The Hartsville Town Board Wednesday evening took what might have been the first step towards determining whether or not the town will be a suitable location for wind turbines.
The board approved a two-year permit that will allow for the construction of a meteorological (MET) tower, which measures wind speed and direction at a site, on Ells Road. The tower will stand for two years and will determine whether or not Hartsville is a viable area for harnessing wind energy.
Kevin Sheen, senior director of development for EverPower, which develops, owns and operates utility grade wind projects, said the tower will be erected at the beginning of November.
"Then we'll start monitoring the wind. We need to do that at least for a year and then during that time, we'll do a bunch of studies and that sort of stuff in addition," he said. "In order to determine what the wind is like in an area, you need to study it for at least one year."
Though the expense of the tower, equipment and installation is between $50,000 and $60,000, town supervisor Michael Muhleisen said that is not a cost associated with the town.
"That's an agreement with the contracting wind company and its contracting MET company, Aerial Erectors," he said.
This was not the first time Hartsville had been considered as the location for a wind project. E.On Climate and Renewables, one of the world's largest owners of renewable power projects, previously discussed a project with the town.
However, the project fell through after Hartsville adopted a new wind law in 2009 and the wind company had difficulty selling renewable-energy credits.
Previously, EverPower constructed 25 wind turbines in the Town of Howard.
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