Through a collaborative effort, Northern Maine Community College (NMCC) and the Northern Maine Regional Office of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) have received an in-kind grant from the Efficiency Maine program that involves the loan of a 100-foot anemometer tower from the University of Maine.
Data collected from the site, including that which would be used to determine how much power a wind turbine will generate at the location, will be used by both organizations.
‘The met tower will provide our wind power technology students with a unique learning opportunity,’ says Timothy Crowley, NMCC president. ‘They will benefit from seeing the process unfold that could eventually lead to the construction of a wind turbine on our campus, and they will benefit from the analysis of the data gathered from this tower.’
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the city of Presque Isle have given college and DEP officials permission to erect the met tower. Approval from the FAA came in late December and was necessary, given the proximity of the College to the Northern Maine Regional Airport.
The Efficiency Maine wind turbine site survey grants are designed to assist applicants in determining if sites are appropriate for a wind project. Eligible participants include Maine-based schools, communities, nonprofit organizations and businesses. A preliminary wind site survey analysis of the area was conducted by the University of Maine to determine site viability. The initial assessment consisted of a desktop analysis to determine that NMCC had a site of sufficient size and wind resources to warrant a detailed site survey.
NMCC intends to use the data collected and analysis of the information from the met tower to further evaluate the possibility of erecting a wind turbine on the campus.
SOURCE: Northern Maine Community College
