Norwich Public Utilities showcased the first of its pilot scale wind turbine at the Rose City Senior Center. The 45-feet-tall propeller unit installed in the Mahan Drive parking lot will produce up to 2.4 kilowatts of electricity.
The blades of the unit measure 12 feet in diameter. The generated power is directly transferred to the senior center and is sufficient enough to meet power requirement of a single household.
The officials of NPU conducted a press meeting at the senior center to declare that their unit is functional. NPU is looking forward to installing another different turbine in the next two months.
Jeff Brining, Energy Services Division Manager for NPU, has stated that the diameter of their 25-feet-high second unit will be 5 feet. He mentioned that the blades of the unit will look like ribbons and will rotate in a horizontal manner. He added that the unit will produce around 1 kilowatt of electricity.
Montville- based, Bonner Electric develops the entire project. Every year, the generated power can reduce energy costs by $2,000. Jeff Brining has mentioned that these units can be deployed by civic owned utilities and not by homeowners as they are not cost- effective. Public are invited to view the unit at the senior center and the project information can be availed from NPU’s website.
The project has enabled collaboration of NPU with the newly refurbished Kelly Middle School. NPU will organize a video exhibit in the school, enabling children to understand the energy output and other related information regarding the wind turbines.
NPU has joined hands with Norwich public schools for making the renovated building energy efficient. The renovation will include thermal solar panels for heating water. The heat reflected from the roof and the direct heat from the sun will be absorbed by a unique thin-panel technology.
NPU has also collaborated with Three Rivers Community College for developing a course on alternate energy and with Norwich Regional Technical High School for developing research projects on energy efficiency in which experts of NPU will work with school students.
Source: http://www.norwichpublicutilities.com