Harrison Roper's Blog (87)

   With  Congress' non-renewal of the PTC yesterday,  Maine's industrial wind turbines will be even less likely to manage to survive financially. When the turbines cease to generate and sell power, they are required by their Permits to be decomissioned.  Then we will learn the validity of the fully pre-funded financing arrangements that have been made for removal of the monstrosities and restoration of the site to its original condiiton.  The permitting authorities have accepted highly…

 As of February 24, The UMPI turbine website has something new to report - "annual maintenance"  has revealed a need for some new parts, which have been ordered. Officials hope to have it working "in early March".

  I will be at UMPI on Sunday and will report if the turbine is turning or not. But I won't hold my breath. 

  The same old 164,808 kWh of power production since mid-November is reported - there has been no update since Feb. 14th. 

The turbine's third…

Hello friends - The home page has a series of titles at the top where you can click and get various things - probably the most valuable is "CONTACT PUBLIC OFFICIALS".  It includes telephone numbers, e-mails, mail address etc. for the Governor, US Senators and Representatives, etc., including their local offices.  Many thanks to whoever prepared that list for us.  Harry Roper

After a couple of attempts, the FERC website downloaded power production figures for October, November, and December of 2011 for Lincoln Lakes (Rollins), which FERC calls "Evergreen Wind Power III, LLC."  I dont know why it didn't work the first time,  I will post this information in a day or so.

H. Roper  Houlton/Danforth

The FERC website seems to have been changed. I see no "Download" place, and  I  can't get the big list of producers to come up. Help!?

 Harrisdson Roper  Houlton/Dnforth

harryroper@myfairpoint.net

I have learned a bit more about the FERC website. 

If you go to: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing-/eqr/data/spreadsheet.asp  you get a webpage that has quarterly/monthly (?) data on power sales by all of the large power plants in the USA, for the past ten years or so.  All large power producers are required to report this information to FERC, and it is public. 

    After selecting a producer (see below),…

On a visit to the UMPI campus today (Jan. 22) the turbine was not moving at 1:00 PM.   It was turning at apparant full speed at 4:30 when we left. Whether it was producing power or not is a mystery. The turbine website does not have any recent information on it at all; the latest was the report of 94,620 KWH produced as of December 29.

 Harry   Roper  Houlton/Danforth 

Hello Willem Post - Sorry, I simply do not know how to do a spreadsheet. I am 79 years old and most details of the internet have escaped me.  But you have a very good idea;  I hope someone will spot this and do the project for you. 

  To me, it is self-evident that actual power production (and the lack thereof) will eventually prove to be the deciding factor in whether the turibnes will endure.  From what I have seen in monitoring the UMPI turbine's poor output for 2.5 years,  inland…

  The Federal Energy Regulation Commission  (FERC) has a website that lists seemingly hundreds of energy producers in the USA.  The site has information on quarterly power sales and prices and some other details.   

  To check out the  Maine wind producers' actual power production you have to know the name FERC uses for them:

Mars Hill is "Evergreen Wind Power, LLC";

Stetson I is "Evergreen Wind Power V, LLC"

Stetson II is "Stetson Wind,LLC"

Kibby is…

The UMPI turbine is working! After 200 days of down time in 2011!  In tha past week some 17,000+ mWh were generated and sold to the grid, addording to the website..  Furthur work is ongoing, to get the site reporting all promised data.

Harrison Roper  Houlton/Danforth

I was at UMPI this afternoon ( Sunday November 13) for a rehearsal. The turbine was actually turning - but no data was posted on the website, which has the same old zeroes and the statement: "Last weekend......primary months" that has been posted for 208 continuous days.

  Maybe it is working, or maybe it is just coasting in neutral, or maybe it is using grid energy to turn itself  - it is a mystery, and the website tells us nothing.

Harrison Roper  Houlton/Danforth

As of yesterday (10/21/11) the UMPI website had posted a new  explanation for not working:

   Partially: ".........We hope that this (the resolution of a shaft alignment problem) will be in a few days and that we will be operating for the primary wind months".  

  Don't hold your breath, fans. The factory is in India, and  the wind turbine has not been working regularly for more than six months.  

It must be very frustrating for the institution, which has prominently…

The UMPI turbine website has partially come to life, after 173 days of ...nothing. The "View Live Turbine Data" now comes up - but with no data at all, just zeroes.  The power production bar chart continues to go only thru March. 

 Also, we were at our camp in Danforth today, on the hill and down by the water.  All of the 19 visible Stetson turbines were turning, in a good wind and with some white caps on Hot Brook Lake.  They are more than 2 miles away from the beach - we did not…

Here is the full statement on the turbine's condition from the UMPI wind turbine website, posted about 9/17:

  "The general contractor conducted diagnostic and repair work on the wind turbine in mid-September and determined there is a broken shaft in the nacelle. Most of the shaft has been removed for furthur diagnostic work and the contractor is securing the appropriate replacement parts.  They hope to have the repairs completed in time for the approaching wind season."

Harry…

UMPI reports that there appears to be a "broken shaft" on their iconic wind turbine. They hope to have a new one installed in time for the "approaching wind season". This is the first time I have seen a "wind season" mentioned. 

  The site has not reported any new data for about five months. First it was a "radius rod"; now the trouble

is a broken shaft. Also, the data reporting software has been down, and no power production figures have been posted since March.  The monthly…

The FERC Quarterly reports have just been posted for the  2nd quarter of 2011.

Stetson I sold 32,000 MWH of power.  With its capacity of 26MW, that is .251 of capacity.

Stetson II sold 13,000 MWH of power. With its capacity of 26 MW, that is .224 of capacity.

Mars Hill sold 30,000 MWH of power. With its capacity of 44 MW, that is .308 of capacity.

That's the facts -

Harry Roper  Houlton/Danforth

I just took the time to check the frustrating UMPI turbine website - the pink rectangle stating the turbine is down and mentioning the "pitch rod"  difficulty appears at the top of each and every webpage!  Yet there is no mention of the shutdown (apparently for the past 140 days) in the Timeline!  The Timeline consists mostly of publicity events, conferences, etc., and the latest bar chart of power production is for March!

  Considering the promised and publicized "full disclosure" of…

The FERC quarterly power output sales summaries for the 2nd quarter of 2011 were recently posted:

Stetson I  (Evergreen Wind Power V LLC) produced and sold- 51,000 MWH

Stetson II (Stetson Wind II LLC)                     "                       - 20,000 MWH

Evergreen Wind LLC (Mars Hill)                     "                       -40,000 MWH 

  Maybe someone with more time and smarts will calculate the capacity factor for each. Mars Hill usually has a…

A reliable source reports that Kibby produced 32.91%  its installed capacity in the first quarter of 2011 and 20.46 % of installed capacity in the second quarter of 2011. Winter is usually the best quarter for wind power.

FERC quarterly summaries are not yet available for 2nd quarter of 2011.

UMPI continues to repeat the promise that its website will be working "next week". No information is available on the website except the local wind speed, which is calm now.

H…

Finally, FERC has posted the quarterly power sales figures that it puts on its website as a courtesy.  For three major wind farms in Maine, they are: 

Evergreen Wind Power V. LLC (Stetson I): 51 MWH

Stetson Wind II, LLC:  20 MWH

Evergreen Wind Power, LLC (Mars Hill): 40 MWH

   Harrison Roper 

Houlton, ME