SED Plays Key Role in Delaware’s First Community Wind Project
SED managed a 2MW wind project at the University of Delaware

 
photo credit Evan Krape

Lewes, DE – Sustainable Energy Developments, Inc. (SED), an Ontario, NY based community wind company, has completed its largest project to date, a 2-megawatt (MW) wind turbine at the University of Delaware’s Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes. The project is the first community wind turbine in the State and combines university level research, as part of the University’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment (CEOE), with the financial, energy and environmental benefits of wind power.

The project was completed in early June, following the commissioning and electrical interconnection of a 2MW Gamesa wind turbine. The culmination of the project was celebrated at a ribbon cutting ceremony featuring US Senator Thomas Carper (D-Del), Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Collin O’Mara, City of Lewes Mayor James Ford, Deputy Director Michael Robinson of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Wind Technology Center, Dean of the CEOE Nancy Targett as well as Kevin Schulte, SED’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Dave Strong, SED’s Senior Project Manager.

The University’s CEOC Dean, Nancy Targett, began her pursuit of a wind project in March of 2008 when she hired SED to perform a detailed economic and technical assessment of the Lewes campus. SED’s efforts helped define the College’s tremendous opportunity and helped convince university officials to develop the project. SED was then tasked with protecting the interest of the University and guiding the project through the development stages. SED provided experience and technical expertise to the University through all aspects of the project’s development including permitting, detailed engineering, turbine procurement negotiations, electrical interconnection, construction and commissioning. SED also provided significant assistance in fulfilling the requirements of the National Environmental Protection Act necessary to secure Federal funding support for the wind turbine.

"Although this project is an invaluable educational and research tool, Dean Targett's vision goes beyond the creation of a new learning opportunity for the University,” said Dave Strong, who led SED’s multi-disciplinary efforts. “The project was developed in a manner that supports the College’s educational mission while generating economic savings and environmental benefits. It’s a model for sustainable economic development that is applicable to several different types of energy users,” added Schulte.

For SED, this first commercial scale wind turbine in “the First State” is one on a long list of groundbreaking projects. SED is responsible for the world’s first wind powered ski resort (accessing a Berkshire mountain top), the first commercial scale wind turbine on Cape Cod (in the face of the heated battle to develop offshore wind), as well as the first commercial scale wind turbine in the State of New Hampshire (a state that offers no statewide funding). SED prides itself on entering new markets and teaching communities how to effectively integrate wind energy projects into the everyday lives of people. SED helps to develop community-scale wind projects where the local community has a tangible financial interest and harvests a majority of the benefits of their natural resources. Community-scale wind projects are generally less than 20MW in size and create new opportunities for jobs and economic development in local communities.