Lenox moves on wind project

By Claire Cox12:00AM / Thursday, June 17, 2004Print Story | Email Story

Woody Printz represented the town of Richmond. (Photo By Claire Cox)

LENOX â€“ A committee will start exploring potential sites on Sunday for what would be the countyâ€™s first municipally-owned wind power project. A Wind Tower Subcommittee of the townâ€™s Environmental Committee met at Town Hall on June 15 to outline a timetable that, if successful, could bring wind power to Lenox within two years. The meeting, called by Town Manager Gregory Federspiel and Jamie Cullihane, facilitator of the Environmental Committee, was attended by resident Richard Gregg and Woody Printz, an engineer who represented the town of Richmond, which may be invited to participate in the project. Selectmen have authorized a study of the feasibility of installing a 1.5-megawatt windmill in the town as an economically and ecologically sound way to reduce the use of fossil fuels. â€œThis will be a fairly lengthy process, if it goes at all,â€ Federspiel said. â€œIt will take about a year to analyze the potential, and from there itâ€™s a couple of yearsâ€™ process. The next step is for us as a committee to try to identify some potential sites.â€ Representatives of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative would then look at the sites and assess their potential, and choose one for the installation of a temporary monitoring tower, known as a MET, to determine its potential for generating electricity. The collaborative would pay for the test tower. Members of the Wind Tower Subcommittee will hike to the townâ€™s fire tower atop a Lenox peak nearly 2,000 feet high that overlooks Richmond to assess it as a possible site, and to two other potential sites near the townâ€™s two reservoirs. â€œMy original concept was to put up a tower to power our treatment plant,â€ Federspiel said. â€œItâ€™s not that simple. It would just become another generator providing electricity to everybody [on the grid].â€ â€œIf all goes smoothly, by the end of the summer we could have a MET tower erected on one of the sites to start collecting wind data,â€ he added. â€œAfter three or four months of collecting data, the MTC would start to determine whether the site makes sense.â€ The collaborative would formulate a business plan and submit a report that addresses the viability of the project. â€œThe chances are that itâ€™s going to be viable,â€ Federspiel said. If the collaborative recommends Lenox pursue a project, the committee would then submit a proposal to the town. When Printz asked if Richmond could participate in a Lenox wind power project, Federspiel replied, â€œWe would welcome that if Richmond would like to be involved.â€ He added that collaborative is interested in collaborative efforts. â€œMy ideal scenario is that this becomes a joint two-town project,â€ he said. The Wind Tower Subcommittee probably will make more than one visit to the potential sites and then invite Kristen Burke to come from the MTC office in Westboro on July 7 to make a site inspection and submit her findings to the Selectmen at a meeting that evening.

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

Now's the time...

to harvest value from your home. Click for more details about a HELOC. Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Community in Unity Day in Pittsfield

10:28AM / Friday, September 04, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Community in Unity Day: Living with Purpose will be held on the First Street Common from 10 to 4 on Monday, Sept. 7.

Downtown Pittsfield Inc. and the Downtown Pittsfield Cultural Association have partnered with local resident Ricardo Reeves to host this event.

This will be a day dedicated to bringing the community together through music, art, food, and family-friendly activities.

The event will feature live music by Wanda Houston, children's art activities, food trucks, and community resources. The splash pad will be open for kids to enjoy, and water will be provided. Community in Unity Day is open to everyone free of charge and the event is senior friendly and will feature an interpreter.

This is a drug and alcohol-free event. Food trucks will have fare available for purchase.

View Full Story