On August 31, 2002, LIPA dedicated the first LIPA-LIFB wind turbine on the Zeh
Farm behind Windy Acres Farm Stand on Route 25 in Calverton.
Several other potential farm sites were identified on the East
End of Long Island but local permitting could not be obtained.
LIPA has worked with the Long Island Farm Bureau (LIFB) to
site 50 kilowatt (kW) electric generating wind turbines on Long
Island farms to help demonstrate the feasibility of using wind
power technology on the Island.
The project is a part of LIPA’s Clean Energy Initiative,
which was established to expand the
use of green sources of electricity on Long Island.
Emission Saving
The 50 kW wind turbine is capable of generating about 75,000 to
100,000 kilowatt-hours of energy each year, enough to power
about 8 to 10 average-sized Long Island homes. The operation of
these wind turbines will eliminate the emissions of as much 400
lbs of Sulfur dioxide, 150 lbs of Nitrous Oxides, 100,000 lbs
Carbon dioxide per year.
Environmental Benefits
In addition to providing power to LIPA’s electric grid, these
turbines offer many environmental benefits. They produce no air
pollutants. There's no impact on the water supply. Only a small part
of a farm is used for the wind turbine’s “footprint,” so impact on
agriculture is minimal. And small turbines have no impact on birds.
At a distance of 600 feet, the sound from these wind turbines is
less than the background noise in the average home or office, from
light road traffic, or from the wind itself.
In order to
qualify for the project, each potential site met the following
criteria:
- Farm owner is LIFB member who has not transferred ownership of
development rights on the potential site;
- The site must be part of a farm of at least 20 acres with
adequate setbacks from neighbors;
- It must have unobstructed exposure to the prevailing wind;
- There must be a minimum of 11 miles per hour average wind
speed;
- It must be near a three-phase electric distribution line to
minimize the cost of connecting to LIPA’s electric grid.
The wind turbines were manufactured by Atlantic Orient Corporation
(AOC) in Norwich, Vermont. This model has been tested by the
National Renewable Energy Lab. Earlier versions of these turbines
have been operational in Alaska and Maine since 1999.
Clean Energy Initiative
