An anonymous donor from the community came to us with a vision for installing a wind turbine to make electricity at the high school. Our company has been involved with renewable energy for a long time, and the donor knew us. She has been interested in renewable energy for a long time, and she wanted to make a difference. I think it's great that she was motivated to make that difference as an educational opportunity for students. |
The fund also will assure that if for any reason the wind turbine needs to come down, there will be money there to allow for that. The donor has really set this up so there will be no cost to the high school and just savings, along with an opportunity for education and inspiration. |
The high school is going to take that money and create a fund which will provide any maintenance that the wind turbine will need for its life, which is estimated at 30 years. It is a very simple, rugged, durable system with very few moving parts that is rated to withstand hurricane winds up to 120 miles per hour. |
We need to do that, to get the turbine up into the best, clean, strongest wind possible to make it effective. The tower also cannot be too high. The FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] has certain limitations because of its proximity to the Martha's Vineyard Airport. We've got it all figured out to stay below that. |