Communities turn to small-scale green energy

While large commercial wind farm projects in Maine demand the public's attention because of their scale, small wind-energy projects are cropping up and generating interest in their viability and cost‑effectiveness. For a number of such projects, acting as an educational tool is part of the plan. For others, the choice to invest in small wind turbines is a personal decision based on philosophical and financial reasons. What most are finding is that small wind projects by themselves are not enough to power individual residential or business needs, but in combination with other renewable technologies such as solar, or combined with grid or generator‑supplied energy, wind energy can produce up to one‑third of residential or small business energy needs.

Community energy projects
"I'm an avid supporter of community energy projects," says Brent Wakefield, proprietor of BRJ Works Inc., a Maine company that has specialized in renewable energy technology for 44 years. "I'm a little disappointed in large wind projects. I think communities, towns, could get together and create energy for their needs and eliminate problems with the grid. Large wind exports the energy, and we don't get any of it." On the other hand, he explains, small, community energy projects could utilize wind and photovoltaic, which "have come a long way."
Wakefield's company recently installed vertical‑axis turbines at two sites: the Pleasant Point Reservation and the Downeast Salmon Federation's (DSF) East Machias facility. The vertical axis technology has "been around for a long time," says Wakefield. "For small residential and commercial users it is relatively new." The turbines "are small wind generators C it's exactly what it is. It's not intended to produce a lot of energy." He notes that small turbines will generally produce one‑quarter to one‑third of a home's needs. On the other hand, there are specific brands of horizontal‑axis turbines that "do very well."
There is a difference between the two types of turbines. Wakefield explains, "Vertical will accept wind from many directions and turbulent wind. Horizontal does not like turbulent wind. We have to get up pretty high, whereas vertical is typically not as high, although the higher the better."
This ability to accept wind from many directions has been the draw with the vertical‑axis technology, says Steve Crawford, environmental director of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point. The tribe has three vertical‑axis towers between 30 and 40 feet. Horizontal‑axis turbines are usually from 80 to 100 feet, depending on how high the base location is to the tree line. But DSF Executive Director Dwayne Shaw notes that manufacturer's claims about vertical‑axis technology could benefit from independent testing. His organization has placed a vertical‑axis turbine at its new East Machias facility. Wakefield says that the Department of Energy's small wind certification programs "should give some uniformity to turbines and evaluations."
The DSF and the tribe have placed turbines in highly visible locations as part of their efforts to educate about renewable energy. The vertical‑axis turbines, unlike the horizontal‑axis "propeller" type, have blades that look like a large cylinder spinning around the turbine's pole. The DSF turbine is noticeable to anyone driving along Route 1 through the town, and spins almost constantly. However, no information is available on the Windspire's performance. Shaw says that the system was disconnected during construction of the federation's new facility. Data collection will occur in the future. But the other goal of the turbine's placement, to generate interest in renewable energy, has been successful because next to the turbine is a solar array of 33 panels, which is generating a portion of the electricity needed for the energy‑intensive hatchery in a grid‑connected system. The total system was grant‑funded for $50,000 and is part of the hatchery's educational outreach efforts to the public and school groups.

Pleasant Point energy
The three vertical‑axis Windspire turbines at Pleasant Point are in three different sites. One is located behind the tribal office off Route 190. According to Crawford, the placement of that particular turbine was based more on attracting attention to the technology than for optimum energy production. The two other turbines have been sited with good results. One is part of a green home project built on the reservation. Crawford notes that the turbine has offset a significant portion of the home's electricity demands. The other turbine is located on the shore next to the tribe's wastewater treatment plant. "It runs all the time," says Crawford. "The treatment plant is the tribe's biggest user [of electricity]." The power generated by the turbine "takes a small part" of the plant's load. Each turbine was installed for a cost of about $14,000.
The tribe has also been working with a nonprofit company, RREAL (Rural Renewable Energy Alliance), which manufactures solar hot-air collectors. A demonstration collector is located on the tribal office building and another on the south‑facing wall of a home overlooking Half Moon Cove. Crawford says that the collectors are "by far the biggest bang for the buck C it would be hard to argue against having them on every new home." The collectors gather solar heat and pass it through fanned ductwork into the building during the day. The solar hot-air collectors average about $2,400, depending on manufacturer and installation.
Independent projects
About 10 years ago Perry resident Ron Rosenfeld and his wife began the planning process of building their home on the shore of Cobscook Bay. A major problem they encountered was the cost of hooking up their new home's electricity to Bangor Hydro's lines, 7,000 feet away. "It was going to be about $40,000. And this was in 2000. The cost has gone up since." The couple decided on a 100-foot horizontal‑axis turbine made by Bergey, a company that BRJ Works installs and highly recommends. "There's not any doubt in my mind that they have a standard of excellence," Rosenfeld says.
The tower was installed for about $35,000 and is on a six-foot-deep concrete slab with guy‑wire supports also anchored in concrete. Given the 10 years of knowledge Rosenfeld has accumulated with the Bergey system, he says, "I would stick with the system, but I would have tried harder to find maintenance fellows." The Bergey provides about 65% of the home's energy needs.
Five years after installing the turbine and adding a generator, the couple decided to install solar panels, which pick up an additional 15‑20% of the home's electricity demand. With the solar and wind system, Rosenfeld finds that the generator handles the other 15‑20% of electrical need and runs 150 to 200 hours a year, averaging a six- to eight-hour run. "In the summer it's once a week, and in the winter it might go six to eight weeks without it going on." The goal was to live a normal life, Rosenfeld says. They have a washing machine, a toaster and a hair dryer. They use low‑energy light bulbs, their furnace and hot water run on propane, and they took "a lot of care with the well pump."
Maintenance of wind turbines has been an issue. DSF educator and Hatchery Manager Jacob Van de Sande notes that while they are happy with their system's installers, "One of the challenges of renewable energy is that very few people have the breadth of knowledge needed." Melinda Jaques, co‑proprietor of the Hansom House Restaurant in Dennysville, has two Skystream turbines supplying energy for the business part of the facility. In the three years since the original installation, each has been replaced under warranty. She says, "I think it's almost easier for them to replace than to repair." Despite the problems, she is happy with the performance and the company's responsiveness. The restaurant is an intensive energy user, so Jaques is tied to the grid. When she and her husband were researching renewable energy they were told that the turbines would save them about $80 in electricity costs per windmill per month. "That seems to be about right," she says. The system cost a little over $25,000 and powers the restaurant's furnace, icemaker, two freezers and other commercial appliances. The turbines meet about one‑quarter to one‑third of the restaurant's electricity needs. "We'd do it again," she says. "We're committed philosophically to sustainable energy."
Tucked away in the Edmunds woods is the 100-foot Aerostar wind turbine used by Suffolk University's R.S. Friedman Field Station. The turbine has been in use for two years and is tied to the grid. Without rebates the tower costs about $50,000. It supplies about 20% of the total energy needed by the station, says Dan Morang, who manages and maintains the station's renewable energy systems. However, because the station uses much less electricity during the winter months, a significant credit is built up during the off‑season and the turbine "more than covers" the electrical demands of those months. The station received its first Bangor Hydro bill for the year in June.
During the summer months the station has a constant rotation of visiting groups, all needing a steady supply of hot water. The station has used solar hot-water panels to supplement the hot-water needs of the kitchen and students and researchers. ReVision Energy of Portland installed the newest system at a cost of $11,000. Three supply the kitchen and the other six are used for the bathrooms and showers. Morang estimates that the collectors for the bathrooms supply about 50% of the energy needed to heat water during the station's busiest months of July and August, and the kitchen's collectors receive an occasional boost from a propane heater.
Dr. Carl Merrill, director of the station, explains that the university's engineering students have been trying different renewable energy designs at the station since 1979, all because of the interest of Dr. Walter Johnson, director of the university's Sagan Energy Research Laboratory. Wind turbine energy information will be studied by the university's physics department through the software system, TED. The "smart system" takes readings every minute and sends information to the manufacturer in case of problems. But the capabilities are much broader, Morang says. "It tells you the amount of energy produced, money saved. ... It can be set up for households and can even be set up so that it can check on loads of certain appliances." The station isn't resting on its laurels. Two additional renewable energy research projects are underway: a geothermal test site and graduate student designs for environmentally friendly guest housing.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory website with independent testing results of small wind turbines may be found at <http://www.nrel.gov/wind/smallwind/independent_testing.html>.