May 15th, 2008
Local company looks to wind for energy production
by Faith DeAmbrose
DEER ISLE and SARGENTVILLE—Harnessing renewable energy, fostering
sustainability, combating energy costs and going green have become more than just
buzz words in recent years. As energy costs in all sectors skyrocket, the issue has
become front and center in policy making across the country and Maine is no exception.
With no clear end in sight to rising costs, one local company is moving ahead with a plan
to address the problem.
Deer Isle-based company Coastal Green Energy is doing a lot more than talking about
going green—it’s doing it. With one projected multi-million dollar wind power project
underway and another right behind, owners Ricky Spofford and James Paterson are
working to harness energy that will not only benefit the environment but give back to the
communities in which the projects are sited.
Paramount to both potential wind projects and to the company’s philosophy, explained
Spofford and Paterson in a recent interview, is the need to have as little impact on the
area as possible. “When we looked at possible locations [to site the projects] we took
three to four days,” said Spofford, driving to different areas with a lap top and global
positioning equipment to determine which sites would be least visible from surrounding
locations. Spofford and Paterson ultimately decided on one location in Deer Isle on the
Reach in the Fish Creek area and another just south of Caterpillar Hill in Sedgwick. At
each heavily wooded site the land is intended to be managed to serve as a natural buffer
to both shield the intended turbines from view, as well as any noise that will emanate.
The projects call for clearing a minimal amount of land to ensure a largely protected view
from both land and sea. “In some places you may catch a glimpse, but it is going to be
limited,” said Spofford.
Last year, Coastal Green Energy installed an anemometer—a device that measures and
records wind speed, direction and velocity—at its Deer Isle location and the results were
encouraging, explained project consultant Kyle Teamey of Dunia Frontier Consultants in
Washington, D.C. In fact, the collected data was so encouraging that Teamey is
researching the most appropriate turbine for the location as well as putting together a
financing model for the project. One turbine, estimated to cost approximately $2.3 million,
will be erected on the Fish Creek property in the coming months and data will be
collected for another year before further investments will be made at that location, said
Teamey.
According to Teamey, the likely wind turbine for the location, moving at speeds below 25
miles per hour, could produce up to 750 kilowatts of power, or enough to provide power to
300 homes each day. Over the course of a year one turbine is expected to produce
upwards of 1.5 million kW hours of electricity. According to the American Wind Energy
Association, one 750-kW wind turbine offsets 1,500 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
As the company prepares its Sargentville location, the anemometer has moved from
Deer Isle to a 57-acre parcel south of Caterpillar Hill where wind speeds will be recorded
for a period of six to eight months to determine the viability of a wind project at that
location.
With an eye on giving back to the local communities, the company is working with Bangor
Hydro to learn how it can “give back” a percentage of the power generated (in the form of
a monetary rebate from the power company) once the projects have been fully
established. This is at least a year away in Deer Isle and further away in Sedgwick,
explained Spofford, noting that once the turbine on the Island has been tested for one
year, the company will be in a better position to explain the specifics of how such a gift to
the townships would be managed.
Coastal Green Energy is not alone in its quest for the production of renewable energy.
The U.S. Department of Energy recognizes the coast of Maine as having substantial wind
power generation potential and Maine’s government is currently moving towards an
alternative energy portfolio which includes wind, solar and tidal resources. The state has
recently created a number of task forces and energy initiatives designed to examine and
cultivate each energy alternative.
According to recent findings from the Governor’s Task Force on Wind Power: “Wind
power should be developed as part of a broad energy policy to reduce dependence on
fossil fuels, increase energy security, diversify energy sources, and reduce impacts
caused by energy generation” and should “seek to host at least 2,000 MW of installed
wind power capacity by 2015, and at least 3,000 MW by 2020.”
Spofford and Paterson say they are excited about the prospect of bringing renewable
energy to the local area. The pair explain that advances in wind technology have come far
in recent decades and pose much less cause for concern then they had previously.
Acknowledging concerns regarding wildlife and noise, Spofford said that new
technologies allow turbines to move at a much slower and quieter speed than in the past.
A number of recent studies claim that avian and bat deaths attributed to wind towers are
less than one percent of overall bird deaths as compared to a significantly higher
percentage of deaths attributed to glass windows, house cats and pollution generated
from fossil fuel consumption.
The potential for noise will be combated by the fact that the turbine will be placed 1,000’
from the road in Deer Isle and that a 250’ tree buffer will surround the turbines, explained
Paterson, who added he was building a house on the Deer Isle property, and, comparing
the noise generated by a turbine to the swishing of a poplar tree, said that noise would
not be an issue. You can contact Coastal Green Energy through their web site www.
gocoastalgreen.com if you have any questions.
by Faith DeAmbrose
DEER ISLE and SARGENTVILLE—Harnessing renewable energy, fostering
sustainability, combating energy costs and going green have become more than just
buzz words in recent years. As energy costs in all sectors skyrocket, the issue has
become front and center in policy making across the country and Maine is no exception.
With no clear end in sight to rising costs, one local company is moving ahead with a plan
to address the problem.
Deer Isle-based company Coastal Green Energy is doing a lot more than talking about
going green—it’s doing it. With one projected multi-million dollar wind power project
underway and another right behind, owners Ricky Spofford and James Paterson are
working to harness energy that will not only benefit the environment but give back to the
communities in which the projects are sited.
Paramount to both potential wind projects and to the company’s philosophy, explained
Spofford and Paterson in a recent interview, is the need to have as little impact on the
area as possible. “When we looked at possible locations [to site the projects] we took
three to four days,” said Spofford, driving to different areas with a lap top and global
positioning equipment to determine which sites would be least visible from surrounding
locations. Spofford and Paterson ultimately decided on one location in Deer Isle on the
Reach in the Fish Creek area and another just south of Caterpillar Hill in Sedgwick. At
each heavily wooded site the land is intended to be managed to serve as a natural buffer
to both shield the intended turbines from view, as well as any noise that will emanate.
The projects call for clearing a minimal amount of land to ensure a largely protected view
from both land and sea. “In some places you may catch a glimpse, but it is going to be
limited,” said Spofford.
Last year, Coastal Green Energy installed an anemometer—a device that measures and
records wind speed, direction and velocity—at its Deer Isle location and the results were
encouraging, explained project consultant Kyle Teamey of Dunia Frontier Consultants in
Washington, D.C. In fact, the collected data was so encouraging that Teamey is
researching the most appropriate turbine for the location as well as putting together a
financing model for the project. One turbine, estimated to cost approximately $2.3 million,
will be erected on the Fish Creek property in the coming months and data will be
collected for another year before further investments will be made at that location, said
Teamey.
According to Teamey, the likely wind turbine for the location, moving at speeds below 25
miles per hour, could produce up to 750 kilowatts of power, or enough to provide power to
300 homes each day. Over the course of a year one turbine is expected to produce
upwards of 1.5 million kW hours of electricity. According to the American Wind Energy
Association, one 750-kW wind turbine offsets 1,500 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
As the company prepares its Sargentville location, the anemometer has moved from
Deer Isle to a 57-acre parcel south of Caterpillar Hill where wind speeds will be recorded
for a period of six to eight months to determine the viability of a wind project at that
location.
With an eye on giving back to the local communities, the company is working with Bangor
Hydro to learn how it can “give back” a percentage of the power generated (in the form of
a monetary rebate from the power company) once the projects have been fully
established. This is at least a year away in Deer Isle and further away in Sedgwick,
explained Spofford, noting that once the turbine on the Island has been tested for one
year, the company will be in a better position to explain the specifics of how such a gift to
the townships would be managed.
Coastal Green Energy is not alone in its quest for the production of renewable energy.
The U.S. Department of Energy recognizes the coast of Maine as having substantial wind
power generation potential and Maine’s government is currently moving towards an
alternative energy portfolio which includes wind, solar and tidal resources. The state has
recently created a number of task forces and energy initiatives designed to examine and
cultivate each energy alternative.
According to recent findings from the Governor’s Task Force on Wind Power: “Wind
power should be developed as part of a broad energy policy to reduce dependence on
fossil fuels, increase energy security, diversify energy sources, and reduce impacts
caused by energy generation” and should “seek to host at least 2,000 MW of installed
wind power capacity by 2015, and at least 3,000 MW by 2020.”
Spofford and Paterson say they are excited about the prospect of bringing renewable
energy to the local area. The pair explain that advances in wind technology have come far
in recent decades and pose much less cause for concern then they had previously.
Acknowledging concerns regarding wildlife and noise, Spofford said that new
technologies allow turbines to move at a much slower and quieter speed than in the past.
A number of recent studies claim that avian and bat deaths attributed to wind towers are
less than one percent of overall bird deaths as compared to a significantly higher
percentage of deaths attributed to glass windows, house cats and pollution generated
from fossil fuel consumption.
The potential for noise will be combated by the fact that the turbine will be placed 1,000’
from the road in Deer Isle and that a 250’ tree buffer will surround the turbines, explained
Paterson, who added he was building a house on the Deer Isle property, and, comparing
the noise generated by a turbine to the swishing of a poplar tree, said that noise would
not be an issue. You can contact Coastal Green Energy through their web site www.
gocoastalgreen.com if you have any questions.
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