Did UMPI get a new wind turbine or upgrade which somehow escaped the Maine media?

RRB Energy Ltd.PS-600 wind turbine has been upgraded to a Vestas 47??? If so, what was the cost? What was the funding source? How much has been spent to date on this turbine since it was conceived? Does "upgraded to a Vestas 47" mean the nacelle has been replaced? If the turbine (presumably at least the nacelle???) has been replaced, what happened to the old one? How much did UMPI get for this? Has ANY news about The UM's possible purchase of a new wind turbine or component been reported in the media? What academic programs could have benefitted if the funding for this possible new turbine or component had been differently allocated? 

The University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI) seeks “turn-key” semiannual
preventative maintenance program for the University’s 600 kW wind
turbine. The University seeks fixed hourly rates for the first two (2) years
of the contract as well as fixed cost-plus for material markup for the entire
length of the contract and any contract renewals.
The RRB Energy Ltd.PS-600 wind turbine has been upgraded to a Vestas 47.
Awarded Contractor will be required to be trained to perform
preventative maintenance and repairs on the V-47. T

Much more at:

http://www.maine.edu/strategic-procurement/wp-content/uploads/sites...

Also downloadable at:

RFP_30-18_UMPI-Wind-Turbine-Preventative-Maintenance-and-Repair-Srv...

Possible other information on this turbine:

https://www.thewindpower.net/turbine_en_533_rrb-energy_ps-600.php

A bit dated, but read about the disaster that is the UMPI wind turbine and the University cover up of the failure right here:

UMPI%20Turbine%20Backgrounder_8-3-11.pdf

From then UMPI president Donald Zillman on the Kool-aid soaked UMS board:

(From Donald Zillman's "More Than Tilting at Windmills" published in the Washburn Law Journal)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Currently Posted UMPI Wind Data as of 1/6/18 at 

http://www.umpi.edu/wind/data/

Note that today, January 6, 2018 is 8.65 years since the turbine began spinning on May 15, 2009. The above noted production since its inception of 4,477,615 kWh means that this several million dollar investment has produced only 517,520 kWh per year. The project was approved on a promise of 1,000,000 kWh a year.

CAPACITY FACTOR OF ONLY 9.8%

24 hours in a day x 365 days a year x the nameplate kW of 600 x the 8.65 years to date means that the full nameplate kWh's since May 15, 2009 would be 45,475,200 kWh. Because the university states it has produced only 4,477,615 kWh, the capacity factor appears to be only 9.8% since the turbine began spinning.

What if you filled up your gas tank with 20 gallons only to learn you only really got two?

From UMPI back in Nov 2009:

The University’s wind turbine is expected to produce
about 1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year and
save the institution more than $100,000 annually in electricity
charges. It is expected to save an estimated 572 tons of
carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere
each year, or the equivalent of removing 123 cars from the road..............Officials promised to make the wind turbine project very public and showall sides of completing
an alternative energy project
– both the value and cost-effectiveness
of harnessing natural resources for clean electricity as well
as any problems encountered along the way............................

Officials promised to make the wind turbine project very
public and show all sides of completing an alternative energy project
– both the value and cost-effectiveness of harnessing natural resources for
clean electricity as well as any problems encountered along the way.......................

http://www.umpi.edu/files/news/image-newsletter/image_2009-11.pdf

and

UMPI_image_2009-11%20-%20Copy.pdf

MAINE PUC MONEY HELPED FUND THE TURBINE

The UMPI wind turbine got a nice head start when Kurt Adams, chairman of the Maine PUC handed UMPI a Maine PUC check for $50,000 as noted in the Bangor Daily News on October 25, 2007 in an article by Jen Lynds entitled "Wind turbine project gets funding boost".

"During a gathering at the Aroostook Centre Mall on Wednesday morning, university officials accepted a $50,000 grant from the Maine Public Utility Commission's Voluntary Renewable Resources Fund for its wind turbine project. The grant will help UMPI as it moves forward with plans to build the wind turbine on campus."

Adams of course would later jump to wind developer First Wind which would become the now bankrupt SunEdison, a poster child of crony capitalism/rent seeking. According to the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, Adams took over $ 1 million in stock options from First Wind while still at the PUC. He had apparently been interviewing  with First Wind for months -- at a time while his PUC was deciding whether to approve the $1.4 BILLION "CMP Upgrade" or MPRP, essentially a ratepayer-funded gift to the Maine wind industry, without which, First Wind would not have been able to get its wind electricity to southern New England, being bottlenecked at Orrington, ME. See: http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/first-wind-the-kurt-ada...

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Comment by Jim Wiegand on April 2, 2018 at 12:08pm

CAPACITY FACTOR OF ONLY 9.8%   I believe if we looked at all turbine energy  production we would see far lower numbers than their reported claims.  But no one is looking. In fact we really have no idea how many billions are being handed out to this industry because nobody sees where these payments are being funneled to.                                                                                                                             I think it would be wonderful to see the payments inducing names of all these lying bastards causing this hell on earth.

Comment by Long Islander on January 6, 2018 at 4:46pm

Could they have bought a new Vestas 47 turbine if they have been belt tightening?

The last fiscal shortfall in 2015 was even greater and that’s when Bell said UMPI’s President Linda Schott stepped in to get a handle on the problem. In total, about $3.7 million in reserves were used, which left the campus with approximately $1 million remaining in reserves.

“We’re running a little light,” Bell said.

In response to the lack in funds, the campus tightened its belt and reduced spending on travel and supplies and materials so as to not hurt any programs, according to chief business officer, Ben Shaw.

http://wp.umpi.edu/utimes/2016/02/16/stabilization-funds-to-close-2...

Comment by Frank Haggerty on January 6, 2018 at 12:20pm

http://www.theenergycollective.com/willem-post/53258/examples-wind-...

UNIVERSITY of MAINE WIND TURBINE A DISMAL FAILURE?

 

Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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