Wind Turbine Project discussed at SGA meeting

By: Tamara Verhyen

Posted: 3/1/10

In the Student Government Association (SGA) meeting on February 22, Edwin Martinez, Student Trustee, said the school will receive a loan for $4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to start construction of the Wind Turbine Project.

This is a further attempt to make the school more energy efficient, he said. This will save the college money on electricity and it will also earn expected revenue of $168.35/Megawatt Hours, according to the Wind Feasibility Report.

Martinez said the reason the construction did not take place last year was funding. In order to save money on this project, MWCC decided to go for government loans. As a result, the college had to do further testing to make sure the turbines did not affect the environment in any way.

These reports from these tests, which can all be found at www.mwcc.edu/renewable/WindEnergy, show that the Mount had to do bat and avian studies to make sure the turbines did not affect the flight patterns. Along with that, the college also had to do tests on the sounds and shadow flickering to make sure the turbine would not negatively affect the surrounding residents and drivers.