Lorain/Elyria, OH
Two wind turbines are the first step for Sheffield Lake’s pilot green utility program
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LORAIN — The first step in Sheffield Lake’s efforts to get the Shoreway Shopping Center off the electric grid was completed Tuesday morning with the installation of two wind turbines at the new boat launch on Lake Road.
Mayor John Piskura said he was thrilled with the city’s $32,000 investment.
“Everyone keeps on telling us all these things we can’t do, and we keep getting them done,” Piskura said. “It’s a real sense of accomplishment, and this is just the beginning.”
Piskura said Sheffield Lake should be proud of the pilot green utility program.
“I believe we’re the first lakefront city to have these in the county,” he said.
The 45-foot turbines will only power the lights in the shopping center, said Tom Whitby, renewable energy manager with Lake Erie Electric, the contractor that handled the installation.
The turbines have a 25-year lifespan, and city officials expect to have them paid off in six to seven years, which will give the shopping center about 15 years of free lighting.
“I think it works out to around $2,000 worth of power a year,” Piskura said.
Piskura would like to see the city buy a third 250-foot wind turbine “in the very near future” to create even more renewable energy. The taller wind turbine would cost between $700,000 and $800,000, he said.
The next goal would be to install as many as 250 solar panels on the roof of Apples grocery store, Whitby said, adding the panels would generate about 6,000 kilowatts a month.
If all that comes to pass, the city could sell the power generated by the wind turbines and solar panels back to Shoreway center tenants for less than they would pay Ohio Edison. The city would charge more than it costs the city to transmit and distribute the power, and Piskura said they’d use the money raised to reinvest in further green energy projects.
“We want to be off the grid as much as possible,” Piskura said. “Our intention is to generate enough green power here to power the entire shopping center.”
The average household uses between 800 and 1,000 kilowatts a month, Whitby said. The two turbines installed Tuesday should generate between 600 and 700 kilowatts a month each.
The turbines sit on a 12-foot by 12-foot concrete pad with a 30-inch, 4.5-foot deep foundation, Whitby said. It took about two and a half days to fully install the turbines, pipes and power lines. The company still has to grade the construction area and plant some grass.
The city plans to install a sign along Lake Road near the library with information about renewable energy and wind turbine power.
Contact Alicia Castelli at 329-7144 or acastelli@chroniclet.com.
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I sure hope that it proves to be fruitful; maybe then, it would encourage other cities to adopt similar green-powered technology:)
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This is excellent news! I hope Lorain County gets the wind farm and we see a lot more green power everywhere! I am buying my solar kit this weekend. My kit will cost $1,000 and will generate 100 watts of power and charge a 600 watt power pack.I encourage you all to invest in solar and wind. You can also get a huge tax credit for doing so!
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??? $1,000 for 100W * HR ???
10 Hr for 1 KW * HR
1 KW*HR is about $.10
10 KW*HR is about $1.00 for 100 HRs
$1,000 is about 100,000 HRs
Say you get 10 HRs of power generation a day, thats 10,000 days or 27 years for payback.
I know thats without distribution charges and taxes, but it still doesn’t seem like a good investment. Why should other people have to fund your poor investment with tax credits? If it’s so great it should be able to hold it’s own without being proped up with the tax credit.
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One more thing $32,000 investment for $2000 worth of power a year. Thats 16 years to pay back not 6-7 years. What about maintenance costs on these things, has that been figured in at all? They said they are taking the center complete off the grid, so if these lights aren’t on the electric grid any more what happens if there is no wind? Are there battery backups to power the lights? Batteries don’t last forever and have to be replaced has that been figured in?
I don’t have a problem with people spending their own money on these things, but when they get tax credits to do it then it makes me upset. Even more so when politicians talk about things that they don’t know anything about.
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Go to Google Australia and search for all the complaints they have down there. http://www.google.com.au/
Here is just one and it doesn’t include the sheep or the birds, at least not on this one.
Wind farm ‘kills Taiwanese goats’ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8060969.stm
And while you’re on Google.com.au search for “wind turbine maintenance” & costs and look around at few sites.
Here is something else, if they truly are maintenance free, which I doubt, why did I find this: Below it will tell you that “when a $1,500 bearing fails unnoticed, it can lead to production loss and revenue loss including an unscheduled replacement of a $100,000 dollar gearbox and a unscheduled crane cost of up to $70,000 to access the failed components.”
60% of US Wind Turbines Behind on Maintenance, Not Enough Technicians to Do the Work
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 09. 9.08
Science & Technology (alternative energy)
“”Even regular, scheduled preventative-maintenance like oil changes and gearbox lubrication (services that are often still under warranty) are falling behind as manufacturers face similar resource struggles related to the shortage of qualified technicians.”"
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/09/60-percent-united-states-wind-turbines-behind-on-maintenance.php
Good Luck!
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