Harrison Roper's Blog (87)

After many months, the "live wind data" page of the UMPI turbine is reporting something! But the turbine is still not generating power.Iin a 12 mph wind,  rotor rpm and generator rpm are zero, and power output is MINUS .4 kWh. That's 400 watts of grid power, being used to keep the machine working. At least something is working, and there is an effort to get it all…

The UMPI turbine website reports it down for repairs, with a new power  figure: 400,221 kWH produced since last mid-November.  The data reporting is also under repair, as it had been for months. 

    Harry Roper   Houlton/Danforth

As of today (July 5, 2012) the UMPI turbine website reports it has  generated 379,171 kwH "since mid-November". That is 223 days; at 14,000 kwH per day "installed" capacity, that's a Capacity Factor of .118, about the same as the previous reports. No other new information is posted. As before, the site declares the full-data reporting software continues to need "fine tuning".

   The turbine was shut down for 210 days before last November's fresh start-up. That's 223 days of…

Wednesday, June 27, 2012 -The UMPI turbine website just posted a new production figure: 374,690 kWh since "mid-November".

That's 217 days, or an average of 1727 kWh per day.  The "installed capacity" is 14,400 kWh per day, so that's a Capacity Factor of  11.99%.  No other new information is posted - the "full turbine informaiton" software is still not working.

Harry Roper   Houlton/Danforth

It is good that attention is being paid to Harvard's purchased interest in Stetson II. Here are some hard facts - let's see if Harvard cites these uncomfortable figures:

  According to FERC's quarterly summaries, Stetson II (when construction was completed) produced 10 GWH in the third quarter of 2010 and 20 GWH in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The installed capacity of Stetson II is 57 GWH per quarter. That's 30 GWH produced for the half year; installed capacity for the period…

Today (July 20, 2012) the UMPI wind turbine site reported  actual power produced since mid-November of  2011 at 364,689 KWH. That's 210 days, and an average 1736 KWH per day. Divide that average by the "installed capacity" of 14,000 KWH per day and you get .124. This is called the "capacity factor"; capacity factor is seldom mentioned by wind promoters. It means the turbine has been working at one eighth  (12.6%) of its potential since it was repaired in mid-November of 2011.  This, for an…

Today the UMPI turbine website reports an update of its ouptut; it generated 355.286 KWH since mid November. That's about six months, or about 183 days. The turbine's "installed capacity" for that period is 600 KW times 24 hours times 183 days equals 2,635,200 KWH. Divide the installed capacity into the actual power produced yields a paltry Capacity Factor of .134 . The previous Capacity  Factor, on May 29 was .126. An optomist would say things are improving. I think a realist would say…

After disappearing for a day or so, the FERC website has the quarterly summaries posted again.

The UMPI wind turbine has a capacity of 600 kw, or 14,400 kwH per day in perfect wind.  Today the website reports 345,400 kwH "since mid-November".  That's 190 days, and the power that was produced averaged 1818 kwH per day. Divide 1818 by 14,400 and you get a 12.6 %  Capacity Factor. For this turbine in this location, 12.6%  Capacity Factor is about average.  On the 14th of this month, the turbine's third anniversary, I calculated a Capacity Factor of 8.9%, including a 210-day period of…

Today my wife and I were at our camp, which is on the hill across Upper Hot Brook Lake from the dozens of Stetson I and II turbines. There was a good wind all afternoon, with some whitecaps on the lake. When we  arrived at about 12:30 pm, ten of the eleven visible Stetson II turbines were turning, at about 23 rpm.  Later in the afternoon (down at the lake) we saw only Stetson II turning, and at 3:00 to 4:30 none of the 30 visible turbines, including all of Stetson II and about 17 of Stetson…

Hello Hart - Here is a partial list:

Lincoln Lakes (First Wind)  Rollins   Evergreen Wind Power III, LLC

Washington County -Stetson I (First Wind) Evergreen Wind Power V, LLC

washington County -Stetson II (First Wind) Stetson Wind, LLC

Mars Hill - (First Wind) Evergreen Wind Power, LLC

Kibby - TransCanadian Maine Wind Development, Inc.

Carthage - Canton Mountain Wind, LLC

Oakfield - (First Wind; not yet under construction) will be Evergreen…

The quarterly summary and spreadsheet pages of the FERC website are shut down as of 11:00 this morning (5/14).  I am hoping this means they are being updated with 1st quarter 2012 data. (The quarter ended March 31, 44 days ago.) 

  Also, the UMPI turbine was erected exactly 3 years ago.  I plan to do a summary of its power production , capacity factor, and reliability record and I will post it soon.

  One sentence was changed on the website: a re-wording of the explanation of…

The UMPI website has posted the turbine's power output for the past week, Friday May 4 - Friday May 11:  12,324 KWh was generated by its 600 kw turbine in tha past week.  12,324 KWh divided by the 100,800 KWh per week installed capacity (600 KW X 7 days X 24 hours ) gives a Capacity Factor of 12.2 %,  slightly less than than the average 12.7 CF for the previous 164 days. Before mid-November, it was non-operative for 164 continuous days. 

I am hoping UMPI will continue posting a weekly…

  The Mark Richey Woodworking Co in Newburyport, MA put up a 600 KW turbine at its plant in March  of 2009, accompanied by much publicity, etc.   It is the same size (600 KW) and manufacturer as UMPI's turbine, which went up two months later in the same year.  There is a website that reports steadily on the Mark Richey Co. turbine's output;  UMPI's website reports sporatically, at best.

Google:  Mark Richey Woodworking.

   As far as I know the Mark Richey's Co's turbine has not…

I figure a 3-year13.4% Capacity Factor for the Mark Richey Woodworking Co's turbine, which is identical to UMPI's. They both went into use three years ago.  The M. Richey Co.'s turbine and website are much more reliable than UMPI's, and Newburyport is on the MA coast, not inland. Nevertheless.....

Harrison Roper

Houlton/Danforth

The UMPI turbine site has just posted a new power production figure::

Since mid-November of 2011, the turbine produced 302,150 kWh for UMPI.  

That's 164 days, an average of 1,842 kWh per day.

302,150 kWh divided by 164 gives an average of 1,842 kwh per day produced since it was fixed.  

It is a 600 kw turbine; 600 kw X 24 hours is 14,400 kWh per day "installed capacity".  

1,842 kWh (recorded average daily power production) divided by 14,400 kWh (installed…

  The UMPI turbine website is reporting power production the past 140 days:  290,516 kWh "since mid-November" until April 6.  I calculate: 140 days at 600 Kw capacity and 24 hours per day comes to "installed capacity" of 20,160,000 kWh for that period; 290,516 kWh actual power production divided by the installed capacity gives a MINISCULE .014 Capacity Factor.  This compares very poorly to most Maine wind farms' CF, which range from .24 to .41 CF for the same period.

The site…

FERC has posted some speadsheets of data on generators' power sales for the 1st quarter of 2012.  Ths list is short and will grow as more data reports come in. In a quick scan, I did not spot any Maine wind facilities' data. The quarterly summaries will be posted in a couple of weeks.

Harrison Roper  Houlton/Danforth, ME 

I wold like to know what Vinalhaven's  energy price per kwh was  before the turbines, and what it is now.

Thank you - Harry Roper   Houlton/Danforth

207-532-3797

As of March 15 the UMPI turbine website reported the turbine, after a "down" period of months for repair,  had been generating power for 126 days;  "180,240 kWh since 2nd week of November".  There is no other information - the software needs "fine tuning",  

Operating perfectly in ideal wind  the UMPI turbine is "rated" to  generate 600 kW, or 14,400 kWh per day

 It has been in operation 126 days since early November. 

14,400 kwh X 126 = 1,814,400 kwh. This woud be 100%…