Proposed Wind Turbines Draw Attention

Wind Farms have been popping up all around the pine tree state over the past few years. The Bowers Wind Project, which consists of 16-turbines atop Bowers Mountain in Carroll Plantation and Dill Hill, is awaiting approval.

"There are other turbines in the area. The Rollins wind project in Lincoln, the Stetson project which is near are similar, but they are slightly different turbines," said Mark Bergeron, Director of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

The proposed 48-megawatt project is being considering by the DEP. At a public hearing in Lee on Wednesday, a group opposed to Bowers said wind energy is not what the Downeast Lakes Region is about.

Gary Campbell, President of the Partnership for the Preservation of the Downeast Lakes Watershed, said, "A lot of birding, lots of wildlife, canoeing, paddling, kayaking, boating, you name it, this region has been devoted to that."

Those against the project said it will turn visitors away, but supporters think that's not the case. Director for New England Development of First Wind, Neil Kiely, said, "Experience has proven that Mainers do not mind recreating wind turbines. In fact, ATVers and snowmobilers actually want more access to wind turbines."

Kiely thinks the project could bring a huge economic boost to the area, while Campbell believes it's taking away the core value of what Maine is about.

"There's nothing man-made in sight, even a single turbine sticking up vertically on the horizon is going to ruin that and we can't afford to take that risk," said Campbell.

The choice could come down to money. "This is a classic decision in Maine. We have a $100 million economic opportunity that we can't overturn based on fear of change," said Kiely.

The 2.5-120 machine, launched in January, harnesses the power of the industrial internet to analyse tens of thousands of data points every second. This helps manage wind variability and provides reliable, short-term predictable power, while communicating seamlessly with neighboring turbines, service technicians and operators.

GE points out that the 2.5-120 is the first wind turbine to incorporate short-term battery storage as part of the complete turbine package. Integrating the battery into the wind turbine allows wind farm operators to reap the benefits of energy storage without the high costs of farm-level battery storage installation. This design integrates GE's advanced Durathon Battery technology with three software applications.

The resulting intelligent system enables power producers and the wind turbines themselves to make data-informed decisions and provide short-term predictable power. "This new marriage of battery storage and advanced software within a wind turbine allows forward-thinking wind energy producers like Invenergy to shift the winds in its favor—increasing wind power's efficiency and short-term predictability," said Keith Longtin, general manager, wind product line for GE's renewable energy business.

The 2.5-120 brilliant turbines are scheduled to be installed this year at the Goldthwaite Wind Energy facility, currently under construction in central Texas. The project is expected to commence full commercial operation by the end of 2013. Subsequently, Invenergy will be among the first power producers to test the benefits of data-driven, turbine-to-battery communication in predicting wind power production in 15-60-minute increments.