Renewable Energy Center
Manor Drive
814-472-2872
renewable@francis.edu Mailing Address
Saint Francis University
117 Evergreen Drive
P.O. Box 600
Loretto, PA
15940-0600
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| The Renewable Energy Center runs Pennsylvania’s anemometer loan program. This program allows you to learn if your site has commercial wind potential at no upfront cost to you. You reimburse us for the cost of the assessment if and only if you install a commercial scale turbine.
How the Community Wind Project works. . . The Community Wind Project is for community and business leaders with a serious interest in working on behalf of their business, farm, school, or municipality for a prosperous and healthy future. Successful applicants will have a 50-meter meteorological tower installed at their site for a 12-month preliminary feasibility study.
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| | | Process: | | 1. Contact us at renewable@francis.edu or 814-472-2872
REC provides a preliminary wind analysis and environmental review. What we look for
2. Fill out a Community Wind Project Application
Upon receipt the REC will set up a site visit. 3. Secure Permitting and Approvals
If required, submit building and environmental permits to your local township offices for the installation of the meteorological tower. 4. Community Meeting
REC provides a public presentation and facilitates an open discussion. 5. Participation Agreement
You and REC sign an agreement. 6. Meteorological Tower Installation
REC installs the met tower and performs data collection and analysis. REC sends you monthly reports. Our equipment 7. Decide Whether to Install a Turbine
If you install a turbine, you reimburse the REC for assessment costs. If you don’t have sufficient wind resource or you choose not to install a turbine, you owe us nothing. This eliminates the upfront risk to you. Community Wind Project FAQs | The Renewable Energy Center's Community Wind Project was established by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in 2005 to support community wind development by offering technical assistance, feasibility analysis, and project development consulting. In a word, we help jumpstart your community wind project.
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Anemometer: a device for measuring wind speed. They are installed on meteorological towers. | |
| | What is Community Wind?
Community wind is large-scale wind power typically owned by public or private entities for on-site usage or sale to the grid. Projects can consist of one to several turbines and produce 100 kilowatts – 10 megawatts (enough power for 10 – 2,500 homes respectively). The key feature of community wind is local ownership which maximizes local benefit. Project costs are typically $300,000 - $3 million plus dollars and can take 5 – 7 years to put together. The long-term benefits to the community, measured in energy security, increased revenue, and solidarity, however, last a lot longer. Here are lots of examples of successful community wind projects. | There are two basic ways community wind projects can be structured.
1) For Sale to the Grid or a Consortium of End Users
Electricity can be sold to the utility or to a consortium of end users.. Here is an example of a “for sale to the grid” project. Here is an example of a sale to a consortium. The owners and investors receive revenue from the sale of the electricity and possibly from federal incentives and Renewable Energy Credits.
2) On-Site Usage and Net Metered
Large energy users, such as a water treatment facility, prison, university, municipal utility or business, can generate some or all of their electricity and sell their excess to the utility. This kind of arrangement is referred to as net metering. Here is an example of a net metered project.
| Community Owned means the community makes the money. |
|  | What are the benefits of Community Wind?
Consider the Benefits to Rural Pennsylvania
Just 100 megawatts of locally-owned wind power could mean $14 million in annual revenues and many environmental benefits (see Table below). See how many megawatts have been installed in Pennsylvania: US Dept. of Energy: Installed Wind Capacity. This is a significant source of sustainable economic development benefits as clean electricity pours thousands of dollars into rural communities while not using any water or emitting any pollution. However, none of these projects is locally-owned and so community-based wind power is still a mostly untapped resource. This means there are great wind resource areas that larger corporations might not be interested in because they can't do a large enough project--but a smaller project would benefit the community! | Economic and Environmental Impact of 100 MW
of Community Wind in Pennsylvania [1] Economic
| Benefits | 100MW
| Kwh production
| 260,100,000 | Number of US homes equivalent
| 30,000 | | Revenue | $14 million
| Capital investment
| $170 million
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| Environmental
| Carbon Dioxide (lbs) reduction
| 147 million
| Nitrous Oxide reduction
| 676,000 | Sulfur Dioxide reduction
| 1.6 million
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Of course they are smiling, the Hull Wind Project in Hull, Massachusetts helps that town save over $150,000 a year and the municipal utility owns the two turbines themselves. Learn more about the Hull Wind Project. . . | | [1] Source: Economic Calculations: use a 30% capacity factor, typical of Pennsylvania, assume a Class 3+ wind resource and a $1.7 million per installed megawatt estimation for capital costs and $0.06/kwh for wholesale revenue (an average PPA rate in Pennsylvania according to Tom Tuffey); Note: many of these projects may be net metered resulting in much higher revenue/cost savings; Offset Calculations: uses figures from EPA Power Profiler—eGRID and NC Greenpower
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