Community Snapshot: Provincetown
Provincetown Art Association and Museum LEED-Silver Renovation
Established in 1914, Provincetown Art Association and Museum
is a non-profit organization with a mission to promote art in the town of Provincetown by collecting and exhibiting
art collections of merit and promoting art education and artists. In late 2006, the museum completed an extensive
renovation and expansion project which more than doubled the size of the facility. The museum maximized energy
efficiency using green features such as photovoltaic panels, ground source heat pumps, and wastewater minimization.
In total, the museum installed 4.75 kW of photovoltaic cells. The PV panels are highly visible and at the time
of completion were the only such system in place in Provincetown. PAAM earned a LEED-Silver rating for this renovation project.
Municipal Wind Turbine
The Recycling and Renewable Energy Committee initially
considered a wind turbine for the transfer station. However, the location proved to be
too close to the Provincetown airport, and FAA restrictions would keep any tower below 188 feet. The
Committee is now looking at alternate sites. Town meeting has authorized discussions with the Cape &
Vineyard Electrical Cooperative (CVEC) and the committee plans to bring any final agreement with the
cooperative back to a future town meeting. (updated 2.9.2009)
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The town's website is available here.
The April 2007 Special Town Meeting designated the
Recycling and Renewable
Energy Committee as the Provincetown town board responsible for renewable energy.
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NStar provides power delivery services to all Provincetown electricity consumers. The table and charts below depict
electricity consumption in (in kWh) in Provincetown from 2003 to 2007 and show the types of usage. The information
is provided courtesy of NSTAR.
|
Year |
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
|
Residential |
20,185,219
|
21,199,197
|
20,966,281
|
19,733,939
|
20,185,219
|
|
Commercial / Industrial |
24,930,449 |
25,185,134
|
25,392,617
|
24,376,976 |
24,548,840
|
|
Street Lighting |
235,318
|
236,738
|
238,396
|
234,283
|
229,920
|
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The Cape Light Compact (CLC) tracks information on all its energy efficiency programs on a town-by-town basis.
For Provincetown, the Cape Light Compact efficiency report shows an annual kWh savings of 171,383 kWh in 2008 as a result of the various
CLC energy efficiency programs.
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The production data below is based on information from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) collected
in support of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). RECs are tradable environmental commodities in the United States
and represent proof that a specified amount of electricity was generated from an eligible renewable energy resource.
Photovoltaic and wind energy producers that do not participate in the RECs program are not represented in the data.
The information is valid as of the end of 2007.
The charts below show a growing amount of photovoltaic energy being produced within Provincetown from an increasing
number of sites.
Click here to review photovoltaic energy production for all towns
on the Cape & Islands.
As part of the Cape Light Compact's
"Solarize
our Schools!" campaign, a 2kW solar photovoltaic (PV) systems was installed at the Provincetown high school.
The solar panel at the school shows the daily, weekly, and monthly
solar panel performance.
The Recycling and Renewable
Energy Committeeis looking at possible locations for a solar installation. The first building
examined, at the airport, proved to be oriented in the wrong direction, so additional sites are being
sought. The town is working with
Commonwealth Solar program.
Race Point Lighthouse
Race Point Lighthouse is located at the northern portion of the Cape Provincetown Mass
two miles from the nearest paved road. The Keeper's House, Whistle House and Lighthouse electricity are supplied by an
off-grid solar photovoltaic system. Since the solar panels are off-grid they are not "net metered" or
counted in the figures above.
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At the end of 2007, Provincetown had no net metered wind energy production.
As of 2007, Provincetown had no net metered wind energy production.
Race Point Lighthouse
Race Point Lighthouse is located at the northern portion of the Cape Provincetown Mass
two miles from the nearest paved road. The Keeper's House, Whistle House and Lighthouse electricity are supplied by an
off-grid wind turbine system. In 2007, a wind turbine was added to the solar panels mentioned above.
This off-grid solution powers the lighting system and water pumps at the historic light keeper's house. It
also decreases reliance on a noisy and costly diesel-fueled generator and reduces both energy costs and
harmful emissions. The original diesel generator is now used as a back-up power source - using bio-diesel
fuel. Since the wind turbine is off-grid, it is not "net metered".
The Town of Provincetown conducted a preliminary assessment for erecting a wind-monitoring tower, or "MET"
tower, on public land. The tower's goal would be to monitor the wind for twelve months to assess the feasibility
of erecting a wind turbine at the location. The feasibility study would be provided by the Massachusetts Renewable
Energy Trust to the Town through its Community Wind Collaborative (CWC).
A Wind Turbine is being explored for the transfer station by the Recycling and Renewable Energy Committee.
The town voted at the annual town meeting in the Spring of 2008 to join the
Cape & Vineyard Electrical Cooperative (CVEC).
Click here to review wind energy production for all towns on the Cape
& Islands.
For an overview of wind energy on the Cape & Islands, click here.
For more information on wind projects in other communities, click
here.
For the status of community wind projects in other towns, click here.
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Cape Cod | Barnstable | Bourne | Brewster | Chatham | Dennis | Eastham | Falmouth | Harwich | Mashpee | Orleans | Sandwich | Truro | Wellfleet | Yarmouth |
Martha's Vineyard
For information on the energy situation on Martha's Vineyard,
click here
| Aquinnah | Chilmark | Edgartown | Oak Bluffs | Tisbury | West Tisbury | Nantucket | Nantucket |
Feedback
Information about renewable energy developments is constantly changing. Please
send feedback if you have corrections, updates, or comments for this page please . Suggesstions for additional types of data, information, and
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This page was last updated Tuesday March 31, 2009
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