Monday, January 10, 2011

Thousand Islands District Halts Turbine Plan

Watertown Daily Times District halts plan to install wind turbine


District halts plan to install wind turbine

As reported by the Watertown Daily Times
NOT MADE IN USA: Purchase of Canadian system did not meet requirements of federal stimulus grant
By JAEGUN LEE
TIMES STAFF WRITER
MONDAY, JANUARY 10, 2011

CLAYTON — The Thousand Islands Central School District's plan to install a wind turbine on school grounds is a no-go.

Instead, the district will spend the federal grant money it received last year to install a photovoltaic system.

The district was set to buy a 20-kilowatt turbine from a Canadian firm, but the project came to a halt because the structure did not meet one of the stimulus grant's requirements: the product must be made in the United States.

"Because of issues with the government over where we could purchase it, that plan has fallen through," district Board of Education member John P. Warneck said. "So we're changing it to a 35 kw photovoltaic system that converts sunlight into electricity."
Read full WDT article and comments -->here<-- Below are the financial details of the Alice in Wonderland Economics ~ for the Wind turbine that the Thousand islands School District had been set to participate in .



AWARDEES FOR ARRA STATE ENERGY PROGRAM - ROUND 2 AWARDS FEBRUARY 2010
Amount awarded, $163,760 to the Thousand Island central School district, for the installation of a 20 KW wind turbine ~ estimated yearly savings = $7,474. At this rate it will take approximately 21 years for it to pay for itself. A 20 KW wind turbine has an approximate life cycle of twenty years so it will be a close call. It is worth a look at the NYSERDA website to see what our fiscally bankrupt State sees as necessary to spend tax dollars on, money that we do not have. People keep applying for grants using the rational if we don’t apply it will go somewhere else. This needs to stop! We do not have this money to waste on these rationalizations. This unnecessary spending has to stop. Total awards for ARRA STATE ENERGY PROGRAM - ROUND 1 AWARDS October 2009 were $ 24,030,700 WITH AN ESTIMATED SAVINGS OF 6,507,683
The ARRA STATE ENERGY PROGRAM - ROUND 2 AWARDS for FEBRUARY 2010 were $39,375,845 with an estimated savings of $6,980,700. Granted perhaps some of these upgrades may have been necessary, however in these times of financial upheaval in New York most of these projects probably could have been at least delayed until our state was in better fiscal shape.

What will the fiscally responsible idiots have on the horizon for 2011 that they think is absolutely necessary to spend our tax dollars on?

the answer is......

A 35 kw photovoltaic system that converts sunlight into electricity."


Let’s hope that the math works out better on this scheme than the snake oil turbine deal.


Talk about pulling a rabbit out of your hat ...

Acciona is heavily involved in photolatic systems maybe they could be of assistance in the project, oops aren't they foreign too - I forgot they have been in town so long I thought they were “one of us”!!!

No comments: