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Autumn Winds Two local events focus on Wind Power by Kelly Stoos
The First Annual R.I. Clean Energy Harvest Celebration is coming up Saturday, September 16, at the Portsmouth Abbey School, from 1 to 4 p.m. The school recently installed a state-of-the-art 660-kilowatt wind turbine, the largest in Rhode Island. Besides providing power to the school, it's plugged into the local grid. Excess energy goes to the New England GreenStart program.
Portsmouth Abbey is in a beautiful setting overlooking Narragansett Bay. The free celebration will feature live music, a solar-powered bubble machine, projects for kids, and of course, turbine tours. Snacks will be provided, or bring your own picnic lunch. Visitors can learn about wind power, solar energy, and energy efficiency. For more info, directions, or to RSVP, go to People's Power and Light's Web site.
If you miss that date, you have another chance to visit the turbine on Tuesday, September 19, thanks to a special event hosted by the Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF). Educator Lisa Dady of NRF will lead visitors on a tour of Prescott Farm's historical windmill in Portsmouth, built around 1811. The tour will then move on to the new turbine at Portsmouth Abbey. There, Brother Joseph Byron, who spearheaded the wind project, will tell all about it.
In the early 1800s, windmills played a crucial economic role locally, says Dady. Aquidneck Island lacks the powerful rivers that provided water power in other parts of the state, so the plentiful sea breeze was harnessed instead to produce milled grain. While the initial construction of a windmill was costly and labor-intensive, the payoff over time was assured because the grain was a valued commodity. The structure itself, which seems so charming to us today, was not regarded as particularly appealing in the 19th Century, Dady says. Rather, it was viewed as utilitarian and necessary; like telephone poles or grain silos today.
Today, views differ on the aesthetic appeal of wind turbines. But the economic factors are inescapable, just as they were in 1811. As demand grows for non-polluting energy and gas prices rise, wind power becomes an increasingly viable option. Installation is costly but the long-term payoff seems certain. A visit to the two Portsmouth wind sites is sure to create an historical context for the new turbine "as a continuing legacy of wind power," Dady says.
NRF's wind tour costs $10 per person and starts at 5:30 p.m. For more information, or to reserve a spot, check out the NRF Web site or email Lisa Dady.
Kelly Stoos, a recent graduate of Colby College in environmental policy, now works in Houston, Texas, teaching "Eco-Arts" in an elementary school.
Read our May NNN feature about alternative energy options, and check out a video of the Portsmouth wind turbine in action. Want to comment on this story? Send us an email.