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by JUSTIN HERBERGER
News Reporter
Appalachian State University’s Renewable Energy Initiative, university administration and officials from New River Light & Power and Alteris Renewables will gather at the Broyhill Inn & Conference Center Thursday to celebrate the installation of the Broyhill Wind Turbine.
The Northwind 100 model wind turbine is a project initiated by Appalachian’s REI, a student-led organization that works to bring renewable energy to Appalachian’s campus.
“It has always been a goal of REI to introduce wind power to the High Country,” REI’s Student Government Association representative and junior political science major T. Andrew Edmonds said. “[The turbine] is as much of an educational thing as it is to offset the carbon foot-print of the university."
REI partnered with New River Light & Power to fund the project, which totaled approximately $530,000.
Through
the process of approving and installing the turbine, the project faced
challenges from N.C. Senate Bill 1068, which was amended to make wind
energy in the High Country “virtually impossible,” REI public relations
officer and junior interdisciplinary studies major Rio W. Tazewell said.
The
project’s leaders also dealt with criticism from town residents, who
remember the failed wind energy project of 1978, Edmonds said.
The
Federal Energy Research and Development Administration and NASA
selected Boone and Howards Knob as a site for an experimental wind
energy project, which at the time was the largest wind energy device in
the world, according to a 1980 Time magazine article.
The
windmill created enough noise and low-frequency vibrations with its
200-foot-long blades to rattle windows in homes and was eventually
dismantled due to inefficiency and resident’s complaints.
Those who work near Appalachian’s new turbine report a completely different experience with the technology.
“Our
guests really enjoy having the wind turbine in our backyard,” Doug J.
Uzelac, general manager of the Broyhill Inn & Conference Center
said.
The turbine operates quietly while still producing an ample amount of energy, Edmonds said.
The
event Thursday begins with the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 3:30 p.m. at
the Broyhill Inn and is followed by the REI Fall Forum held in Plemmons
Student Union Solarium at 5 p.m.
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