Lenox plans wind tower

By Bill Sample12:00AM / Wednesday, July 14, 2004Print Story | Email Story

LENOX â€” The town of Lenox will continue with plans for the construction of a wind- powered electrical-generation turbine on town owned land off Reservoir road, following a unanimous vote by the Selectmen last week. The board decided to move into â€œPhase 2â€ of a program sponsored by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a state agency that recently launched a $4 million initiative to help cities and towns tap into the power of the wind. Phase 2 involves site selection, contracting plans and the erection of a wind-resource monitoring tower called a meteorological tower or â€œMET tower.â€ The plan endorsed by the Selectmen calls for clearing enough land to erect the 50-meter-high tower and allow room for its guy wires. The tower, which measures wind frequency and velocity, is a temporary structure that will be removed after collecting data for a full year. After four months of measurement, a good indication of the siteâ€™s potential can be gauged, but testing will go on for 12 months to compile a complete set of data for the site, according to local officials. After testing is complete, the town will have to decide whether to go ahead with the â€œcommunity windmillâ€ project or cancel it. The program, known as the Community Wind Collaborative, offers wind monitoring equipment, data analysis, technical assistance and funding to communities that have expressed interest in exploring development opportunities for community-scale wind turbines. Town Manager Gregory Federspeil said that strategy for developing wind projects is an attractive alternative to the traditional developer-initiated approach, providing no cost tools that will allow cities and towns to evaluate, plan, develop and potentially own wind-energy sites, maximizing public benefits. â€œWe spend around $100,000 a year on electricity for our water treatment plant, and if we could reduce or eliminate those costs, or even turn a small profit on any excess electricity fed back into the grid, it would be a good thing for the townâ€ Federspiel said during last weekâ€™s meeting. He said the project â€œfits well with the townâ€™s efforts to find ways to become more efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly.â€ â€œIt will be a fairly lengthy process, if it goes at all,â€ he added. â€œIt will take a full year after the MET tower goes up before you have enough data to ensure the site is viable.â€ The boardâ€™s decision to move forward with the land clearing and erection of the tower came after a presentation by Kristen Burke of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. â€œWind power is a clean, secure alternative for many communities to meet local electricity needs and may also be a potential source of revenue,â€ Burke said. To date, over 50 communities in Massachusetts have expressed interest in the program and are in various stages of the process. Lenox is so far the only town in Berkshire County actively involved, but Richmond officials have expressed interest in joining and making the project a two -own collaborative. The area being considered for the MET tower straddles a ridge near the intersection of Reservoir and Dunbar roads, close to the boundary of the two towns. The collaborative employs technicians from the Renewable Energy Research Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts to erect MET towers and analyze data for each site. The collaborative provides full funding for the process. Phase 1 of the program involved project conception, identification of potential sites and community education and planning meetings. As part of the Phase 1 process, a Wind Tower Subcommittee met at Town Hall June 15 to hammer out a timetable and start identifying potential sites. If the project moves to Phase 3, the collaborative will fund a feasibility study for community ownership, present the study results to the public and provide community education to all interested parties. Phase 4 â€” moving toward actual construction of a wind turbine â€” would begin if the study concludes the project is viable and accepted by the community. The collaborative would provide assistance in finding a contractor and financing options to construct the turbine. According to Burke, â€œA good wind site is when youâ€™re looking at an average of a 14.5 mph wind at the 70-meter height.â€ A state study recently determined that much of Western Massachusetts has winds sufficient to study erecting turbines. Searsburg, Vt., has 11 wind turbines that were commercially developed, and enexco Inc., an international corporation plans to build about 20 towers in the North County towns of Floria and Monroe next year.

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Unpaved Cycling Event to Benefit Jimmy Fund

Community submission12:36PM / Monday, September 14, 2026

LENOX, Mass. -- The Pan-Mass Challenge will once again bring together hundreds of cyclists and volunteers in the scenic Berkshires of Massachusetts for PMC Unpaved, the organization’s charitable gravel ride and camp experience on Saturday, Oct. 3.

All money raised through PMC Unpaved goes directly to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In 2026, the PMC aims to raise a record breaking $79 million.

The 2026 event marks the fifth annual PMC Unpaved. The experience will kick off on Friday, Oct. 2, as participants gather around a campfire at Camp Mah-Kee-Nac to enjoy s’mores, live music, and a shared mission to end cancer.

Cycling begins at 9 a.m. Saturday and includes three gravel route options spanning 20, 30, and 50 miles. Riders enjoy the paved and unpaved country roads of the Berkshires through western Massachusetts and even into New York state.

Immediately following the ride, the PMC Unpaved camp experience continues with live entertainment, activities for riders and their loved ones, and a speaking program featuring PMC leadership and members of PMC’s Living Proof community, riders and volunteers who were previously treated or are currently undergoing cancer treatment and who serve as Living Proof of the progress made through raising funds for cancer research and treatment.

Those interested in experiencing PMC Unpaved for themselves can visit unpaved.org for more information, including details about day-of registration.

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