Staff Writer
Farming is one facet of society that has been especially hard hit by the declining economic trend nationwide. As Aroostook County farmers look ahead to another year, many are beginning to utilize, what is perhaps their greatest asset: American ingenuity.
Aroostook Republican Photo/Andrew Dyer
A tower was recently erected on the Bubar farm in Fort Fairfield, bearing anemometers and wind direction vanes to determine whether the site is a feasable location for a new wind farm. The project has been funded through a USDA grant with the help of Community Energy Partners. A brief presentation was held for interested community members prior to the tower’s erection by Perkins Engineering Inc. Shown here, in front, from left are: Tom Bubar, Steve Bubar, Sue Jones of Community Energy Partners, Andrew Perkins of Perkins Engineering, Michael Watson and Clarence Rider, both of whom will provide service to the tower. Back row: Jim Larner, tower services, Greg Perkins of Perkins Engineering and Paul Villeneuve of Perkins Engineering.
One such farmer, Steve Bubar of Fort Fairfield, has begun research into the harvest of a very different type of crop, wind.
Research began on the Bubar farm earlier this month with the placement of a tower featuring several anemometers, measuring wind speed and wind direction vanes. Over the next 18 months the tower will feed Perkins Engineering Inc., the engineering firm responsible for the placement of the tower, with the necessary data to determine whether the site is a feasible location for a wind farm. The site, which is within sight of the turbines on Mars Hill Mountain, is at approximately 600 feet of elevation, in a field off the Center Limestone Road in Fort Fairfield.
The tower was erected by Perkins Engineering on the property on Jan. 13 before a small audience of interested locals, who spent much of the time in their vehicles due to cold weather which was worsened by the wind, perhaps a good omen.
Sue Jones of Community Energy Partners gave a brief presentation explaining the benefits of locally owned wind farms, which according to Jones are three to four times more beneficial to the surrounding community as they pump income into the local economy.
Jones then handed the presentation over to Andrew Perkins, lead engineer at Perkins Engineering, who further explicated the purpose of the tower, and gave some background on himself and the engineering firm. Perkins was the project manager for the development of the wind farm on top of Mars Hill Mountain. He is also currently working with the University of Maine at Presque Isle in the development of a wind turbine on university property. Previous to the six year Mars Hill Mountain project, Perkins worked for Bangor Hydro for 24 years as manager of electrical operations.
Perkins handed the presentation over to his son Greg Perkins, who explained exactly what the tower would measure and how it would inform them of its results.
According to Perkins the tower which stands approximately 50 meters high has anemometers at 30, 40 and 50 meters as well as wind direction indicators, which will e-mail results to the engineering firm every two days through a transmitting device called an I-Pack. Over the next 18 months Perkins Engineering will monitor these results to determine whether the site is a viable spot to place a wind farm.
Although a year and a half of testing is needed Perkins Engineering should have a good idea of whether the site is viable within the next six months according to Andrew Perkins.
Funds for this project have been made available through a Conservation Innovation Grant, one facet of the USDA. The funding from the grant has also been used to spread awareness to landowners, through workshops, of the possibility of using their property to generate profits through placement of wind turbines.
For more information, or to discuss a future project call Jones at Community Energy at 207-221-5639 or contact Skip Babineau, coordinator of the St. John and Aroostook RC and D at 764-4126.