Steel Winds

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Steel Winds as seen from Lake Erie
Steel Winds as seen from Lake Erie

Steel Winds (or Steel Winds I) is a wind energy project located on the coast of Lake Erie in Lackawanna, New York, just south of the City of Buffalo proper in Erie County. The project is situated on 30-acres of the 1600 acre brownfield that was the former Bethlehem Steel Plant. It is expected to produce 20-MW of electricity (enough to power 6,000 average American homes) or 9,000 homes in New York. Power is being sold into the NYS ISO grid for sale to retail customers. [1]

The project was developed, built, and is owned by First Wind and BQ Energy, who together will be selling energy, capacity and RECs to energy retailer Constellation NewEnergy through 2009. It is operated by First Wind.[2] Operation and maintenance services will be provided by the manufacturer of the turbines, Clipper Windpower, for the first five years.[2]

The project uses the old steel mill's roads and off-site transmission lines, requiring little new infrastructure. The project cost was $40 Million.[3]

Contents

[edit] Specifications

The project consists of eight Clipper Windpower 2.5-MW Liberty series wind turbines. According to a press release from the manufacturer,

The Project's Liberty 2.5 MW wind turbines are designed to mitigate loads to components found in many of today's multi-megawatt wind turbine designs through Clipper's patented Quantum Distributed Generation Drivetrain ("DGEN-Q") and the use of four unique permanent magnet generators. Proprietary variable speed technology also enables operation in a simpler, more efficient manner than standard wind turbine technologies. Grid integration is achieved through power factor regulation technology with ride-through capability which exceeds current and planned standards for electric grid operation; a 2-ton on-board crane simplifies maintenance to significantly reduce service-related costs. The 2.5 MW Liberty turbine installation can be accomplished with a crane sized for standard commercial 1.5 MW units.[4]

More detailed information can be downloaded from their site.[5]

[edit] Project History

The turbine components were manufactured in 2006 at Clipper's facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, shipped overland at high cost to the project site in early 2007, constructed, and placed on-line in April 2007. This makes it the first commercial deployment of their 2.5-MW Liberty Series turbines.[6] June 5, 2007 marked the start of full commercial operations.[7]

Norman Polanski, mayor of Lackawanna, NY, is a supporter of the project, using it as part of his re-election campaign. It is hoped to have a positive effect on tourism and attract industry to the area, as well as the possibility of manufacturing turbine equipment locally to reduce costs for future projects.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The largest wind-generated electricity customer the the area is the University at Buffalo.[1]
  2. ^ "Green Energy: The answer is blowing in the wind" by Anna Miller, Buffalo Rising Magazine, May 2007

[edit] Links