Morning Sentinel
Wind power comes to Pittsfield
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BY SCOTT MONROE
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 09/11/2009

PITTSFIELD -- Don Chute stood beside the new 100-foot-tall wind turbine and talked excitedly about the future.

The installation of a town-owned turbine, on a hill at the Recycling Center/Transfer Station on Peltoma Avenue, is just the beginning in the struggle for greater energy independence, he said, for both the town and the beyond.

"It's definitely a dream," Chute said. "It's an investment. It's showing you can't shut us out; we're a resilient race."

Chute, manager of the station, was joined by town officials and others Thursday afternoon during a grand opening and tour of the wind turbine, which has been running for about a week and a half.

The $63,000 turbine is expected to generate most of the electricity needed to run the Recycling Center/Transfer Station, and extra energy can be "banked" for re-sale, Chute said. To finance the turbine, the town won a $50,000 grant from Maine's Voluntary Renewable Resources Fund.

Evolo Home Center of Newport supplied the Bergey 10-kilowatt turbine, which town officials say they selected because of its tested durability. John Rush of Evolo offered visitors a tour of the turbine and its related equipment.

The turbine is about 300 feet from the recycling center building, which is open every day and serves Canaan, Detroit, Hartland, Palmyra, Plymouth and Solon.

At Thursday's opening, local officials praised the project and talked about the possibilities it holds for the community.

Town Manager Kathryn Ruth said the most exciting aspect for her has been fielding calls and questions from interested citizens and students. This fall, local students plan to take field trips to the turbine.

"It's very rewarding; I could see a lot of projects coming out of this," Ruth said, adding that the town is eyeing solar panel projects that could help power municipal buildings.

Mayor Timothy Nichols said the project's beginnings date back a couple years to the work of the town's recycling committee. Having a town-owned turbine shows that the community is not only being environmentally friendly, but also willing to "fight back on high energy prices," Nichols said.

Tests have shown the site of the wind turbine experience an average wind speed of 18.5 mph, but can go as high as 50 or 60 mph, Chute said. The power that's generated is enough to run 400, 100-watt lights for an hour, he said.

State Rep. Stacey Fitts of Pittsfield, who is also a member of the Governor's Task Force on Wind Power, attended Thursday's ceremony and praised local officials.

"It's great; I'm just proud of folks here in Pittsfield for taking the initiative," Fitts said. And, as more and more communities build alternative forms of energy-generation, "you can change a whole generation's view here for the better," he said.

Scott Monroe -- 861-9253

smonroe@centralmaine.com

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