New company wants to harness area's wind power

A new wind energy company has moved into Torrington highlighting their medium-sized wind turbines, which they say are perfect for the moderately windy Connecticut landscape.

Optiwind, located in the former Torrington Company building, wants to focus their efforts on providing suitable energy solutions for both public and private entities. Early next year, they are set to install one of their turbines at the Woodridge Lake Sewer District in Goshen. When this occurs, it will be the first commercial wind turbine in the state of Connecticut. Optiwind hopes to eventually bring wind energy to other locations, specifically schools, government buildings and businesses.

This new source would save costs on electric bills as well as produce energy that would not have to be obtained from other sources.

"Its the same as growing your own vegetables versus going to the store and buying them," said David Hurwitt, the company's vice president of marketing. "Because all that food at the store comes from some far off place whose location you don't know."

Hurwitt also cited how this would secure a greater sense of energy independence.

Their flagship product is called a CWAT - Compact Wind Acceleration Turbine. It is about 200 feet tall and 72 feet in diameter, half the height of a regular industrial turbine. It is constructed with a number of smaller turbine fans attached to a tall series of stacks which, according to Hurwitt, reduces noise levels substantially. The design is signficantly different from the general perception of wind turbines as a tall tower with a single giant fan on it.

Hurwitt noted that aesthetic reasons, as well as the noise issues, are some of the main "polarizing" concerns that generate opposition to wind turbines.
"There's a phenomenon called NIMBY - not in my back yard," said Hurwitt. "It's when most people don't see alternative energy as bad but, just not in their yard."

Hurwitt cited how, a century ago, the idea of placing "75-foot poles along the road" was an unconventional idea, but that telephone poles were eventually accepted and now are the norm. Hurwitt sees turbines in the same way and thinks they will eventually be accepted for practicality and energy concerns.
"That is how these wind turbines can be," added Hurwitt. "The same with how, nowadays, most people are okay with cell phone towers."

Apart from citing the various benefits to establishing these medium-sized turbines, Hurwitt also noted the fact that they do not require large-scale cranes to be installed. Given their smaller size, they can be established by using less machinery and less heavy equipment.

Optiwind was incorporated in May 2007, led by the current CEO Russ Marvin and two others, and moved into the former Torrington Company building in May 2008. They are funded by a venture capital group from Boston as part of an equity investment in renewables. They now have 15 employees, mostly in planning and engineering and hope to expand. Currently, they have a 4,000 square foot work space which, once manufacturing commences, they hope to expand to 25,000 square feet. Once they begin manufacturing, they hope to provide jobs in manufacturing, design, administration and engineering.

"The growth rate for wind energy is 50 percent," said Hurwitt. "It's a market that can only grow from here."

For more information, and visuals of the turbines, visit www.optiwind.com.