December 17, 2012
Rhode Island

North Kingstown turbine undergoing final commissioning

By Samantha Turner | North Kingstown Patch | December 17, 2012 | northkingstown.patch.com

This past weekend, North Kingstown’s 413-foot wind turbine underwent its final commissioning and is now fully operational.

The turbine was erected this past October and, since then, has been in a test mode for the past few months as crews monitor it. According to Mark DePasquale, owner of the turbine and its developer (Wind Energy Development LLC in North Kingstown), the turbine was monitored for 200 hours check its power curve (i.e. how much power it’s generating) and to “break it in.” Now, the 200 hours are up and the turbine is expected to start generating power.

“If it’s not running, it’s because there’s not enough wind in the area,” said DePasquale, who added he is extremely happy with the project thus far.

The wind turbine is a 413-foot, 1.5-megawatt Goldwind turbine that sits in DePasquale’s backyard in his subdivision – North Kingstown Green – just off Ten Rod Road and adjacent to Wickford Junction.

In the past two months, DePasquale said there has not been any flicker or noise inside the development.

“At 2 a.m., you can still hear the traffic on Route 4 and not the turbine,” said DePasquale.

According to DePasquale, the turbine is expected to generate approximately three million kilowatt hours each year. Per a 15-year power purchase agreement with National Grid, DePasquale will receive 13.35 cents per kilowatt hour generated by the turbine as the Grid buys back the power. The North Kingstown Green turbine is the first project online with the new energy buy-back program with National Grid following new legislation on net metering.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/12/17/north-kingstown-turbine-undergoing-final-commissioning/