Highlands Center Wind Turbine Feasibility Study
The National Park Service (NPS) is investigating the feasibility of installing a wind turbine at the Highlands
Center in North Truro, at Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS). Based on projected facility needs, the turbine is
initially estimated to be sized between 250kW and 750kW. The team intends to do an environmental assessment, public
outreach, and engineering and financial analysis.
The town's website is available here.
Truro has a town Energy Committee that is chartered to develop a Climate Protection Plan, as Truro's effort
to prepare for, cope with, and hopefully prevent the worst consequences of the climate change crisis.
|
Name: |
Appt. Date
|
Exp. Date
|
|
Bill Worthington, Chairman |
6/27/2007
|
6/30/2010
|
|
Paul Endich, alternate member |
12/2/2008
|
6/30/2009
|
|
Robert Holt |
6/26/2007
|
6/30/2010
|
|
Sally Brotman |
2/28/2006
|
6/30/2009
|
|
Rebecca Bruyn |
6/24/2008
|
6/30/2011
|
|
Paul Morris, ex-officio member |
2/2/2005
|
Indefinite
|
|
Brian Boyle
|
12/2/2008 |
6/30/2009
|
The Truro Energy Committee has submitted an article for the April annual town meeting for a 25 kilowatts photovoltaic
system for the Truro Central School. The system would represent about 15% of the school's electric usage.
The committee has also submitted an article for town meeting to authorize the selectmen to begin consideration
of joining the Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative
.
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NStar provides power delivery services to all Truro electricity consumers. The table and charts below depict electricity
consumption in (in kWh) in Truro from 2003 to 2007 and show the types of usage. The information is provided
courtesy of NSTAR.
|
Year |
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
|
Residential |
15,743,173 |
15,784,107 |
15,840,450 |
15,033,982 |
15,652,984
|
|
Commercial / Industrial |
6,189,816 |
6,478,790 |
6,390,395 |
6,328,738 |
6,363,347 |
|
Street Lighting |
15,709 |
14,823 |
14,608
|
14,599 |
14,73 |
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The Cape Light Compact (CLC) tracks information on all its energy efficiency programs on a town-by-town basis.
For Truro, the Cape Light Compact efficiency report
shows an annual kWh savings of 71,746 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 Truro 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 Truro Central School.
The solar panel at the school shows the daily, weekly, and monthly
solar panel performance.
Truro Central School PV system
The town is considering a 25 kilowatts photovoltaic system for the Truro Central School.
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At the end of 2007, Truro had no wind energy production.
Highlands Center
The Highlands Center at the Cape Cod National Seashore is pursuing a wind project incorporating from one to
three large-scale turbines. A 50-m meteorological tower was installed on a former helipad in the southeast
region of the Center, and monitored wind conditions beginning March 2006. More than one year of
data was collected from this site and analyzed. During this time, the mean recorded wind speed was 7.63 m/s
(17.07 mph)* at 50 m and the prevailing wind direction was from the southwest (SW) . The calculated
capacity factor, based on the year's wind speed measurements, was estimated to be 0.483.
In December, 2007,the National Park Service (NPS) received a grant from the MTC to investigate the feasibility
of installing a wind turbine at the Highlands Center located in North Truro, Massachusetts at Cape Cod National
Seashore (CCNS). The grant covers an environmental assessment, public outreach, and engineering and financial
analysis. Based on projected facility needs, the turbine is initially estimated to be sized between 250kW and
750kW.
Municipal Wind Turbine
The town's Energy Committee is evaluating two possible sites near the Truro Central School and the Public Safety
Facility.
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 | Provincetown | Sandwich | 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 |
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This page was last updated Tuesday March 31, 2009
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Wind
