UMPI's wind website has been partially updated - Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine2024-03-29T11:52:03Zhttps://www.windtaskforce.org/forum/topics/umpis-wind-website-has-been?feed=yes&xn_auth=noIf the turbine cost $2 mil an…tag:www.windtaskforce.org,2010-03-13:4401701:Comment:25392010-03-13T23:56:29.000ZCharliehttps://www.windtaskforce.org/profile/CharlesParcells
If the turbine cost $2 mil and only produces $100 k per year of electricity that means 20 years to break even not counting maintenance expenses. That can't be rught.<br />
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I'm baffled by situations like this where a school or a municipality buys one or two turbines that cost millions of dollars. When ever you buy equipment you're thinking about, if this thing breaks what will I have to do to get if fixed? If a blade or gearbox or some other big componant fails after the warranty expires those…
If the turbine cost $2 mil and only produces $100 k per year of electricity that means 20 years to break even not counting maintenance expenses. That can't be rught.<br />
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I'm baffled by situations like this where a school or a municipality buys one or two turbines that cost millions of dollars. When ever you buy equipment you're thinking about, if this thing breaks what will I have to do to get if fixed? If a blade or gearbox or some other big componant fails after the warranty expires those repairs can be very expensive and they could take a long time to do because if one of the giant cranes is necessary it could be months before one is available. I've heard that warrantees on turbines are typically 2 years. May be the schools and municple buyers have been given grants that are so favorable they've got the money back before the warranty runs out. When these "non profit" demo projects are proposed nobody ever asks to see the pro forma. Follow the money and find out how schools and small towns can afford to take such a risk. The $ 2 million turbine was c…tag:www.windtaskforce.org,2010-03-05:4401701:Comment:22602010-03-05T23:38:54.000ZLong Islanderhttps://www.windtaskforce.org/profile/LongIslander
The $ 2 million turbine was commissioned almost 10 months months ago (see May 15, 2009 Bangor Daily News <a href="http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/106065.html" target="_blank">http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/106065.html</a>),<br />
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Although there are no data posted yet, there is a letter from the university president Donald Zillman, who is also a coauthor of the book "Beyond the Carbon Economy". (See attached letter in pdf)<br />
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The turbine is expected to produce OVER $100,000 in annual…
The $ 2 million turbine was commissioned almost 10 months months ago (see May 15, 2009 Bangor Daily News <a href="http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/106065.html" target="_blank">http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/106065.html</a>),<br />
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Although there are no data posted yet, there is a letter from the university president Donald Zillman, who is also a coauthor of the book "Beyond the Carbon Economy". (See attached letter in pdf)<br />
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The turbine is expected to produce OVER $100,000 in annual electricity savings, avoid emissions of 572 tons of carbon dioxide and produce one million KWH of electricity every year.<br />
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So it will be a true educational experience to see the actual production and wind measurement data, particularly in that such data are often near impossible to come by.<br />
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If the turbine does not deliver as UMPI had been led to believe, it is essential that as an educational institution, UMPI lets everyone in the state know. We already know <i>the initial cost</i> was $2 million. So let's see once and for all the return on investment. I suspect the turbine was erected to show the viability of wind. But if it shows the opposite, the $2 million will be money well spent by showing the state, once and for all, the true futility of industrial wind. Should this be the case, the $2 million will pay for itself many times over in lessons learned.