L-R: Jamie Heaney (SC), Town Admin Bob Driscoll (rear), Jim Seveney (TC), Keith Hamilton (TC), Huck Little (TC), Dir. of Business Development Bill Clark (rear), Peter McIntyre (TC President), Bill West (former TC, rear), Dennis Canario (TC), Jeff Plumb (TC, rear), EDC Chair Rich Talipsky, RI Energy Andy Dzykewicz, Sustainable Energy subcommittee chair Gary Gump, Len Katzman (Former TC), EDC member Doug Smith. (TC= Town Council, SC=School Committee). Photo by Jack McDaid.
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Portsmouth WTG switch-on ceremony Saturday

At 1pm on Saturday, March 7, the Portsmouth Wind Turbine Generator will formally be turned on and connected to the grid, according to a release issued this afternoon by the Portsmouth Economic Development Committee. There will be a brief ceremony at the site, in the field behind the PHS gym.

According to the EDC, the project came in under the $3 million number approved by town voters in 2007 and is expected to produce enough energy to supply over 60 percent of the town’s electrical needs and return over $200,000 net positive revenue to the town the first year in operation.

The 1.5 megawatt turbine generator is expected to provide over 3 million kilowatt-hours of power per year, said the EDC. Under RI’s new net billing law, this production will displace electrical power that the town normally buys from the power company. In addition, the Town will sell the energy’s environmental attributes to the green power provider, People’s Power & Light, for use in their product New England GreenStart. Together, the annual savings and income will more than cover the annual cost of operation and debt service on the turbine generator.

In a prepared statement, Rich Talipsky, Chair of the Portsmouth Economic Development Committee (PEDC) said, “I am glad the citizens of Portsmouth made the decision to invest in this important project. And, I am happy that we were able to make it happen. This is truly the “Town’s Wind Turbine Generator.” Gary Gump, Chair of the PEDC’s Sustainable Energy Subcommittee, which had spearheaded the project, added, “There were so many facets to this project, many of which could have stopped it in its tracks along the way. It has been a challenge, but seeing the project come to reality is the real pleasure from all our hard work and perseverance throughout.”

Editorial note: Yep, for this one, I mostly just did a writethru on the press release. I'll have some real coverage on Saturday.

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WTG blade assembly complete!

Finishing the lift
Click to view on Flickr.

At just about 12pm this afternoon, as more than 50 spectators watched from the snowy field behind the PHS gym, the final lift of the wind turbine hub and blades got underway. In a painstaking process that took more than two hours, the assembly was slowly lifted by two cranes, allowing workers to do final preparations under the hub, and then the entire assembly was slowly rotated vertical and lifted into position in front of the nacelle.

The process went smoothly, and by about 2:15pm, workers were unhooking the crane from the completed structure.

Portsmouth EDC Chair Rich Talipsky was seen shaking hands with Alex Pichs of AAER. Pichs said the final checkout procedure could take a couple of days, and Talipsky predicted that there would be a formal commissioning ceremony before the weekend.

More pix up on my Flickr stream.

(And I'm sure soon to follow on Bruce Ryerson's Flickr stream and Portsmouth photographer Judy Tate's web site.)

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Portsmouth WTG by night

09mar2_wtg_night.jpg
Click to embiggen.

You can see the Portsmouth wind turbine site from all over the north end of the island tonight; with the big banks of construction lights and the blowing snow, it looks like a brilliant white monument. We could see it when Jack and I came out of Ernie's Karate in the shopping plaza, and we had to head up to the high school to get a picture.

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