Wind turbine project gets funding boost

PRESQUE ISLE – A sizable grant is going to help the University of Maine at Presque Isle move closer to its goal of building a wind turbine on campus.

During a gathering at the Aroostook Centre Mall on Wednesday morning, university officials accepted a $50,000 grant from the Maine Public Utility Commission’s Voluntary Renewable Resources Fund for its wind turbine project.

The grant will help UMPI as it moves forward with plans to build the wind turbine on campus.

In May, UMPI became the first campus in the state to announce a plan to complete a $1.5 million wind turbine project in the next 18 months that will create savings of at least $100,000 a year. Officials have said the turbine will help the campus reduce its energy costs while also helping the college meet its commitment to carbon neutrality.

Don Zillman, president of UMPI, attended the ceremony, as did Kurt Adams, chairman of the PUC in Maine.

Other guests included those who are attending the last day of a two-day conference on wind farming at UMPI that was hosted by the St. John Aroostook Resource Conservation and Development Council.

The “Wind Farming: Harvesting Clean Energy Conference” wrapped up on Wednesday.

Zillman said in a written statement that UMPI was “thrilled” to receive the grant, and Adams noted the organization is awarding a total of $362,889 in grant money to 10 organizations for projects involving solar energy, wind power and tidal power.

He added that once UMPI’s turbine is fully operational, it will prevent an estimated 572 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere each year, which Adams said was the equivalent of removing 123 cars from the road.

The organization was established by the Legislature in 2000 and is supported by voluntary contributions made by consumers on their electric bill. The Maine PUC operates the organization and offers grants of up to $50,000 to qualifying Maine-based nonprofits for the development of projects utilizing renewable resources such as wind, water, sun, wood, tides, trash-to-energy, fuel cells and geothermal energy.