Wednesday, May 9th

SHERIFF TESTS WIND ON COUNTY FARM;

HOPES TO POWER PCCF

           You may notice a slight change in the skyline as the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department takes another step toward harnessing wind energy.

Today, a 50 meter MET tower [meteorological test tower] went up on the Plymouth County Farm on Obery Street in Plymouth. It was a five man job to hoist the tower, which looks similar to a ship’s mast with its guy wires. The MET tower is equipped with anemometers to test the wind power at two levels. The anemometers resemble a child’s pinwheel. The red and white tower appears pencil-thin from Rt. 3 in the Long Pond Road stretch.

This testing process is part of Sheriff Joseph D. McDonald Jr.’s future plan to cut energy costs that come with running a 1600 bed Correctional Facility 24/7.Already the department is saving; the test tower is fully funded by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative Renewable Energy Trust Fund.

The test period will last approximately one year; Sheriff McDonald said he hopes the collected data will show it’s feasible to erect a wind turbine on the property of the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, just across Rt. 3 from the test site. 

For more information you can visit our webpage at http://www.pcsdma.org/wind_energy_project.htm .

Copyright © 2006 [Plymouth County Sheriff's Department]