The capacity factor of a wind project depends on a number of different things and is site specific.  I cannot comment on the capacity factor of the Stetson project as I have not see those numbers, but there are several reasons why the UMPI capacity factor would be lower than that of Saddleback.  The UMPI turbine is a smaller turbine (600 kW), which is less efficient than a larger turbine, due primarily to the smaller rotor swept area.  In addition, UMPI’s 11% capacity factor was for June through November, which incorporates the time of the year when wind is the lowest – the summer.  Most of the missing months (October – April) have higher wind speeds, so I would expect the annual capacity factor for that turbine to rise, barring any unusual downtime.   Keep in mind that because it is a single turbine, downtime has a big impact on the capacity factor.  However, perhaps the biggest reason for the low capacity factor at UMPI is the wind resource, which according to our sources averages around 6.3 m/s per year at 70 meters (compared to the 7-8.4 m/s at the Saddleback project).  In addition, the UMPI turbine has a shorter tower (65 meters) than the turbines we’re proposing for Saddleback (85 meters).  This higher hub height equates to a higher wind speed, as wind speed increases the higher you get from the ground. 

 

I hope this helps,

 

Andy Novey

Patriot Renewables and Jay Cashman Inc.


549 South St.

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Comment by alice mckay barnett on January 19, 2011 at 8:05am
 

I guess we will not get straight answers.

 

Hi Alice,

 

Unfortunately the detailed operating costs for the Beaver Ridge Wind Project are confidential.  However, I can confirm that the turbines are 1.5 MW each, that the project had an average capacity factor of over 33% for the first two years of operation, and that the capacity factor accounts for all electricity usage at the site – including what’s used by the electrical controls cabinet (what you refer to as a trailer).  Saddleback has higher wind speeds than Beaver Ridge, which is why the capacity factor is higher for Saddleback. 

 

Both projected icing losses and losses due to reduced power output during noise reduction mode at nighttime are figured into the ~35% capacity factor for Saddleback. 

 

 

Andy Novey

Patriot Renewables and Jay Cashman Inc.

Comment by Harrison Roper on January 18, 2011 at 3:36pm

The UMPI turtbine website  is working (again) after a couple of unexplained days off. With 7 mph surface winds it reports (surprisingly) 15 mph at rotor height, and power production of 179.6 kW. A previous moment (Nov. 15, 11:00 am) it made 203 kW with the same wind speed. 

  The turbine was not operating at all the last 4 days of 2010 and the first two weeks of 2011 because of brake problems. 

Harry Roper  Houlton/Danforth

Comment by Harrison Roper on January 18, 2011 at 3:22pm

Alice B. - The Stetson project has 55 turbines, each with 1.5 megawatt capacity. So, that's "installed capacity" 55x 1.2, or 82.5 kW (when the wind blows just right). 

 Quarterly output summaries (92 days, usually) are available on the FERC website, rounded to thousands of mWh. Go to:  FERC Downloads and filings>EQR>>accessing data>>summaryreports... (something like that). 2010 4th quarter (October-December) should be posted soon after 2/11. Previous quarters are posted now.

Stetson is "Evergreen Wind Power V LLC". I think that's all of Stetson.  There is a phone number for FERC "help" on the website.

Harry Roper

Sorry- I'm not good at links. Harry

Comment by alice mckay barnett on January 18, 2011 at 7:53am

Capacity is so relative... No spin when cold, no spin at night (noise) no spin when no wind.

Yet they are parasitic the whole time.  Numbers need clarifying.

Comment by Denise Hall on January 17, 2011 at 9:27am

This same Andy Novey told a room full of people in Bethel Maine that he expected the capacity of the Woodstock Maine Wind Project to be between 35 and 40 percent.

 

Hard to say how many people bought into that fairytale. 

 

Maine as Third World Country:

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

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(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

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"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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