LENOX — An international engineering firm is being guided by satellites in determining the feasibility of putting a wind turbine atop a Lenox mountain.
Two engineers from Black & Veatch, an Overland Park specialist in power generation, came to Lenox on Dec. 15 at the request of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, which is seeking to install a tower to test the wind high over Lenox near Reservoir Road.
Kristin Berke a specialist working for the collaborative, brought Ryan Jacobson, the company’s headquarters energy manager, and Jeffrey Stillman, a project engineer in its Boston office, to meet with Town Manager Gregory Federspiel and review the site.
They walked up the logging road to the point 1,800 feet high near Reservoir Road where the town hopes to install a tower to test to see if the wind is sufficient to for a turbine that would generate enough electricity to power an estimated 250 homes.
The collaborative, which is financing the initial studies of the tower proposal, hopes to erect a temporary tower designed to test wind speed and frequency for a year, after which the town would build a permanent turbine, at a total cost estimated at nearly $2 million.
The major question facing the collaborative, the town and the engineers is how to move three 1-ton windmill rotor blades up the steep slope to the tower site. The possibility of using a helicopter to do the hauling at considerable expense has been raised. However, Federspiel reported after the meeting that the engineers think they might be able to arrange the move over land.
Before making their final recommendation, the engineers carried high-tech equipment up to the proposed turbine site and used a Global Positioning Radio-Navigation System (GPS) to pinpoint details of the area with messages from a galaxy of 24 satellites and their ground stations.
They took the data home with them to prepare a detailed feasibility report, which will be submitted early next year.
Federspiel, in an interview following the meeting with the Black & Veatch engineers, said his previous doubts about the windmill project had been alleviated by the visit.
“Overall, that I was feeling more encouraged I guess, is the bottom line,†Federspiel said. “They didn’t think it was impossible. They felt that one way or another, they could make it work. The paddles may have to be unloaded off of their regular highway vehicles and put on a special trailer that is brought up by a tractor of some sort.â€
The reaction from Jacobson, the collaborative’s energy manager was, ‘I think it’s doable,†but he said more information gathering would be necessary.
“They took lot of positions,†Federspiel said. “They had their GPS tracker. They were pinpointing where they were on the ground and will go back to the topological maps and do a more detailed analysis. They were being cautious, but I was hearing ‘It looks like we could make something work, one way or another. There is a possibility.’â€
Federspiel followed up the trip to the mountaintop by informing the Selectmen at the Dec. 19 meeting that he was feeling more optimistic about the project than he was a couple of months ago. After the meeting, he added “There is still a lot of work to be done and a lot of meetings and hearings are still to come before we are going to do anything.â€
The only other site deemed suitable for a wind tower is on preserved land and is not currently under consideration.
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North Adams Officials to Revote School Committee Members
Staff reports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City and school officials will meet a second time to vote in two new members of the School Committee.
The joint convention of the City Council and School Committee will be held on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the City Hall conference room and via Zoom.
Damon Grimes and Paul Moriarty were jointly elected on Monday to fill two seats vacated by resignation. They were two of four candidates standing for election.
Mayor Jennifer Macksey, chair of the School Committee, said she had received in inquiry about the votes, which were done by secret ballot.
"I have been advised that voting by ballot was not permissible in this circumstance," she said, after consulting the School Committee's attorney Adam Dupere and city solicitor KP Law.
To ensure the validity of the votes and conduct of the election, the joint convention will reconvene and formally confirm the selection of Grimes and Moriarty.
"I apologize for the inconvenience of having to reconvene," the mayor said in a statement. "My intention in using a ballot was to address concerns raised following our previous convention, when some members expressed discomfort with publicly voting for or against individual candidates.
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