| Town of Jonesborough to Research Wind Energy Potential |
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| Raising the tower |
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Tennessee Wind Working Group launches Anemometer Loan Program in Jonesborough, TN
On
Saturday, February 18th, a group of wind energy advocates installed
the first Tennessee Wind Working Group anemometer in the newly formed
anemometer loan program. In cooperation with the town of Jonesborough,
Tennessee Valley Authority, Appalachian State University, and Southern
Alliance for Clean Energy the 30m NRG Wind Explorer Anemometer was
installed above the town of Jonesborough Recycling Center.
This
town of Jonesborough's leadership in pioneering clean, renewable energy
technologies played a significant role in the selection of this site.
Tobie Bledsoe, Mayor of Jonesborough, says "Jonesborough not only
supports clean, renewable energy sourcs in many ways, but now we take
step one toward actually producing this clean energy ourselves. The
anemometer will tell us how strong and persistent the winds blow around
our wastewater treament site, and how much electricity it will generate
for us when we put the blades of a small turbine in its path, as we
hope soon to do."
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Points to Remember When Installing an Anemometer
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- Appoint one person Project Leader. This person will give directions to everyone, and everyone should listen to the project leader. There should be 6-8 people during an anemometer installation, all with various duties. The project leader should be the only one giving directions, unless somebody spots something wrong. They should then yell Stop, the tower lifting should stop, and the situation assessed by the Project Leader.
- Install the side guy anchors so they are level with each other, to ensure the tower is lifted straight up, and not at an angle.
- The tower should be laid down uphill.
- Check your equipment before raising the tower
- Check anemometers for proper voltage readings
- Check vanes for proper resistance readings
- Check to make sure anemometers line up with each other
- Check to make sure vanes are facing same direction
- Check to make sure grounding wire is properly secured
- Check to make sure vanes and anemometers are properly sealed
- As the tower approaches vertical, attach ropes to the back guys to apply tension to ensure the tower does not go past vertical. During this process, two people should be pulling the ropes, with one person adjusting the back guys for proper length.
- Go Slow! It is better to take the time to do it right than have the tower fall.
- DO NOT walk under the anemometer tower while it is being lifted.
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Data Logger To Dos:
- Ground the data logger
- Ensure wiring is in proper slot, and securely fastened
- Seal your data logger with silicon around the wiring holes. Insects love trying to nest in there.
- Leave anemometer screw driver in logger
- Lock your data logger to prevent tampering
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Jonesborough Anemometer Analysis Completed
In April 2008, The Tennessee Wind Working Group shared its final analysis of the wind resource at the town of Jonesborough Wastewater Treatment Plant. The analysis that was presented to the town included a full report of the wind speed data and any factors that may have includenced the final results. The Tennessee Wind Working Group also shared information on a variety of turbines thtt were analyzed for their performance at the site based on power curves that were derived from the company sites in March 2008. These turbines were analyzed for total energy produced, energy capacity factors, total cost, and modeled payback.
The Tennessee Wind Working Group would like to thank the town of Jonesborough for its partnership on this project. The information provided to the town of Jonesborough is meant to help the town of Jonesborough guide itself towards a clean energy future in the best manner possible. Some of the information shared with the town is excluded from the report on this site because it is proprietary.
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