January 14, 2012
Virginia

Wind energy data collection begins

Written by Gloria Bradley, Staff Writer, www.delmarvanow.com 14 January 2012

EASTVILLE – Wind energy development is progressing in Northampton County with the installation of the first data-collecting unit last month.

“The project is moving forward,” said Sally McNeilan of Fugro Atlantic, located in Norfolk, on Wednesday, saying the Lidar unit was installed in mid-December.

She said the unit is smaller than the size of a card table and “can measure the wind at 50-200 meters above the ground.”

“We need a full year of data collecting,” said McNeilan, saying over the next year the unit will be moved to three or four locations in the county collecting data, working 24 hours- a- day “quietly and unobtrusively.”

McNeilan said she will be contacting landowners on the east side of Eastville in the Seaside Road area to see if they are interested in participating as the project moves forward.

She said when they start to put the turbines in – a participating landowner with a turbine on their property will receive an annual payment, and adjacent landowners would also be paid an annual payment for participating in the project.

“Even if you don’t have it on your property you could benefit from the project,” said McNeilan. “A whole area could benefit from the project.”

“We are continuously working hard to support the effort with Fugro to get the wind turbine testing starting on the Eastern Shore,” said Supervisor Willie Randall, Wednesday. “So we can look forward to job creation in the future.”

Fugro Atlantic is one of the partners in the Poseidon Atlantic project announced in October by Gov. Bob McDonnell which includes the world’s first-ever wind turbine test facility to be located in Northampton County.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/01/14/wind-energy-data-collection-begins/