Community Wind at Mt. View School, Thorndike, ME

In partnership with the MSAD #3 School Board, CEI is studying the feasibility of a community wind project at Mt. View School, a pre-K – 12 institution under construction in Thorndike, Maine. MSAD #3 is Maine’s largest school district in area, spanning more than 300 square miles and 11 rural towns. The school site sits on Knox Ridge, a ridgeline of nearly 1000 ft. in elevation running through farmland and woodland.

Currently, there are two residential scale wind turbines in operation along Knox Ridge, one at the Kinney Farm in Thorndike, the other at the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association headquarters in Unity. At Mt. View, we have been recording wind speed since November 2007 to determine whether there is sufficient sustained wind to warrant installation of a small, utility-scale wind turbine (100kW) on-site. We believe that there is the potential for the wind to generate 20% to 30% of the power necessary to run the new 186,000 sq. ft. school. If successful, the Mt. View project will demonstrate the essence of “community wind”—renewable energy generated locally to serve community needs.

CEI’s interest in community wind was spurred by a wind power feasibility study we conducted in 2005. The study indicated that an opportunity existed to develop a community development approach to wind power—whereby schools, hospitals and other public or nonprofit institutions could generate clean energy on-site as a contribution to their electrical load needs.

In addition to the MSAD #3 School Board, we are fortunate to have other valuable partners in this project. Unity College, an undergraduate institution with an environmental focus (www.unity.edu), has leant and erected an NRG met. tower for the Mt. View effort and is analyzing the resulting wind data. The met. tower is a recent donation to Unity College from NRG Systems of Vermont, a leading manufacturer of wind assessment technology. Unity, through Dr. Mick Womersley, is developing expertise in sustainability and offering degrees in this evolving discipline.

CEI is grateful to the Jessie B. Cox Foundation for support of this community wind project. We are interested in partnering with other institutions and organizations who believe they have good prospects for wind power generation. Please contact Stephen Cole. Director of Natural Resources & Sustainable Communities, 207-882-7552.