December 28, 2007
New Jersey

Stafford Park serving as a wind-power test site

STAFFORD – A temporary wind power system has been installed at Stafford Park to test the site’s potential for supplying a substantial amount of wind-turbine energy.

The temporary tower structure is the linchpin of a yearlong study that both township officials and the site’s developer, The Walters Group, hope yields data revealing that prevailing winds on the property can produce enough power to warrant the construction of a wind farm at the 370-acre, mixed-use development.

The test project will be headed by Richard Dunk of the Rutgers University Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences. Dunk says it will be up to Walters to ultimately make a decision about whether or not a wind farm is part of the project’s final design.

“We’re adding our instrumentation to make a well-defined evaluation of the wind resource to determine if it would be a good idea to put wind turbines there or not,” Dunk said.

The Walters Group has said it would expect five wind turbines on the site to produce 1.5 megawatts of power to fit the needs of the project. The developer has identified a former municipal landfill being capped during the site’s development as a likely location for a farm.

For now, the test system is installed on township-owned property, said Administrator Paul J. Shives. That, he said, is a testament to the town’s willingness to see as much alternative energy generation integrated into Stafford Park as possible.

“We are very supportive of it and are optimistic that it’s going to work,” Shives said.

By Matt Pais

Asbury Park Press

27 December 2007


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/12/28/stafford-park-serving-as-a-wind-power-test-site/