Considering wind turbine options as zoning vote looms

The proposed zoning change at the island's transfer station to allow a 265-foot wind turbine has many residents nervous about the size and impact of the project.

The Town Council will take a final vote on the highly contentious issue December 7, after having held two heated sessions on the matter.

However, the new public utility zone, if created, would not mandate that such a large turbine be installed, which leaves room for a number of alternative turbine options.

Robert Chew, the president and founder of the Bristol-based renewable energy company SolarWrights, has just completed installation of a $500,000, 100-killowatt wind turbine for the New England Institute of Technology in Warwick and is currently working on a project to build a similar sized turbine on Nantucket.

"We just finished installing a 156-foot [from base to blade tip] community size wind turbine at NEIT," Chew said. "The community size turbines don't overwhelm the space the way a large megawatt turbine does."

Local alternative energy consultant and president of Entech Engineering, Chris Warfel, agrees that the town might benefit from choosing a smaller sized turbine to let the community adjust to the sight of it.

"It seems that the current request is for the maximum reasonable height that could ever be considered for that location," Warfel said. "It would perhaps be best though to start with a lower tower height and I think they would find many more people in support of it."

Currently the town's municipal buildings have an annual electricity usage of 930,000 kilowatts per year. Chew suggested that rather than building one large tower, a system of smaller towers could easily provide the town with the required power.

"Three smaller Northwind 100s would put out about 300 kilowatts each," Chew said. "That would be roughly equivalent to a larger 600-kilowatt turbine."

However, Henry DuPont, another local wind turbine expert, disagrees with the idea of using several smaller turbines instead of one larger one. DuPont points out that there are economies of scale at work when considering what size turbine to install.

"The reason to go larger is because a turbine that is twice as big will generate four times the power of the smaller turbine," DuPont explained. "The smaller turbine would cost three-quarters of that of the larger one but generate half the electricity, this means it will take longer to pay back and be more of a financial strain on the community."

The large 600-kw wind turbine envisioned for the transfer station would cost between $1 million and $2 million to install.

The current proposal for the turbine at the transfer station isn't for a 265-foot turbine, according to DuPont. The top of the tower would only be 166 feet. DuPont explains that when calculating the height of a turbine the rotor blades are left off since they are light and in motion.

"From a mile away you wouldn't be able to see the blades or even tell the difference between the larger tower and the smaller tower," DuPont said.

Even in the design of the turbine itself there are additional options. Mystic Solar, an alternative energy company based in Connecticut, installs turbines with rotors that spin on a vertical axis to generate electricity rather than on the traditional horizontal axis like an airplane propeller. According to the Mystic Solar website, this change in design allows their turbines to operate without the large open air space and immense structures usually associated with wind turbines.

"We have a 50-killowatt turbine with a total height of 100 feet," said Mike Riley of Mystic Solar. "We can do this because it is designed to be able to spin in the more turbulent winds found at ground level, so we don't have to get up quite so high."

Riley estimates that this type of unit could generate up to 100 kWh per year and would cost roughly $220,000. However, he was reluctant to say how many turbines would be required to meet the town's needs, as he did not have all the information to make such an estimate.

At a workshop held September 10 to discuss the proposed zoning change many West Beach road neighbors expressed concern about the obstruction of the view from their homes and of potential negative effects it could have on property value. This is a concern that Chew hears often and he agrees that is an important consideration. He also thinks preserving viewscapes is a possible reason to choose a smaller turbine as they have less of a visual impact.

"If you have a $5 million house with views of the harbor and there is a wind turbine in the way then, yes, it could negatively affect your home's value," Chew said. "That is something that has to and would be taken into account during the planning stage of any project."

DuPont holds a different opinion of the property value issue. He does concede that some potential buyers could be turned off by the prospect of a large wind turbine in their view shed; however, he also suggests that there are buyers who would like the aesthetics of a turbine.

"The test for home values is, after the project is completed, would you need to lower your asking price too get your house sold," Dupont said. "Historically the answer [when it comes to wind turbines] is no."

Warfel, who is a former member of the town's Electric Utility Task Group, thinks that the best way for the town to move forward is incrementally. He suggests starting with a smaller turbine and possibly increasing its size if the project is successful.

"If over time the wind turbine does what everyone hopes it can do, then maybe down the road they can think about increasing the size," Warfel said. "I just think it would be beneficial for them to take small steps."

If there is one issue all three agree on it's the need to take action. They are all quick to point out the strain such high electricity costs currently puts on the town and the need to generate power by renewable means.

"Right now the power is provided with diesel fuel and that money leaves the island," Chew said. "With a wind turbine the power and the money stays on island and can be reinvested to create jobs."