Status (Wind Turbine Feasibility)
From GNC
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[edit] Status of the Wind Initiative
We are currently assessing what it would take to install a wind turbine at the Needham RTS. One critical item is to verify that we have enough wind at the proposed site to justify this project, so we have obtained cost estimates for met towers and instruments needed to collect wind data.
We are now in the process of trying to:
- identify sources of funding to purchase and install a met tower
- gather data in support of the business case for this project
- develop an initial financial model to begin assessing cost/benefit and ROI.
--Gkinel 11:50, 21 November 2007 (EST)
[edit] Potential Funding: Needham Education Foundation (NEF) Grant Request
During the small group break out session at the March 4th GNC meeting, Darcy Ronan and Peter Kiefer (Environmental Science teachers at Needham High) mentioned that the NEF Grant Request deadline was Friday, March 7th. They also felt they could clearly articulate how the Met Station needed for our wind feasibility study could be integrated into the curriculum at Needham High. A strong case could be made for requesting an NEF grant for the purchase of the Met Station as it would provide great utility to many teachers and students while facilitating dialog about important community issues with a number of other groups (such as GNC). They also volunteered to write the Grant Request – the only real challenge was time, given that the Request was due within three days.
While Darcy and Peter were crafting the Request, we received formal vendor quotes for the met hardware and created a solid document in a very short time. The NEF Grant Request for $5000 was successfully submitted on Friday, 3/7. Awards will be announced in the April/May timeframe.
Special thanks to Darcy and Peter for identifying this opportunity and then leading the charge to pursue it!
--Gkinel 00:32, 10 March 2008 (EDT)
For a more detailed view of Wind-related activities, click the following link Next Steps and scroll to the bottom of the page.
