Kenjibenji's Blog

About wind, and alternative energy

Kallan — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:59:36 +0000

Wind energy is a clean, renewable source of energy that harnesses the kinetic energy of wind and turns it into energy we can use practically. Wind causes the rotor of the turbine to spin which works an electric generator. The state of Illinois has the 16th highest wind energy in the US. According to a federal research lab, wind energy has the potential to supply 20% of the US’s electricity. In June 2001, Illinois enacted the Illinois Resource Development and Energy Sercuity Act, which adopted a statewide goal of having at least 15% of energy be renewable energy by 2020. Although solar power has enormous potential for energy production, wind power technology is more developed than solar power is, and is therefore more economically efficient and productive. For example, to produce energy for a large home or office using 45kWh per day (at an average wind speed of 12mph) the approximate cost would be $5-6/Watt for wind and $9-10/Watt for solar. Geothermal energy is also a renewable source of energy that has enormous potential; however, like solar it is still rarer than wind power and therefore is very difficult to find funding for. Additionally, geothermal units are difficult to install and connect to already existing power systems and are a good option when building from scratch.

$$$$ How we will pay

Kallan — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:55:41 +0000

To fund the turbine, we are going to apply to a number of grants, make bids for personal donations, as well as doing our own fundraising. One grant we are looking at is the Renewable Energy Resources Program, administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (http://www.bergey.com/IL.grant.htm). The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation is a nonprofit authorized by the Illinois legislature that provides funding for educational institutions to install clean energy systems, such as wind (http://www.illinoiscleanenergy.org/). The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity also offers grants of up to $500,000 for wind turbine projects. How In addition to applying for grants, we are going to write to private donors explaining our project and asking for help.

FAQ’s

Kallan — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:52:52 +0000

FAQ’s

-Are birds hurt by wind turbines?
Less than 1 bird per wind turbine per year is killed.

-How noisy is the wind turbine?
450m away is just background noise

-Are there any height regulations?
FAA has a height regulation that nothing can be taller than 200 feet near an airport. LFA is 21.56 miles from O’hare and 41.75 miles from Midway.

-What about other laws or regulations in Lake Forest concerning wind turbines?
Since wind turbines are relatively new constructions, there are not any specific regulations involving the building of a wind turbine

-How do you know there is enough wind?
From the wind speed data we have been able to collect through our research, it seems that Lake Forest Academy is a very feasible sight for a wind turbine. However, to ensure that there is enough wind and to get specific data on wind speeds we are going to hire a professional energy assessment firm to analyze the wind speeds. Additionally, if that assessment is not enough to prove we have sufficient wind speeds to support a wind turbine, we will install a meteorological tower to gather wind speed data for approximately one year so we can have exact data about wind speeds in the precise spot where the wind turbine would be.

Other schools have done it!

Kallan — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:51:03 +0000

Schools across the country have already discovered the economic and energy productivity of a wind turbine. Carleton College, located in Western Minnesota, purchased a 1.65MW (Mega-Watt) turbine for their site and installed it in 2005. The full cost of the project cost $1.8 million, part of which was funded by a $150,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Commerce. The power produced by the turbine is connected to Xcel’s energy grid. The annual estimated output of the 1.65MW turbine is 5,000,000kWh (kilowatt hours). Xcel buys the energy from the turbine at 3.3 cents per kWh and their is an additional state production incentive of 1.5 cents. Their turbine will be completely paid off after a time period of 10 years.6 In Portsmouth, Rhode Island there is a 1.5MW turbine on the campus of the local high school, which was erected in March of 2009. The estimated annual output is about 3 million kWh. The municipal electrical consumption of the town is about 4 million kWh. Over a lifespan of 20 years it is expected to return around $4 million to the town, although even this estimate is conservative since most turbines have an expected lifespan of 20-30 years. There are local wind turbines as well: Bureau Valley High School in Bureau County, IL installed a wind turbine in 2004 to power their facilities and in Pike County, IL the Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative purchased a 1.65MW turbine.

St. Olaf Wind turbine

Wind comparison

Kallan — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:46:33 +0000

Wind comparison

These are our options for different types of wind turbines. As you can see, the largest size gives us the most return and is most feasible.

I don’t like this man….

Kallan — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:51:28 +0000

http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-280.html

Frustrated

Kallan — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:29:21 +0000

One of my biggest problems has been the responses I get sometimes when talking about this project. Many people–at LFA, in the community and in the world–don’t think that renewable energy is worth spending money on, they think it is a waste. Do they not understand that this is our inevitable future! Soon the whole world will be powered by clean, renewable energy…we might as well get ahead of the game at LFA! Other people considered it a total pipe dream and act like we have no shot at all. People who don’t know anything about the project! They don’t know about the other schools who have done it successfully, or, if they aren’t interested in saving the planet how much money it would save the school!!!!! I guess we will have to keep working to show them the truth!

Email

Kallan — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:22:44 +0000

This is an email I got from an employee of Principa college who was involved in the school’s purchasing and installation of a wind turbine, and meteorological tower. Dr. Cedergren and I are currently in the stage where we are looking to buy a meteorological tower, to measure the wind speed data at LFA and make sure a wind turbine would be a feasible source of energy (which it totally would be!). Anyways this was some helpful information about a company we are interested in purchasing from so I thought I would share!

Kallan,

I’ve been very satisfied with our two purchases of NRG equipment. Principia initially installed NRG equipment on an existing radio tower, and then a year later purchased a 60 meter tilt-up tower as well. I chose NRG because it was a complete system–I didn’t have to deal with multiple companies (e.g. one for gathering the data, and one for analyzing the data). In 2007, while I was in grad school, I was at a conference in Vermont just a few miles from where NRG is located and dropped by and had a great visit.

The only big downside was the initial cost of the tilt-up tower, but NRG wasn’t out of line when compared with their competitors.

Sounds promising to me!

updates!

Kallan — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:16:04 +0000

We recently got the contact information for a woman from Lake Forest who is an environmental attorney, and is interested in creating a start-up company involving a wind turbine. She works with a Renewable Energy development group in Grayslake. We also got the information for John Bostram, the facilities/intergovernmental relations person for the Chicago Bears. We are hoping to get the support of the Bears on this project since they practice so close to our campus where the turbine would be. Maybe they will even give us some money

Cool green energy site

Kallan — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:04:36 +0000

http://www.greengeek.ca/