Environmental group wins grant for HCA wind turbine

But a number of things must fall into place before the project moves forward, he said.

One of the next steps is gaining a variance from the City of Hazleton for a meteorological station to measure wind speed, Tuffey said.

PennFuture goes before the city Zoning Board for a height variance Thursday.

The group and its partners, Community Energy and Sustainable Energy Partners of Rochester, N.Y., the latter of which specializes in small projects such as this, will use this station to gauge if the wind is sufficient to make this project viable, Tuffey said.

But he doesn’t think viability will be an issue because the project is based in the city with the highest elevation in the state.
“The area is suited for wind power,” Tuffey explained. “At higher elevations, you have greater wind speeds.”

The wind turbine won’t be a full-scale wind farm, which can produce between 20 and 200 megawatts of electricity, he said.
The one at the HCA would produce less than two megawatts, more likely one megawatt, or enough electricity to supply 300 homes, Tuffey said.

He believes the turbine would be capable of supplying enough power to run the filtration plant and sell the excess to the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland electricity transmission grid.
The HCA would pay a flat rate for its electricity from the turbine, but still remain connected to the grid as a backup in case there’s no wind to run the on-site turbine, Tuffey said.

How much the HCA would pay a month hasn’t been determined and details still need to be negotiated, said Randy Cahalan, HCA manager. But the wind power plan could be advantageous for the plant, because a flat rate wouldn’t be subject to rate increases, he said.

The project came about after new environmental legislation passed encouraging alternative energy sources and encouraging small, community projects such as this, Tuffey said.
He hopes to find other project sites within the Hazleton area as well, he said.

And Tuffey isn’t exactly new to the area, he said. He has already been here looking after getting some encouragement from a former colleague and Hazleton mayor, John Quigley.

Quigley, now the director of operations for the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, admits he had a hand in getting PennFuture and the HCA together.

“It’s a great move,” he said “I applaud the HCA board for taking a look at this project.”

Quigley said he would love to see Hazleton be one of the first places this initiative is implemented.

If everything goes right, the HCA could be operating on wind power by the end of the next year, Tuffey said. Additional funding is one of those items, and Tuffey hopes to find other state grants in support of the new law, he said.

No money is expected from the city or the authority, Tuffey said, as that isn’t what this project is about.

“With energy costs going through the roof, we’re trying to help communities take advantage of their own resources,” he said.