Assisting the Development Phase of a
Community Scale Wind Turbine in
Tangier Island, VA
William Johnson
Trey Hughes
Bryson Rupnik
Advisor: Dr. Jonathan J. Miles
Meet the Town of Tangier
http://toddbrusnighan.com/633951/ES
PN3-Tangier-Island
Outline
 Introduction
– Wind Potential
– Background





Data Analysis
Siting and Analysis
Desktop Avian Study
Town Approval
Future of Project
Wind Potential in the Chesapeake
http://www.tangierisland-va.com/tangierisland_photos/
Background
• Small Island in Chesapeake Bay
• Accomack County, VA
• 3 islands: Port Isobel, Tangier, and the
Uppards
• Crabbing and Fishing to make a living
• Population of 507
• 1 school, less than 10 children per
grade
Background
• Accomack and Northampton
Electric Cooperative
• 7.2 MW trunk line
• Annual Consumption of 9,200 MWh
Previous Tangier Island Work
• “A Feasibility Study of Wind Power for
Tangier Island, Virginia”
o
by Robert Gallerani and Jennifer Hock
• “Preliminary Study for Onshore Wind Turbine
Siting in a Remote Island Community”
o
by Ryan Michael Powanda
• "Coastal Virginia Regional Wind Analysis"
o
by Andrew Gronan
A Feasibility Study of Wind Power for
Tangier Island, Virginia
• Viability of constructing a wind turbine
offshore of Tangier Island
• Considering all of the constant military,
fishing, and wildlife activity in the
Chesapeake Bay
• General Electric 1.5 MW SLE for
offshore turbine
Preliminary Study for Onshore Wind
Turbine Siting in a Remote Island
Community
• Feasibility of an onshore wind turbine on
Tangier Island
• Analyzes the existing energy infrastructure,
local wind resources, the surrounding
environment and siting considerations,
financing and incentive options, and
regulatory obligations
• Construction plan of a 50 meter
meteorological tower
• Wind resource to support commercial-scale
wind turbines
Coastal Virginia Regional Wind
Analysis
• Installed nine wind observation towers in
specific sites around the Chesapeake Bay
area using the state based anemometer
loan program (SBALP)
• 50 meter MET tower
• Tangier Island holds the potential to
become a powerful source of wind energy
Permit by Rule
• Request for permission from the government
due to lack of specification in written law
o Establish PBR for construction and operation
of small wind turbines
o Original: Operator of small wind energy
project with capacity less than 500 kW is not
required to submit any notification or
certification to the DEQ
o Agency Decision: Aiming for less difficult
process
 500kW or less need to follow
requirements
 500kW to 5MW require notification and
requirements
Permit by Rule
• Wind Regulatory Advisory Panel (RAP) met 15
times between 2009 and 2010
• Established by DEQ
• Currently developing a list of requirements for
turbines (500kW to 5MW)
• Turbines in Coastal Avian Protection Zones
(CAPZ) are still undecided
o Due to lack of sound research in Chesapeake
Bay
o Any turbine 500kW to 5MW constructed in
bay will be used for research as well as power
 $1000/MW of rated capacity
Grant Information
• Town of Tangier contacted the Virginia
Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy
(DMME)
• Original grant was $3.5 million for the
construction of a 900kW turbine (PowerWind
56)
• Port Isabel
• Lack of funding approval
• Cut down to $1 million, resulting in a smaller
turbine
Wind Analysis from Data
Collected on Port Isobel
Northwind 100
Specifications
Lifetime
20 yrs
Hub height
37 m
Rotor Diameter
21 m
Nameplate
generation
100 kW
Cut-in Speed
3.5 m/s (7.8mph)
Gearbox Type
Direct drive
http://sed-net.com/projects/on-site/mcglynnelementary-and-middle-school-in-the-city-ofmedford
http://vwec.cisat.jmu.edu/documents/Education%20and%20Outrea
ch/mariaFincastle.pdf
http://www.northernpower.com/pdf/specsheet-northwind100us.pdf
MET Data Applied to Northwind 100
Net Capacity Factor: Percentage of time that the turbine is generating electricity at full capacity
Siting Process
2
1
3
Siting Process
3 potential sites behind the museum
• Process used to site:
o Determine soil conditions (using soil auger)
o Altitude, Latitude, Longitude
o Distance between turbine and...
 Human occupied buildings
 Large structures
 Property lines
 Roads (access roads)
 Power Lines
o Tree and ground cover
o Topography
Siting Process
o
o
o
o
o
Overview of Road Conditions
Determine Electrical Infrastructure
Heights of neighboring structures
Determination of how to get equipment onto the site
Measure tower working area
• Photography
o 360 degree panoramic of potential sites
o Public access roads to site
o Neighboring structures
o Electrical infrastructure, including closest electrical
poles
o Port to the potential sites
Site Analysis
Site 3 was chosen as the best possible site
• Soil conditions were all fine sand based for each
site
• Ground cover is marshy, with no tree cover
• 5 small buildings in the immediate vicinity
o Heights range from (15 ft - 20 ft)
o No impact to alter wind, noise could be an
issue
o Site 3 had the largest distance away from
buildings (46 ft to the nearest structure)
Site Analysis
• Access roads are extremely small, bringing the
equipment in from the port would be the best
option
o Site 3 is closest from the water port
• Installation area is minimal, and marshy
terrain will make installation difficult
• Residential property lines surround the
potential site locations
Transmission
• Net-metering
o Help power the museum
and other small buildings
to help cut electricity
costs
• The Northwind 100 requires
connection to 3 phase power
lines, or direct connection to
the power station
o Only 2 phase power lines
surrounding site
• Can piggyback on existing
power lines to the power
station nearby (roughly 675
ft or 205 m)
Photo Sim
Desktop Avian Study
Atlantic Flyway
4 Island Complexes
• A. Tangier
• B. Smith
o
U.S. F&W
• C. Watts
o
U.S. F&W
• D. Fox
B
D
A
C
Habitat
• Low tidal salt
marshland
• Tributary like streams
through the island
• Provides plenty of food
o
o
o
o
Crabs
Fish
Oysters
Crustaceans
Loss of Land
Raptors
• Birds of Prey
o
Eagles, Falcons, Hawks,
Osprey, Owls, etc.
• Breeding Species at
risk:
o
o
o
o
Peregrine Falcon
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Barn Owl
Waterbirds
• Water dwelling birds
o
Seagulls, ducks, herons,
oyster catchers, skimmers,
etc.
• Breeding Species at
risk:
o
Little Blue Heron, American
Black Duck, American
Oystercatcher, Royal Tern,
Black Skimmer, Yellowcrowned Night Heron, Glossy
Ibis, Common Tern, Forster's
Tern, and Black Rail
Migratory Songbirds
• Smaller avian life
• Cardinals, robins, sparrows,
etc.
• Saltmarsh Sharp Tailed
Sparrow, Nelson's Sharp
Tailed Sparrow, and the
Seaside Sparrow
http://www.philjeffrey.net/Nelsons.html
Altamont Pass, California
• Operates 4,800 turbines
• Totals in 576 MW
• 0.19 birds/turbine/year
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2010/12/06/wind-turbines-to-be-upgraded-in-altamontpass/
NASA’s Lewis Research Center
• Sandusky, Ohio
• 100 kW turbine in 1970
• Purpose: Monitor nocturnal migration
periods
• Examination period during 4 migration
seasons
• Measured with radar units for migrant
patterns and binoculars with image
intensifiers
• After 4 seasons, 3 birds found dead
o
o
2 from MET tower
1 from turbine
Buffalo Ridge Wind Resource Area
• Southwestern
Minnesota
• Surveyed for 4 years
• 73 turbines generate
25MW
• 5,322 searches
performed
• 0.98 deaths per turbine
Avian Study Conclusion
• Only 1 turbine
• Concern must always be taken
• DOE will decide in the next month if an
environmental impact study must take
place
• Unique location
Town Approval
• Town Council has voted and approved
installation of wind turbine
• Signed Contract with Sustainable
Energy Development (SED)
• Working with SED on filing permits
• SED has not filed any permits to date.
• No Wind Ordinance in Accomack
county
Where does the project stand
• Town of Tangier has signed a
contract with SED
• Final site is being determined
• Local wind energy policy is being
evaluated
o permit by rule
• 1 year for grant to expire
The Future of the Project
•DMME requested that SED initiate permitting with
the DOE prior to any other related permitting work.
• DMME is waiting to see if the project receives a
Categorical Exclusion from the National
Environmental Policy Act process
oSED will file the DOE Environmental Questionnaire
oFFA to determine a No Hazard
oUS Fish and Wildlife
oState Historic Preservation Office
oLocal Permits as needed
The Future of the Project
• Actual installation of the Northwind
100
• Potential for continuation for
another ISAT senior project
• Promote incentives of wind energy,
hopefully resulting in possible
turbine additions
Acknowledgements





Dr. Miles
Remy Luerssen
Dr. Watts
Ian Morrow and Kyle Clapman for photosim
Town of Tangier
References








University of Nebraska-Lincoln. (2009). Nutty Birdwatcher. Retrieved April 2, 2011 from
http://www.unl.edu/nac/atlas/Map_Html/Biodiversity/National/Atlantic_flyway/Atlantic_Flyway.htm.
Virginia Audubon Council. (2005). Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Retrieved April 1, 2011 from
http://www.deq.state.va.us/coastal/documents/chesapeakeislandsiba.pdf.
Watts, B. D. 2006. Synthesizing information resources for the Virginia Important Bird
Area Program: Phase I Delmarva Peninsula and tidewater. Center for
Conservation Biology Technical Report Series. Retrieved March 31, 2011 from http://ccbwm.org/publications/pdf_techreports/CCBTR-06-05_IBA%20Phase%20I.pdf.
Erwin, R., Brinker, D., Watts, B., Costanzo, G., Morton, D. (2010). Islands at bay: rising seas, eroding islands, and
waterbird habitat loss in Chesapeake Bay (USA). http://chesapeake.usgs.gov/pdfs/ErwinETAL-JCoastalCons2010.pdf
Watts , B. D., M. A. Byrd, and M. U. Watts. 2004. Status and distribution of breeding Ospreys in the Chesapeake
Bay: 1995-1996. Journal of Raptor Research 38:47-54.
Wilke, A. L., B. D. Watts, B. R. Truitt, and R. Boettcher. 2005. Breeding season status of the American Oystercatcher
in Virginia , USA . Waterbirds 28:308-315.
Avian Wind Power Planning. (2000). National Avian Wind Power Planning Meeting IV. Retrieved April 1, 2011 from
https://www.nationalwind.org/assets/research_meetings/Research_Meeting_IV_Proceedings.pdf
Johnson, G., Erickson, W., Strickland, M., Shepherd, M., Shepherd, D. (200). Avian Monitoring Studies at the buffalo
Ridge, Minnesota Wind resource Area: Results of a 4-Year Study. Western Ecosystems Technology, Inc. Retrieved
April 1, 2011 from http://energyfacilities.puc.state.mn.us/documents/AvianMonitoringBuffaloRidge.pdf