College to test wind patterns on South Hill
Ithaca College finished construction this summer on an anemometer, a device used to measure wind speeds, on South Hill.
The original idea was proposed in fall 2006, when Beth Ellen Clark Joseph, associate professor of physics and John Confer, scholar in residence, approached Sustainable Energy Developments, Inc., a company that develops wind energy projects, about building a wind turbine at the college.
Clark Joseph said if the anemometer, which was completed Aug. 12, measures enough wind, the college could build a wind turbine, which would provide up to 15 percent of the college’s power and cost an estimated $2.5 million.
New York’s commitment to the Renewable Portfolio Standard, part of a state-wide energy plan, requires that 30 percent of its energy come from renewable sources by 2013.
Last March, Clark Joseph and Confer pitched the idea to Rick Couture, associate vice president of facilities at the college. Earlier this month, the Town of Ithaca Planning board gave them the green light to test the feasibility of the building a turbine.
The data collected from the anemometer will determine whether the turbine, would be a wise investment and what size the turbine would be.
In addition to measuring wind speeds, Clark Joseph said, the construction of the anemometer would help determine how to install the turbine if it is approved at a later date.
The turbine would be placed within 100 feet of where the anemometer stands just behind the college on Route 96B.
Couture said South Hill is an ideal spot for harvesting wind, and that the turbine would not be heard on campus.
Clark Joseph said she is glad to see that the possibility of using wind power is being discussed.
“The first time you have something, you have a lot to learn,” she said. “This is the first time we have tried something like this.”
George McConochie, vice president of operations at SED, said it was too soon to predict the anemometer results.
“I’m not optimistic or pessimistic about it, it’s a scientific assessment,” he said. “What I’m optimistic about [with] this project is that the state legislation and regulations will provide it with support.”
Clark Joseph said renewable energy would help reduce America’s dependence on oil that often comes from unstable or hostile nations.
“We’ve got environmental problems, we’ve got economic problems,” she said. “Now is the time to develop clean energy.”
By David Durrett
Senior Writer
28 August 2008
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