More than 10% of the electricity consumed at Harvard University's Cambridge and Allston campuses will soon be supplied from a wind farm in northern Maine. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, this agreement will make Harvard the largest purchaser of wind power by a university or college in New England.
Last year, Harvard's Cambridge and Allston campuses used more than 247,000,000 kWh.
Under the agreement reached with First Wind, a Massachusetts-based wind developer, Harvard will purchase half of the power generated by the planned Stetson Wind II facility near Danforth, Maine, as well as the associated renewable energy certificates. First Wind anticipates that the facility will begin generating power by mid-2010.
‘The research being undertaken at Harvard will have worldwide influence, but the Harvard community is also committed to searching for ways to reduce its environmental impact through changes in individual and institutional behavior, like purchasing wind power and other renewable energy, and the use of innovative technologies,’ says Drew Faust, president of Harvard.
Electricity from Stetson Wind II will be generated by 17 1.5 GE MW wind turbines. This project follows Stetson Wind I, a 38-turbine, 57 MW facility that went online in January.
SOURCE: First Wind
