tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1650027467790153026.post835093847197215975..comments2023-10-29T10:47:28.283-05:00Comments on SUSTAINABLE SAKONNET: Tiverton Talks TurbineBILL GERLACHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04798457327589898822noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1650027467790153026.post-51608352390501754122007-05-03T20:42:00.000-05:002007-05-03T20:42:00.000-05:00Hey Nate,Thanks for the question. I appreciate the...Hey Nate,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the question. I appreciate the need for clarity. For me, it's a fine line between too much and too little detail. In essence, those are literal quotes from the professor. Let me address the two specific points:<BR/> <BR/>MAKING A PROFIT<BR/>The more appropriate phrase here would be "generating income through the sale of renewable energy credits (RECs)" -- which of course, could be used to pay down the loan the town will have to take to make the initial purchase. As the professor explained, the bigger the turbine and the higher in altitude it is placed, the more energy you are producing. When you do both of these in a location with a consistant wind speed of 7m/s, you're sailing.<BR/> <BR/>Looking in to this more, I stumbled across a <A HREF="http://www.pbn.com/stories/24804.html" REL="nofollow">recent article</A> in the Providence Business News about new state legislation being debated that would raise the maximum REC level from 75kW to 500kW as well as the size of the wind installation allowed to participate in selling credits (currently capped at a 1 megawatt system). This would allow for parity with neighboring states and create an incentive for more expansive development. Clearly, there are finer points of this I (and the town) need to learn about, but we have to start somewhere.<BR/> <BR/>GUARANTEED COST OF ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION<BR/>The professor explained that there are two components to the electricity game -- production and distribution. If you're producing the electricity yourself (through the turbine), your costs are fixed. If you have the turbine placed in the same location as where the energy will be used (what he called a "behind the meter" scenario, as with Portsmouth Abbey), you have zero distribution costs. If your turbine location is elsewhere, you will have to pay National Grid to "distribute" your electricity, thus incurring a charge. This will add to your operating costs OR decrease your "profit" from RECs (depending on how you look at it).<BR/> <BR/>Let me know if this doesn't clear things up for you. Hope I didn't insult you're intelligence on any of this!<BR/><BR/>Maybe Tom Gray can add something to the discussion here?BILL GERLACHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04798457327589898822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1650027467790153026.post-67149598573387439792007-05-02T20:22:00.000-05:002007-05-02T20:22:00.000-05:00Hi Bill. Great stuff and great blog. You mention "...Hi Bill. Great stuff and great blog. You mention "Put that {1.5 Mw turbine} up and your making a profit from the first spin of the 12-ton blades. Even better – your electricity production costs will remain constant for at least 20 years." Where do you get that info? How could you possibly be making profit immediately? Is the turbine free?<BR/><BR/>We just managed to get Westport to buy in to a small tower behind town hall at town meeting tonight (hoooooray!). But even with MTC picking up $45k of the $68k cost, it will take us 12-15 years to recoup the cost of the turbine (estimated, of course)! I just don't quite get the statement I referenced above.<BR/><BR/>www.biodieselnow.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1650027467790153026.post-78828404374651012172007-05-01T20:13:00.000-05:002007-05-01T20:13:00.000-05:00Bill,Thanks for passing this along, and kudos to P...Bill,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for passing this along, and kudos to Professor Pavlides for his efforts to bring wind power to the Ocean State!<BR/><BR/>Regards,<BR/>Thomas O. Gray<BR/>American Wind Energy Association<BR/><A HREF="http://www.awea.org" REL="nofollow">www.awea.org</A><BR/><A HREF="http://risingwind.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow">risingwind.blogspot.com</A>Tom Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14728522824855808421noreply@blogger.com