April 16, 2007 == MEDIA ADVISORY
A wind turbine funded in part by a state of Michigan grant will be raised this
Saturday, April 21, on the Calvin College campus -- weather permitting.
The work will begin at approximately 9 am and conclude around 1 pm with the
tower and the turbine scheduled to go up at around 10:30 am.
The location is just west of East Paris, near the Gainey Athletic Fields that
Calvin and the Grand Rapids Christian schools share. Access to the site is
available to media from East Paris, between Burton and Lake Drive.
The demonstration turbine could generate up to two kilowatts of power, an
amount Calvin engineering professor Matt Heun says could run lights and
computers in Calvin's Bunker Interpretive Center, while also having a big
impact in terms of educational value.
Heun's Engineering 333 class, called "Thermal Fluid Systems Design," inherited
part of the wind energy mantle in the fall of 2006 when the engineering
department landed a $6,000 grant from the Energy Office of the State of
Michigan. The class divided into five teams to tackle the project of bringing
wind energy to Calvin.
"This project is definitely a learning experience," says Heun, "one that
involved over 50 people on campus, either directly or indirectly."
Heun notes that the turbine will continue to be educational for both students
and the Grand Rapids community as it feeds information on wind speeds and
weather data to both a kiosk in the Bunker Interpretive Center and to a website
open to anyone with internet access.
The turbine for the demonstration project which will be installed April 21 is
a 1.8 kilowatt Southwest Windpower Skystream 3.7 purchased from Earth Solar
Group. The tower on which the turbine will stand is a monopole because, of the
designs available, it had the smallest environmental footprint and its design
is the most aesthetically pleasing.
For interviews prior to Saturday, contact Matt Heun at 616-526-6663 (work)
The day of the installation, especially if the weather is suspect, call Heun
at 616-334-7334 (mobile)
-end-
Received on Mon Apr 16 12:34:21 2007
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