Showing posts sorted by relevance for query abbey, wind. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query abbey, wind. Sort by date Show all posts

Monday, June 10, 2013

Mount St Mary's - solar farm

The sisters of Mount St Mary's Abbey installed a wind turbine a couple of years ago. It helps to power their candy store operations.  http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/09/mount-st-marys-new-candy-house.html

You can purchase their candy on site or via their web store  http://www.trappistinecandy.com/


MStMaryAbbey_WindTurbine
Mt St Mary's Abbey - wind turbine
The wind turbine in action as captured in a 2010 video
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2010/02/abbey-wind-turbine.html


Recently they signed an agreement with the Town of Franklin to install a solar farm. The Town Council voted in November 2012 to approve the deal.  http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/11/real-time-reporting-legislation.html


MStMaryAbbey_Solar1
Mt St Mary's Abbey - solar farm


I stopped by on Sunday to grab these photos of the construction underway for this solar farm.

MStMaryAbbey_Solar2
Mt St Mary's Abbey - solar farm 2


The frames are sturdy and follow the contour of the ground.  Completely installed the farm is reported to generate 6 megawatts of electricity.

MStMaryAbbey_Solar3
Mt St Mary's Abbey - solar farm 3


The galvanized steel (?) is shining in the sunlight. When the panels are installed the sunlight will be generating electricity.


MStMaryAbbey_Solar4
Mt St Mary's Abbey - solar farm 4

Additional links
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/07/its-win-win-for-town.html

Mount St Mary's Abbey = http://abbey.msmabbey.org/

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Abbey Wind Turbine

I got out to Mount St Mary's Abbey in Wrentham to record this brief video of the wind turbine in action:



One advantage of wind over solar, the wind sometimes doesn't stop when the sun goes down. It can continue to generate power during the night as long as there is sufficient wind.

Earlier posts/photos of the wind turbine can be found here

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2009/12/abbey-turbine-gets-wings.html

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2008/11/whoosh-whoosh.html


Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view this video

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Whoosh Whoosh

Modern wind energy plant in rural scenery.Image via Wikipedia
What if some nuns in Wrentham decided to put up a wind turbine? And then high school officials in Worcester? And a Canton bank chairman? And pretty soon, the question wasn't where do wind farms belong, but how many windmills can we squeeze in to every last available space? That day is coming.
.....

"Wind power is part of that," Schulte says. "It seems to be peppered all over society right now: green, green, green. Well, this is green. This is clean energy. This is 20 years of energy with no emissions. Twenty years of energy with no pollution you have to bury in the ground. I think that's all right."

.....

Remember the nuns? Their turbine -- another SED project -- is scheduled to be built this winter. And Sister Mariann Garrity, for one, can't wait for the moment she sees those pearly white blades spinning. "The wind is just something that we've let caress our faces," she says. "It was not something, up until now, that we had learned how to harness. And when we see that turbine go up, we'll know that we are using a gift of creation in a much more effective way."

It's just like the nuns pray on Sundays. Gathered together, all 50 of them, they thank the Lord for the rain and the dew, for the heat of summer and the cold of winter. They give thanks for the seas and the rivers and the beasts, wild and tame. And they give thanks, of course, for the wind blowing outside the abbey, just waiting for a turbine to spin. "All you winds," they say together, quoting from the book of Daniel, "bless the Lord."

Read the full article in the Boston Globe Magazine here

Previous posting about the Abbey's wind project can be found here and here


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Thursday, December 17, 2009

In the News - affordable housing, Abbey wind power

A good use for the money that has accumulated in the Housing Trust Fund. This creates affordable housing for folks wanting to live in Franklin by using houses already on the market rather than creating new housing.


Franklin to offer grants to first-time homebuyers

from The Milford Daily News News RSS





Abbey has wind turbine installed

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS







Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Live reporting - Energy $ense


At the Franklin Library for the Energy $ense series presentation on Solar and Wind Installations. What grants and incentives are available?

Introduction by Ted McIntyre and Fred Schlicher

The audio version of this can be found here

Tyler's presentation:
Franklin Energy $ense Seminar
View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: solar energy)



Tyler Leeds
Project Manager, Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust

Plug for energy efficiency
http://www.masssave.com/

Background
Commonwealth Solar
Micro Wind
Larger Wind
Q&A

Over 1000 active projects generating renewable energy in MA

Solar PV - photovoltaic

Map showing 50 communities within MA that are not eligible for grants

Key goals of Commonwealth Solar
  • coordinate efforts with MA DOER
  • target of 250 megawatts (NW) installed
  • provide a streamlined rolling rebate process
  • maintain a quality control function
MA is achieving 8 MW now, the goal of 27 MW is set for 2011

Rebates for residential up to 5 kilowatt systems (average home uses 4 kilowatts)
They would rebate 20 to 40 % of the installation

refer to website for details on the step by step process to install and apply
Q - where do farms fall?
A - farms are non-residential

Initial installations of micro wind have not been yielding as much as had been expected.
Still a learning process, where does it make sense, where doesn't it?

The opportunity maybe in the neighborhood net metering process. A neighborhood would get together to install a larger turbine for the 8-10 neighbors to utilize instead of a single installation.

Some municipalities do have special permitting processes for turbines

Big Apple Farm is looking to install the same size turbine as the one announced for the Mount St Mary's Abbey.

Location is key for wind, solar actually provides a better ROI than wind.

Q - is there a website that would provide information on wind strength
A - yes, one of the first things they did was to develop wind maps. (link to be provided later).

Multiple questions, good discussion, hopefully the recording will catch these.

Data acquisition system can tie to a website to provide real time updates on energy generated.
(update later)

All the steps to the process of determining eligibility for a solar rebate through to the installation and successful operation can be found on the masstech.org/solar site here.

The second part of the evening covered a local installer whose service includes navigating the permitting and approval process for the home owner or commercial owner.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Mount Saint Mary's Abbey - fund raising

Mount Saint Mary's Abbey sent a fund raising letter that I think is worthwhile sharing here:

Mount St Mary's Abbey 11/15/10

A brief video of the wind turbine in action was shared here earlier this year
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/abbey-wind-turbine.html


Franklin, MA

Friday, August 22, 2008

Wind turbine success

How is this related to Franklin? You may recall that the Sisters of St Mary's Abbey are preparing a wind turbine of their own. It won't be quite as tall as this one. Their wind turbine is reported to be approx. 130 foot tall. This is 253 foot.

Jiminy Peak, a western Mass. mountain resort, marked the one year anniversary on August 15 of flipping the switch and connecting its 1.5 megawatt GE wind turbine to the grid. The turbine, nicknamed Zephyr, is now generating a full third of the ski resort's power. But getting there wasn't exactly a breeze.

Nestled in the Berkshires, Jiminy Peak claims to be the first privately held company in the nation to have installed a megawatt class turbine. Its Zephyr (named after the Greek god of wind) sits on a 253-ft. tower, with each of its three blades reaching approximately 123 feet into the air, making the wind turbine taller than the Statue of Liberty.

The turbine generates 4.6 million kWh (kilowatt hours) of energy or enough to light up the TVs, DVDs, microwaves and refrigerators in 613 homes for a year. Most of the power is generated in winter, when mountain winds peak, and demand at the resort is at its highest, due to the demands of snowmaking equipment.

Read the full article in InformationWeek here

Sunday, November 30, 2008

"We have to be faithful to our basics"

An earsplitting clanging echoed from the stone bell tower of Mount St. Mary's Abbey in Wrentham, calling to prayer about a dozen nuns ending their morning shift in the convent's Candy House.

The sisters, wrapped in work clothes and aprons, walked down a wooded path and through a clearing as they made their silent way home. By noon, they were wearing the crisp, white robes of their contemplative Cistercian order, and had joined 40 others to chant and pray inside the abbey's airy church.

Up at 3, pray and work all day, retire at 8.

So it goes for these nuns and others in the order that for 900 years has emulated St. Benedict in relying on one's hands for daily sustenance.

Here in Wrentham, off a country lane not far from Interstate 495, that means tending a flock of sheep for wool to make blankets and growing a bounty of fresh vegetables in the summer, and, for these sisters who are rarely seen in public, making Trappistine Quality Candy - and lots of it.

Read the full article in the Boston Sunday Globe West section here

The Abbey web site can be found here

You can order candy via their online web store or make a donation via PayPal.

Postings about the Abbey's wind turbine can be found here


Monday, August 6, 2018

Advocates share agenda for 100% renewable energy as election season heats up

With election season just around the corner, environmental advocates and local leaders gathered at Franklin’s town common to share ideas for accelerating Massachusetts’ transition to 100 percent renewable energy.

The 100% Renewable Energy Agenda, developed by the Environment Massachusetts Research & Policy Center, includes more than 30 policies that the winner of this fall’s gubernatorial election can implement to reduce energy consumption and rapidly repower all sectors of the economy with clean energy.

“For decades, the Commonwealth has led the nation in preserving the environment, protecting public health, and reducing global warming pollution,” said Ben Hellerstein, State Director for the Environment Massachusetts Research and Policy Center. “Now more than ever, Massachusetts must lead the way. With support from our state’s top leaders, we can power our homes, our businesses, and our transportation system with clean, renewable energy.”

Advocates described how Massachusetts’ solar and wind resources, combined with emerging technologies like electric vehicles, air source heat pumps, and battery storage, will enable us to meet our energy needs with clean, renewable power at all times of the day and night.

After discussing the recommendations in the 100% Renewable Energy Agenda, local leaders discussed the ways that clean energy is supported at the local level, and what more needs to be done.

“Franklin has done a lot to ensure that our town exemplifies what a Green Community should be,” said former city councilor, and renewable energy advocate, Brett Feldman. “Our electricity load for our municipal and school buildings is 95 percent covered by our town solar farm on the Mount St. Mary’s Abbey. On top of that, we have upgraded all of our buildings to maximum efficiency, and by the end of the year will convert of our town lights to LED. We are doing all we can, and we want the state to be able to say the same.”

Speakers also pointed to the urgent need for action before the end of the legislative session.

In June, the Massachusetts Senate passed a bill that would eliminate caps on solar net metering and increase renewable energy to 50 percent of Massachusetts’ electricity consumption by 2030 and 100 percent by 2047. The House has passed a bill for 35 percent renewable electricity by 2030. Legislators must reach an agreement before July 31, or start from scratch next year.

A report by the Applied Economics Clinic found that increasing the renewable portfolio standard by 3 percent per year, along with other clean energy policies, would result in 600,000 fewer metric tons of greenhouse gases per year by 2030 (equivalent to taking 128,000 cars off the road) at little to no additional cost to the public.

Since 2007, Massachusetts has seen a 246-fold increase in the amount of electricity it gets from the sun. Wind energy generation in Massachusetts is set to increase dramatically in the coming years, with a commitment to install 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind capacity.

Massachusetts’ offshore wind potential is equivalent to more than 19 times the state’s annual electricity consumption. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, rooftop solar installations alone could provide 47 percent of Massachusetts’ electricity.

“Even beyond rooftop solar, community solar projects, like the one we installed in Holliston, expand the possibility of who can benefit from the solar boom,” said Jeff Lord, senior Vice President of Project Development at the Clean Energy Collective. “ There are dozens of community solar projects in the Commonwealth, including one in nearby Holliston, but many more are needed if we’re to truly provide equal access to the benefits of renewable energy to all of our states homes, businesses, towns, and organizations.”

Last week, 16 academics, researchers, and clean energy industry leaders sent a letter to state officials affirming that “there are no insurmountable technological or economic barriers to achieving 100 percent renewable energy.”

“Now is the time for us to go big on clean energy,” said Hellerstein. “Come January, we’re ready to work with whoever occupies the corner office on Beacon Hill to help Massachusetts go 100 percent renewable.”

###

The Environment Massachusetts Research and Policy Center is dedicated to protecting Massachusetts’ air, water and open spaces. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public and decision-makers, and help Bay Staters make their voices heard in local, state and national debates over the quality of our environment and our lives.

Advocates share agenda for 100% renewable energy
Advocates share agenda for 100% renewable energy

Sunday, June 29, 2008

"the traffic from Interstate 495 will be louder"

GHS
Posted Jun 28, 2008 @ 10:46 PM

FRANKLIN —

The sisters of Mt. St. Mary's Abbey lead a simple life, and they plan to use the latest green technology to keep it that way.

The Cistercian community of 52 women grow most of their own food, adopting a vegetarian diet out of a philosophy of frugality and austerity. They use a solar-powered electric fence to hold their sheep and alpaca, and sustain their physical needs by making and selling candy.

In 2006, Sister Mariann Garrity replaced all of the incandescent bulbs at the abbey (about 200 light fixtures) with energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights.

This summer, the Cistercians of the Strict Observance at Mt. St. Mary's Abbey are getting further swept up in their efforts to conserve, putting a 40-meter-tall wind turbine in the field beside the sheep pasture, in the middle of their 580-acre property, which is split between Franklin and Wrentham.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here


Sunday, December 20, 2009

Abbey turbine gets wings

The wind turbine at Mount St Mary's Abbey in Wrentham was installed this week. It is quite impressive even from a distance against a gray sky with the blades not turning.

It looks like a giant bird

or a funky hang glider

coming over the trees

until you get closer and the white tower appears.



It will be tested before turning on to generate power for the Abbey.

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to the website to view the slide show.

Thursday, January 17, 2019

"where the buffer zone is between conservation land and the proposed solar array"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"A new solar array is being proposed in town while conservation concerns loom in the planned area. 
A public hearing will be held on Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Franklin Municipal Building. The application for the photovoltaic solar was filed by Kearsarge Upper Union LLC of Boston. 
George Russell, conservation agent for Franklin, said that this is the third solar array proposal that Franklin has considered in just the last few months. Currently, there’s one solar array in town, located on Union Street. 
Russell said they’re working with Industria Engineering in Hopkinton to finalize a potential design"
Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20190116/large-solar-array-proposed-franklin


The new proposal for this solar array is located not far from the first one on the Mount St Mary's Abbey property which provides Franklin with about 90% of the electricity supply. The existing solar farm is located to the left of the big bend in Upper Union shown on the map. There is also a wind turbine across the street from the 'big bend' on the map.




The public hearing notice just came in for the Conservation Commission meeting scheduled for Thursday, Jan 31, 2019.
"Pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Ch. 131, s.40 (The Wetlands Act) a Public Hearing will be held on Thursday, January 31, 2019, at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers of the Franklin Municipal Building, 355 East Central Street, Franklin, MA on a Notice of Intent filed by Kearsarge Upper Union LLC of Boston, MA for installation of photovoltaic solar array in open farmed field in the buffer zone of bordering vegetated wetlands. 
This project is located at 1061 Upper Union Street"
https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/franklinma/files/agendas/upper_union_street_solar.pdf

the solar farm at Mount St Mary's Abbey as it was being installed in Aug 2013
the solar farm at Mount St Mary's Abbey as it was being installed in Aug 2013

Monday, December 9, 2013

In the News: solar farm, Santa Foundation


Abbey sisters, politicians celebrate solar farm

The sisters of Mount St. Mary’s Abbey hosted a public celebration and ribbon-cutting for their latest green energy effort – an 8.6-megawatt solar farm off Upper Union Street. The abbey already has a 130-foot-tall wind turbine and a geothermal system underneath its chapel. As a result of their efforts, the sisters were awarded the Energy Leadership Award by the Mass Energy Consumer Alliance in October.

Franklin non-profit Christmas gift provider in need of donations

For the 28th consecutive year, Franklin small businessman Bob Sullivan shut down his own business to open up a Santa’s workshop that plans to bring the joy of Christmas to about 800 local families in need.


Sunday, July 11, 2010

wind power

out in Illinois, along i39 and IL ST 30, wind turbines amongst the corn and soybean fields are a glorious sight to see.

  
The turbine at St Mary's Abbey stands alone. These turbines are amongst dozens.



Franklin, MA

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Live reporting: Town Council - May 14, 2014

Present: Feldman, Padula, Mercer, Kelly, Vallee, Pfeffer, Jones, Bissanti, Williams
Absent:  


A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
none

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
– This meeting is being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 11 and Verizon channel 29. This meeting may be recorded by Franklin Matters.

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
none

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS
Ben Waters
sophomore at FHS, giving speech for public speaker class
speaking on renewable energy
coal, gas, oil will become more scarce
will need to rely more on solar and wind power
Mt St Mary's Abbey solar farm a good example
generation of the energy can be sold back to the 'grid'
current infrastructure is mostly on the delivery side, not capturing energy to bring it back to the grid
billed as a family friendly town
a safe town, with good schools, and more energy efficient
keep this in mind as the Town Council manages going into the future

E. APPOINTMENTS
none

F. HEARINGS
none

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
none