The Berkshire East Ski Area hosted an event to mark the commissioning of the PowerWind56, the Massachusetts resort's new 900 kW wind turbine that will allow it to satisfy more than 100% of its energy needs.
State and federal grants made the project possible, along with a loan offered by a local bank, Greenfield Savings Bank. Assistance from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center provided a total of $440,000 in grants to the wind project. This money paid for the turbine's feasibility study, some design and construction.
The Berkshire East Ski Area retained Ontario, N.Y.-based Sustainable Energy Development (SED), a wind development company focusing on community wind projects. After a comprehensive feasibility study and permitting process, SED determined that the German-manufactured PowerWind56 was an ideal match, according to Jon Schaefer, general manager of the resort.
‘We hope to be the perfect model of how the PowerWind56 will satisfy the needs of community wind projects across the nation,’ he says.
In addition, an educational station will be installed at a local elementary school to monitor the turbine's production, and renewable energy credits will be donated to the school to offset the school's yearly energy consumption.
SOURCE: Berkshire East Ski Area
