High School Could Have 50-Meter Anemometer By Spring

Worth said the siting report was conducted by the Renewable Energy Research Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. The report recommends locating the 164-foot (50 meter) tower on land at Harwich High School.

"They’re ready and able to put up a 50-meter test tower,” Worth said of the organization. “But due to weather and scheduling it will not be done before spring.” 

The commission, together with staff from the Renewable Energy Research Laboratory, conducted field reviews of three sites in town in October, including an area between playing fields at the school, Cranberry Valley Golf Course and water department land off Chatham Road.

The report recommends the high school site be utilized for testing since it is within one mile of each of the other sites.  Testing at the school will validate the wind available at all sites, Worth told selectmen. He said the commission agrees with this recommendation, especially since the required board of appeals height variance has already been approved there.

Worth said as far as his commission is concerned they are about ready to move forward with the project, but selectmen need to sign a property loan agreement approval. He also said some work will be necessary at the location, including cutting of some 40-foot trees. The commission chairman said they hope the highway and maintenance department can perform that service.

There appeared to be one other potential problem with the location. Worth said the field in front of the high school is used by public safety officials as an emergency medflight landing zone. He said there was a potential need to place a warning light at the top of the tower which would require bringing electricity to the site and additional lighting costs that would have to be borne by the town.

However, Worth said Deputy Fire Chief William Flynn spoke with the pilot of the Boston-based medflight company and provide coordinates for the tower and landing site and was assured a light would not be necessary. Flynn said the town was boxed out of the landing zone at Cape Cod Tech when a wind turbine was placed in a field at that school.   

Worth said they have met with Building Commissioner Geoffrey Larsen and determined what is needed to apply for a building permit. But selectmen must first sign the property loan agreement.

Selectman Peter Piekarski recommended the agreement be run by town counsel. The commission was praised for the work it has done to bring this effort to this point. Selectman Robin Wilkins praised the commission for keeping this issue before the public and said a wind turbine generating electricity for the town would “be a significant contribution toward being more energy efficient in Harwich.”

The report notes all of Harwich has favorable winds at a height of 70 meters, and half of the town is predicted to have annual mean winds of at least 6.5 miles per hour at a height of 50 meters. Based on predictions the water department site would generate 6.7 mph and the high school 6.6 mph winds.

“The primary motivation for understanding the winds at a proposed wind power site is improved understanding of the project feasibility and returns, and thus a lowering of investment risk. Better, longer and more site-specific data leads to lower risks,” stated the report filed by Sally Wright. 

Should the town decide to site a wind turbine at this location in the future, the report states, it would be “inaudible or minimally audible at the nearest residences.” A wind turbine at any of the three sites would be 1,200 feet from the nearest residence.