PEDC Sustainable Energy
This is the home of the Portsmouth Economic Development Committee (PEDC) Sustainable Energy Initiative - your authoritative source of information on energy initiatives in Portsmouth.
For FY10 the WTG Project transferred $80,465 and $179,100 to the Town General Fund and School Fund, respectively.
Portsmouth Wind Turbine Videos
Build the WTG in a Minute
Click here to see a time-sequence of the construction process compressed into one-minute.
Roger Williams University Video
Click Here to see video about the Town wind turbine produced by students at Roger Williams University.
Portsmouth Wind Turbine from the Air
Click here to see a video of the wind turbine from the air.
Portsmouth WTG Neighbors Talk
Click Here to see a video of WTG neighbor thoughts
Portsmouth Wind Turbine on National Geographic
Click here to see the trailer for Nat Geo's World's Toughest Fixes episode on the Portsmouth wind turbnine.
Wind Power
Our Wind Turbine Generator went on line in March 2009. Go to our WIND POWER PAGE to get information about the turbine project and its development.
GENERAL OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE WIND TURBINE PROJECT HAS BEEN TURNED OVER TO THE TOWN. FOR ALL INFORMATION ON TURBINE OUTPUT, OPERATION, OUTAGES, SITE VISITS AND ZONING ISSUES - Contact Portsmouth Assistant Town Planner, Gary Crosby (401)-643-0332 or E-Mail at: gcrosby@portsmouthri.com.
| As of (Date) | June 30, 2010 |
|---|---|
| KwH Total | 4,028,400 |
For FY10 the WTG Project transferred $80,465 and $179,100 to the Town General Fund and School Fund, respectively.
The revenue from the wind turbine is about 8 cents per KwH compensation from NGRID (that varies based on several electrical supply factors) and 4 cents per KwH sale of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) (that is guaranteed for 10 years). the audited revenue figures are shown on the WIND FACTS PAGE.
More Wind Facts
Portsmouth High School Students Build a WTG info Kiosk
What is “Sustainable Energy”?
“Sustainable Energy” means providing for our energy needs without depleting our planet’s natural resources (like oil). Another related term is “ Renewable Energy”. That means being able to generate energy with resources that are naturally regenerated (like wind).
Sustainable energy has two arms; one is energy generation from renewable sources and the other is energy conservation. Both are required to close the gap to our goal of “sustainment” in our energy needs.
Each potential process of helping us attain our goal has both positives and negatives. Solar power is great and uses the sun, but solar panels are expensive and create some waste and consume natural resources in the manufacturing processes. Nuclear power can provide significant power with the use of a small amount of uranium, but has obvious drawbacks. Even the use of fluorescent lamps, although they use less power may create additional mercury contamination if they are improperly disposed.
Sustainable Energy Subcommittee
We have established a PEDC Sustainable Energy Subcommittee. Their charter is to continually look at “the next best thing” that can provide near-term energy payoff for the Town. As technology provides better alternatives, like affordable Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps or tidal current energy systems, the subcommittee will review them for potential implementation.
Since 2004, the Sustainable Energy Subcommittee has focused on Wind Power as the most promising near-term technology that will help us toward that “sustainable” energy goal. Go to our WIND POWER PAGE to see how our wind turbine is making our town more sustainable.
What's Next?
We are a volunteer group and, after the wind project winds down. we will focus our limited, but dedicated, resources on the next best thing to help us work on our sustainable energy goal. We will be working closely with the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission to establish an Aquidneck Island Energy Alliance so we can pool the island's resources to work sustainable energy issues.
Neighborhood Energy Challenge