Wind Turbine Profile: Hyannis Country Garden

Off the coast of Massachusetts and around the towns of Cape Cod, we have some of the best wind resources in the country.  For centuries the wind has ‘powered’ our sailboats, moved our sand dunes and, for the early European settlers, powered windmills for grinding corn.  We are just now learning how to use this wind to generate our electricity.

A quick look at a Northeast wind map available on the mass.gov website shows the power of this resource.  On the land, to the shore, and off-shore our average annual wind speeds for Cape Cod range from 12 mph to over 19 mph; plenty of energy to supply us with power.  This is an abundant, renewable and free fuel source passing through our towns that we have the opportunity to leverage.

A beautiful example of how we can use the wind is the turbine installation at Hyannis Country Garden.  This is a family owned landscape and garden center within a section of Hyannis that is filled with homes and small businesses and they have chosen to ‘go green’ for their electricity generation.

In August, 2008 Country Garden was awarded their permit to construct a wind turbine.  The FAA approved a maximum height of 156 feet; the neighbors were all informed and included in the planning discussion; and the site was ready to go.  The turbine selected for this site was the Northwind 100.  Rated as a 100kW wind turbine, the Northwind 100 was chosen as a solution which could supply over 90% of the electricity needs of the business.  In addition, it is one of the quietest turbines available.  The direct-drive gearless design results in a noise level measured at 50db which is approximately the same level as normal conversation.  It makes less noise than the irrigation system which runs at night and significantly less noise than the daytime landscaping equipment and the passing traffic.  Visitors to the garden center will be amazed by the quiet, gently turning turbine blades and can easily enjoy a conversation while standing at its’ base.

Shortly after the permit was issued, the crew broke ground and a tubular tower that reaches a height of 121.36 feet was installed.  By mid-November, the installation was complete with a full height to the top of the rotor blades of 155 feet.  Then the turbine began to spin.  This Northwind 100 began extracting energy from the passing wind to power the greenhouses and the irrigation system for the garden center.  The results so far have been a drastically reduced electric bill and an increase of traffic to the business by people who want to see how this business has gone green. 

For anyone who has never seen a wind turbine up close, the simple lines of the Northwind 100 and the graceful motion of the slow moving rotor blades make for an enchanting experience.   This turbine cannot be seen driving through the main streets of town.  It rises simply behind the garden center shop as one enters the Country Garden parking lot.  Walking through the garden lot, approaching the turbine base, the sounds that are heard are the birds, the conversations of other people, the cars, and the trucks.  Only as background noise does the swish of the rotor blades contribute to the choir of sounds.

Sited approximately 300 feet from the nearest home, this wind turbine is proving to be a good neighbor.  The only concern raised to date has been a small shadow flicker for one house for a few hours per year.  To address this issue, Country Garden is working with the neighbor and has voluntarily shut down the turbine for the few hours needed to prevent the flicker.  On a bigger scale, this turbine is a good neighbor for all of us.  It is projected to offset 114 tons of carbon dioxide, 986 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 354 pounds of nitrous oxide per year.  This is a beautiful installation and a wonderful sight to be seen.