Alteris Renewables Chooses Remote Sensing Technology to Aid in Wind Assessment Study for Jamestown, RI

JAMESTOWN, R.I., May 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Second Wind, a leader in wind measurement systems, today announced Alteris Renewables, the largest renewable energy installer in New England, will use its wind measurement technology to provide comprehensive wind resource analysis to the town of Jamestown, RI. The town is conducting the analysis at the Taylor Point wastewater treatment plant to determine if it is an efficient location for a wind turbine. This is the first wind project the town of Jamestown has initiated. The town hopes to generate up to 1.65 Mw of energy.

"Jamestown is helping to lead the way for Rhode Island by using our natural resources to produce clean energy that will save the local taxpayers money. This project is a win-win for all of us and I am happy to help move it forward," said Rhode Island State Senator Teresa Paiva-Weed.

Alteris will be installing a Triton® Sonic Wind Profiler at the plant on Tuesday, May 17 and will begin collecting data for the feasibility study that day. When deployed in community wind projects, the Triton allows developers and other stakeholders to quickly and cost-effectively determine whether wind resources at specific sites will make proposed wind power projects economically viable. The data collected from the Triton is downloaded via Second Wind's SkyServe service, a secure web-based data service that will produce a report including detailed wind resource data, energy estimates, and the capacity factors of the turbines Jamestown is considering.  

"As chairwoman of the Small Business Renewable Energy Task Force and the representative from Jamestown, I'm thrilled that our town is working to make clean, renewable energy a reality locally, reducing our carbon footprint and creating green jobs. SODAR is a very important first step in determining the economic benefit of a wind turbine in this location, and I'll be eagerly awaiting the results," said Rep. Deborah Ruggiero (D-Dist. 74, Jamestown, Middletown). 

Triton is an advanced remote sensing system that uses sodar technology to measure wind at higher heights than the previous tower-based standard. By measuring wind speeds at the turbine rotor's hub height and beyond (up to 200 meters), Triton reduces uncertainty in annual energy production (AEP) forecasts. Triton's ease of deployment also streamlines the wind farm development process.

"We are continuously searching for innovative ways to increase the efficiency of our treatment plant," said Bruce Keiser, Jamestown Town Administrator. "We are very excited to get this feasibility study off the ground with Alteris and Second Wind and believe wind will be a cost-effective way to produce electricity for the municipality-owned facilities and buildings. We look forward to evaluating the results over the next few months."

About Second Wind

Second Wind provides the wind energy industry with the intelligence required to plan, finance and operate highly efficient, profitable wind generation facilities. Second Wind's WindIQ initiative helps the wind industry transform data into insight, making wind information more valuable, accessible, and meaningful. Second Wind's integrated product and service offerings include SkyServe® web-based wind data service; the Triton® Sonic Wind Profiler; the ProMast™ 60 met mast; and Nomad® 2 Wind Data Logger systems. For more information about Boston-based Second Wind, please visit www.secondwind.com.

About Alteris Renewables

Alteris Renewables is the largest design-build renewable energy company in the Northeast, with more than 25 megawatts installed for over 3,000 customers over the past 30 years and more than a dozen offices across seven states. Alteris provides solar electric (photovoltaic or PV), solar thermal, and wind energy solutions for commercial, residential, education, government and institutional clients. The company has industry-leading expertise in engineering, design, project management, performance analysis, project financing and renewable energy credit programs. For more information visit: www.alterisinc.com.

SOURCE Second Wind