To the editor:
We have now had a full year’s experience and gathered a full year of data on the University of Maine Presque Isle wind turbine project. Let us report on what we have learned.
We committed to the wind turbine with four objectives in mind. First, we wanted the turbine project to be one part of UMPI’s commitment to reducing fossil fuel use (coal, petroleum, natural gas) and addressing climate change. Second, we looked forward to reducing our electric bills. Third, we planned to make the wind turbine part of our educational programs on the campus and beyond. Fourth, we want to share the information that we gathered from and about the turbine with the community.
The turbine generated 680,000 kwh of clean electricity from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010. We had hoped to reach 1,000,000 kwh during that period. We did lose 16 generating days due to various malfunctions in the early months of turbine operation. We have had no unplanned downtime in the last six months.
Our first year of operation was one of the mildest County winters in memory. Winter is our primary generating time for the turbine. The wind blows the hardest and most consistently. Campus electricity demand is highest. Our cost per kilowatt hour for electricity not generated by the turbine is the highest. We wait to see what a more normal Aroostook County winter will do for our generation records. By the way, a mild, low wind winter isn’t all bad news. Our savings on heating oil were substantial and greatly appreciated.
As to reduction of our electric bills, our predictions were on target. We expressed the hope that we would save at least $100,000 annually on our power bill. Estimating savings from one year to another can be done in different ways. One set of calculations recorded our wind power generation and priced it at our average monthly cost per kilowatt hour. The second set of calculations took our electricity bills for the year before installation of the turbine and compared it with our generation costs for the first year of turbine operation. The first total savings were $105,430. The second total savings were $96,862. As expected, our major savings came in the winter months of December through March when our purchased electricity is the most expensive and our usage the highest.
We have been very pleased with the educational benefits of the turbine. Our professors are making use of the wind turbine in their teaching. Chunzeng Wang is offering a renewable energy course this fall. Dave Putnam will teach a climate change course. Jason Johnston is sharing his research on the impacts of the turbine on bird life with his students. Carolyn Dorsey is taking a business perspective on green energy in her sustainability course. In addition, the turbine serves as a laboratory for Northern Maine Community College’s wind technology program. If the turbine isn’t operating on a windy morning, NMCC students may be experiencing their first climb to the top of a 65-meter turbine tower as they prepare for their new careers. We’ve also had visits from several high school groups.
Lastly, we have communicated with a wide variety of citizens, businesses, and organizations. Our film Wind 101 has received statewide broadcast and been shown to smaller audiences as far away as New Mexico. Some in our various audiences are wind power enthusiasts. Some are opponents of wind power. Some are considering wind power installations of their own.
The major frustration for us during the year was the slowness with which we were able to go online with our generation data. We underestimated the complexity of getting the computers and experts from Honeywell, the turbine manufacturer, our general contractor, and our campus computer staff coordinated. We think we have it done. We look forward to expanding the information provided.
Don Zillman, president
University of Maine at Presque Isle
