Installation for 'Met tower' begins Tuesday in Greenfield
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
Workers broke ground Tuesday for the installation of the first Met tower at the Greenfield Industrial Park.
Greenfield City Manager Betty Bishop said that while this is not the first step in bringing green industry to Greenfield, it is a big step. The tower will be used for data collection regarding the wind speeds in the Greenfield area. The results of the data collection could determine how development in wind energy enterprise progresses in the city.
"I don't want to say this is our first step because our first steps are behind us," Bishop said Tuesday. "Our first steps were getting the land set aside, and doing our grant applications. But as far as a structure, this is our first step. It gives us the technology to collect the wind speeds for one year, and our prayer is that it is competent enough to handle the project that we have laid our for the community. This is one big step, but when the tower goes up, we can start collecting data."
Ron Coffey, clerk of court for Highland County Court in Greenfield, and Kyle Duff, a patrolman with the Greenfield Police Department, have volunteered to collect the data.
"They met with Green Energy today," Bishop said. "They showed them the equipment and how the data would be collected, so they are going to do a trial run this week. they are supposed to collect the data every two weeks, but they are going to be collecting it every week."
Bishop said that the project has received a lot of community support.
"We have had a lot of questions and we have tried to provide as many answers as we can," Bishop said. "Now that it is all happening, I am confident, to a certain extent. I don't know what the future will bring, but things are looking positive, and I am just hoping and praying that everything works out."
In May, council approved working toward a feasibility study for the Green Field Alternative Energy Resource and Education Center. The center would be located on 87 acres off Lovers Lane in the Greenfield Industrial Park and would be home to eight to 11 energy-generating wind turbines. At that meeting, Bishop said it was estimated that each turbine could produce $125,000 worth of electricity per year.
Paul McPherson, a Greenfield native and Purdue University student in the area of mechanical engineering and wind energy, addressed the Greenfield City Council June 15 on the short- and long-term goals of the project.
The immediate goal of the center would be to conduct a feasibility study, according to McPherson, which would include identifying zone requirements, submission of an FAA form to obtain clearance from Federal Aviation Administration and the Ohio Department of Transportation division of aviation to proceed with development projects, analysis of one-site utility bills, site visit and research, evaluation of local wind resources, identifying wind turbine options, calculating energy production estimates, identifying utility interconnection requirements, performing a financial analysis — including the cost to install and operate a turbine payback period and return on investment.
Bishop has said the cost of the feasibility study would be approximately $100,000, and it would take approximately six months to complete. Once the study is completed and funding resources are obtained, McPherson said, the city would "begin looking for developers to erect such a site. Starting small with the city land with approximately five to seven wind turbines and several solar panel, depending on how turbines and solar panels can be positioned to achieve maximum efficiency."
When Bishop announced the project in May she said she hoped energy production could be realized with three to four years. Electricity would be sold to DP&L, which has a substation near the industrial park, Bishop said.
"We're very excited about the possibilities. There is the potential for $1 million a year in revenues from this."
Workers broke ground Tuesday for the installation of the first Met tower at the Greenfield Industrial Park.
Greenfield City Manager Betty Bishop said that while this is not the first step in bringing green industry to Greenfield, it is a big step. The tower will be used for data collection regarding the wind speeds in the Greenfield area. The results of the data collection could determine how development in wind energy enterprise progresses in the city.
"I don't want to say this is our first step because our first steps are behind us," Bishop said Tuesday. "Our first steps were getting the land set aside, and doing our grant applications. But as far as a structure, this is our first step. It gives us the technology to collect the wind speeds for one year, and our prayer is that it is competent enough to handle the project that we have laid our for the community. This is one big step, but when the tower goes up, we can start collecting data."
Ron Coffey, clerk of court for Highland County Court in Greenfield, and Kyle Duff, a patrolman with the Greenfield Police Department, have volunteered to collect the data.
"They met with Green Energy today," Bishop said. "They showed them the equipment and how the data would be collected, so they are going to do a trial run this week. they are supposed to collect the data every two weeks, but they are going to be collecting it every week."
Bishop said that the project has received a lot of community support.
"We have had a lot of questions and we have tried to provide as many answers as we can," Bishop said. "Now that it is all happening, I am confident, to a certain extent. I don't know what the future will bring, but things are looking positive, and I am just hoping and praying that everything works out."
In May, council approved working toward a feasibility study for the Green Field Alternative Energy Resource and Education Center. The center would be located on 87 acres off Lovers Lane in the Greenfield Industrial Park and would be home to eight to 11 energy-generating wind turbines. At that meeting, Bishop said it was estimated that each turbine could produce $125,000 worth of electricity per year.
Paul McPherson, a Greenfield native and Purdue University student in the area of mechanical engineering and wind energy, addressed the Greenfield City Council June 15 on the short- and long-term goals of the project.
The immediate goal of the center would be to conduct a feasibility study, according to McPherson, which would include identifying zone requirements, submission of an FAA form to obtain clearance from Federal Aviation Administration and the Ohio Department of Transportation division of aviation to proceed with development projects, analysis of one-site utility bills, site visit and research, evaluation of local wind resources, identifying wind turbine options, calculating energy production estimates, identifying utility interconnection requirements, performing a financial analysis — including the cost to install and operate a turbine payback period and return on investment.
Bishop has said the cost of the feasibility study would be approximately $100,000, and it would take approximately six months to complete. Once the study is completed and funding resources are obtained, McPherson said, the city would "begin looking for developers to erect such a site. Starting small with the city land with approximately five to seven wind turbines and several solar panel, depending on how turbines and solar panels can be positioned to achieve maximum efficiency."
When Bishop announced the project in May she said she hoped energy production could be realized with three to four years. Electricity would be sold to DP&L, which has a substation near the industrial park, Bishop said.
"We're very excited about the possibilities. There is the potential for $1 million a year in revenues from this."