Final Project Site Report
Erie, PA
Project Summary
The Saint Francis University Renewable Energy Center’s Community Wind Project installed a meteorological tower at a site near Erie, PA, Erie County, to assess the site’s wind energy potential. The mean monthly wind speed was recorded from September 2006 through December 2007 at 3 different levels, 15m (49 feet), 30m (98 feet) and 50m (164 feet). At the highest level 50m (164 feet) the mean average wind speed was 12.7 mph. Other summary data, graphs and tables can be found on the pages to follow. A 115kV line is located 1.25 miles north of the met tower. The tower was located 300 feet from the north and east property lines. The business’ annual electricity usage is approximately 1.5 million kilowatt hours.
Project Location
The monitoring equipment was installed on 121 acres of open land for a private business near Erie, PA at an elevation of 1, 492 feet. The site is located at N 42° 08’ 50.43”, W 79° 49’ 26.67”.
Monitoring Equipment
NRG Symphonie System including one 50m tower, a NRG Symphonie data logger with shelter box, 6 #40C anemometers, 2 #200P wind direction vanes, 1 temperature sensor, sensor cabling, 1lightning spike with 2 grounding rods and copper grounding wire.
Wind Shear Information
Power law exponent: 0.277
Surface Roughness: 0.735 m
Roughness Class: 3.66
More Site Information
The electric utility provider is Penelec, a division of First Energy Company. The location of the closest most populated town is 15.72 miles. As shown on the following maps. The tree line is 90m north. Trees are 40' tall. There are a couple single trees to the east that are 50' tall. Access is 200m through the leach field (tall grasses, some soft ground) right off the pavement. The racetrack is 500m to the west, with some smaller buildings about 200m. Some low homes are 100m to the east.
See Graphs and Tables
Full Report PDF