HULL MUNICIPAL LIGHT COMPANY‘S WIND TURBINE ON POINT ALLERTON.
photo by Charlotte Z. Krouner

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REFLECTIONS: IN HULL, THE ENERGY FUTURE IS HERE
By Jane Mead, CZM

On a sunny February afternoon, the occupants of the dozen or so cars parked next to Hull Gut were not as interested in ocean views as they were in this new-fangled machine on the grounds of the high school. Standing 240 feet tall at the tip of its 90-foot blades, the Hull Municipal Light Company's new 660 kW wind turbine is an object of great interest and, from what I could overhear, of admiration. The three-bladed Vestas turbine sitting on top of its 150-foot mono-pile structure was described by on-lookers as "majestic" and "a piece of sculpture."

Average area wind speeds of 13 mph provide enough energy to power all of Hull's street and traffic lights at an annual savings of $50,000, and there is electricity left over to contribute to the power grid. The wind turbine replaces a 40 kW turbine that operated on the site for 10 years, before it was damaged in a storm in 1995 and taken out of service. The new machine incorporates design features that make it stronger. Birds can't roost on the mono-pile structure and the slowly rotating blades are easy for birds to see and avoid. There is a slight downwind sound from the turning blades. I'm not sure if the residents on the other side of the school can hear it, though the faint rhythmic whooshing might be very soothing. And, of course, there is no air, water, or soil pollution to clean up.