Click here for photos of the workshop installing the tower and the turbine.

Alfred Wind Turbine

Wind Turbine Installed by CEER at Alfred State Farm

The CEER wind turbine is a 10kW Bergey Excel-S on a 100 foot guyed lattice tower. The turbine is located in a cow pasture on the Alfred State College Farm in Alfred, New York at:
Latitude: 42° 15' N
Longitude: 77° 47' W
Elevation: 1,770 Feet

Observations are made every 10 minutes with a Campbell Scientific #CR10X datalogger and the following sensors:
Wind speed: NRG MAX 40 Hall Effect Aneomometer
Wind direction: Ohio Semitronics NRG Direction Vane Power Transducer
Power produced: Ohio Semitronics PC5-059A Voltage Transducer
Temperature: Campbell Scientific CR10X Temperature Sensor

Click here for a summary prepared by AWS Scientific of Albany of the performance of the turbine from January 1, 2004 to March 31, 2004. Click here for a performance summary from October 15, 2003 to December 31, 2003.

The turbine was installed during a five-day workshop in July 2003 conducted by AWS and Bergey Windpower, manufacturer of the turbine, in coordination with CEER. The purpose of the workshop was to train qualified wind installers. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) funded the workshop and a majority of the cost of the turbine.

Jim Adams, the project manager from AWS, says that "small wind turbines can play an important role in supplying clean energy to rural areas." NYSERDA is offering incentives for the installation of small wind turbines. However, the state needs qualified people to install and maintain the equipment, and the workshops NYSERDA and AWS are conducting ensure that knowledgeable installers are available.

Fifteen people, some of whom had installed smaller wind systems, attended the workshop in order to qualify to become Eligible Installers under the NYSERDA Program Opportunity Notice (PON) 792 titled Wind Incentives for Eligible Installers (http://www.nyserda.org/792pon.html). Three installers from the Alfred area attended the workshop: Roy Butler from Four Winds in Arkport, Chris Schaefer from Solar and Wind FX in Canandaigua, and Art Weaver from Renovus Energy in Ithaca.

Wind power is the fastest growing sector in the energy industry. Many states, including New York, have seen a dramatic growth in the installation of wind generation over the past five years.

The Alfred wind turbine produces power for the milking barn at the farm. The facility is also used by students and faculty as a renewable energy laboratory. Students are monitoring the performance of the wind turbine to determine how much power is produced and when it is available. This information will be used to determine the economic viability of such installations. According to Dr. Chris Sinton, the former director of CEER who arranged for installation of the turbine, "Alfred is in a region with both a large agricultural base and very good wind resources".

CEER is funded in large part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

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