Study leaves officials feeling uncertain about proposed wind turbine project

A recent 12-page report on wind speeds at the Legion Way site could spell trouble for the proposed wind turbine project.

The report, completed by AWS Truewind, created a virtual met tower for the Legion Way location and shows readings for simulated hourly wind speeds, directions, temperatures, pressure and air density at 65 meters above ground level.

It indicates a mean wind speed of 5.33 meters per second, which is significantly less than the previous readings town officials had collected. It also showed longer periods of inactivity for the proposed wind turbine.

David Baum, the chairman for Committee for Renewable Energy for Barrington (CREB), said he was not sure what caused the variation in reported wind speeds.

"The real issue here is that the information is becoming better," he said. "As time goes on, we get better information. We're not sure we understand all the causes of the variation... What this whole thing does is create a lot of uncertainty."

CREB's website - www.barringtonenergy.com - summarizes the recent information: "A recently completed wind and energy analysis from Truewind concludes that the average annual wind speed at Legion Way is 5.3 m/s, resulting in substantially lower energy outputs than originally expected. The energy outputs forecast in the new analysis will very likely not be sufficient to make an installation profitable."

In an e-mail sent on Dec. 21, Mr. Baum reflected on the new third-party wind study which was commissioned by the town.

"Due to the significant difference in the estimated power generation of the proposed wind turbine, the CREB discussed rescinding its recommendation to the town council at its meeting last week. We will be agreeing on our course of action during our next meeting," Mr. Baum wrote.

In October, CREB recommended to the council that it accept a bid to construct a 600 kw Elecon Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) at the Legion Way site for approximately 10 percent under the $2.4 million budget.

Mr. Baum said he plans to call a special meeting for CREB in the near future to discuss a course of action. After that, he said he expects to meet with the town council regarding the proposed wind turbine project. He added that he has tried to contact officials from AWS Truewind to discuss the recent report but has been unable to reach them because of the holidays.

To view a copy of the recent AWS Truewind report, visit www.barringtonenergy.com.