January 7, 2012
Michigan

Department of Environmental Quality tabs Kent Power to disassemble Bay City wind turbine

By Zachary Reichard | Bay City Times, www.mlive.com 5 January 2012

BAY CITY – The first step has been taken to get the wind turbine at Department of Environmental Quality Saginaw Bay district office in Bay City spinning again.

The DEQ accepted Kent Power’s bid to take down the dismantle, remove and transport the turbine at the Bay City office, 401 Ketchum, to Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

“After the turbine has been sitting there for nine months not operating, it’s nice to see us getting this thing going again,” said Kevin King, chief of field operations and facilities section for the DEQ.

The Kent City company originally assembled the turbine, King said, and there was a level of comfort with Kent Power.

“They have hands on experience with how to raise and lower the turbine,” King said. “They have crews that know how disassemble the towers at the right places, disassemble the turbine at the right places. Their bid was competitive enough that we felt comfortable awarding it to them.”

Kent Power won with a bid of $19,475, King said. Kent Power has two weeks from when they receive the purchase order to start the project, King said, but added that the DEQ can grant additional time for any roadblocks.

Kent Power spokesman Kahn Spencer said the company did not want to comment about any timeframe for the project until they receive the paperwork from the DEQ.

Once down at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, the college’s Wind Turbine Technician Academy plans to assess the damage. The college has the same model, Entegrity EW 50, on campus. King said from there, the future of the turbine comes down to cost.

“If the cost is within what we hope it to be, we will probably ask the vendor to rebuild the turbine,” King said in December.

The turbine was built by Entegrity Wind Systems in September 2009. The company went bankrupt in October 2009. The DEQ had a 20-year maintenance agreement with Entegrity.

King said the DEQ awarded the contract on Dec. 28, but the other vendors were given an opportunity to protest the bid. King said as of Jan. 4, the DEQ had not received any protests.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/01/07/department-of-environmental-quality-tabs-kent-power-to-disassemble-bay-city-wind-turbine/