Coventry hopes to harness the power of the wind
COVENTRY – The Town of Coventry is moving forward with plans to install a wind turbine to offset utility costs at the town hall and senior center.
According to Town Supervisor John Phelan, the town board voted in May to go out to bid on the project, which would involve installing a 10kW wind turbine a few hundred yards behind the Coventry Town Hall, adjacent to the town’s recreational area. Not only would it generate power for the facility, he explained, but it would also enable the town to sell the surplus electricity back to NYSEG.
“The overall cost of the system will be around $70,000,” Phelan reported, $50,000 of which he hopes to finance through state and federal grants. Specifically, $30,000 from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and $20,000 through President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
That leaves Coventry to cover the remaining $20,000 of the cost of purchasing and installing the wind turbine and tower, which will measure 153 feet to the tip of the blades. Phelan assures the town will be able to cover its share without a increasing the burden on taxpayers. To accomplish this, he says he plans to utilize funds generated by Coventry’s recycling program, and the community scrap drive which yields approximately $500 a month. $7,000 in revenue from the sale of lumber harvested from the 144-acre parcel of land the town owns off Wylie-Horton Road Extension will also be used for the project, he added.
Phelan said he views the installation of the turbine as an investment for the municipality. If they used that $20,000 to offset taxes next year, it would only benefit residents for one year, he explained. And if that amount were invested, it would yield only a few hundred dollars a year.
“The wind turbine will make nearly that per month,” he said.
Last night, prior to a public hearing on the matter, Phelan was on hand to answer questions and demonstrate a 1/10 scale model of the actual Bergey turbine the town is interested in installing. It is the same type of turbine currently in use at the Morrisville State College campus, he said.
Any conversation with Phelan regarding wind energy is bound to turn technical, since he has more than a passing interest in the topic.
“I built my first wind turbine in 1976,” he explained, as he paged through photo albums filled with pictures of himself as a young man installing wind turbines at various locations across the U.S. and throughout the world.
While Phelan says he is no longer in “the windmill business,” he remains a consultant for the industry and is a staunch proponent of alternative energy.
“I think wind power is an integral part of the energy mix required to make the United States energy self-sufficient,” he explained.
One of the supervisor’s intentions is to include a long-term monitoring device on the wind turbine. Not only will this allow information on wind speeds and turbine performance to be uploaded continuously to the Town of Coventry website, but it will also help quantify the area’s “wind resource,” he reported.
“Once that resource is known, it’s only a matter of time,” he said, before private individuals or the municipality itself decides to take better advantage of the opportunity to harness the power of the wind.
Phelan said his “gut feeling” is that the average wind speed at the preliminary installation site the town has selected will be approximately 12 miles per hour. That is slightly higher than the 11.17 miles per hour shown for the spot on the wind maps used by NYSERDA. At that average speed, he estimates the turbine will generate between 1,650 and 1,800 kW/hours of electricity per month, more than enough to offset the town halls current electricity usage.
According to Phelan, the town board intends to send out a request for proposal for the project by the end of July. Having already designated the brand of turbine they are interested in purchasing, they will seek NYSERDA- and factory-certified distributors of that brand who have installed at least three similar turbines and maintain a “shop” within 125 miles of Coventry.
“I hope to have bids to open by our August meeting,” he said, with the intention of having the system installed and operation before winter.
According to Town Supervisor John Phelan, the town board voted in May to go out to bid on the project, which would involve installing a 10kW wind turbine a few hundred yards behind the Coventry Town Hall, adjacent to the town’s recreational area. Not only would it generate power for the facility, he explained, but it would also enable the town to sell the surplus electricity back to NYSEG.
“The overall cost of the system will be around $70,000,” Phelan reported, $50,000 of which he hopes to finance through state and federal grants. Specifically, $30,000 from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and $20,000 through President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
That leaves Coventry to cover the remaining $20,000 of the cost of purchasing and installing the wind turbine and tower, which will measure 153 feet to the tip of the blades. Phelan assures the town will be able to cover its share without a increasing the burden on taxpayers. To accomplish this, he says he plans to utilize funds generated by Coventry’s recycling program, and the community scrap drive which yields approximately $500 a month. $7,000 in revenue from the sale of lumber harvested from the 144-acre parcel of land the town owns off Wylie-Horton Road Extension will also be used for the project, he added.
Phelan said he views the installation of the turbine as an investment for the municipality. If they used that $20,000 to offset taxes next year, it would only benefit residents for one year, he explained. And if that amount were invested, it would yield only a few hundred dollars a year.
“The wind turbine will make nearly that per month,” he said.
Last night, prior to a public hearing on the matter, Phelan was on hand to answer questions and demonstrate a 1/10 scale model of the actual Bergey turbine the town is interested in installing. It is the same type of turbine currently in use at the Morrisville State College campus, he said.
Any conversation with Phelan regarding wind energy is bound to turn technical, since he has more than a passing interest in the topic.
“I built my first wind turbine in 1976,” he explained, as he paged through photo albums filled with pictures of himself as a young man installing wind turbines at various locations across the U.S. and throughout the world.
While Phelan says he is no longer in “the windmill business,” he remains a consultant for the industry and is a staunch proponent of alternative energy.
“I think wind power is an integral part of the energy mix required to make the United States energy self-sufficient,” he explained.
One of the supervisor’s intentions is to include a long-term monitoring device on the wind turbine. Not only will this allow information on wind speeds and turbine performance to be uploaded continuously to the Town of Coventry website, but it will also help quantify the area’s “wind resource,” he reported.
“Once that resource is known, it’s only a matter of time,” he said, before private individuals or the municipality itself decides to take better advantage of the opportunity to harness the power of the wind.
Phelan said his “gut feeling” is that the average wind speed at the preliminary installation site the town has selected will be approximately 12 miles per hour. That is slightly higher than the 11.17 miles per hour shown for the spot on the wind maps used by NYSERDA. At that average speed, he estimates the turbine will generate between 1,650 and 1,800 kW/hours of electricity per month, more than enough to offset the town halls current electricity usage.
According to Phelan, the town board intends to send out a request for proposal for the project by the end of July. Having already designated the brand of turbine they are interested in purchasing, they will seek NYSERDA- and factory-certified distributors of that brand who have installed at least three similar turbines and maintain a “shop” within 125 miles of Coventry.
“I hope to have bids to open by our August meeting,” he said, with the intention of having the system installed and operation before winter.
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