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DARTMOUTH More than $125,000 in annual savings and a reduced carbon footprint.
That was the message proponents of the plan to build a 244-foot-high wind turbine on the UMass Dartmouth campus emphasized during an open forum Wednesday night.
The structure, which would be located in an open mallway between the center of campus, Cedar Dell Pond and Old Westport Road, would save the campus an estimated $127,855, which constitutes about 1.5 percent of the campus’ annual energy costs, according to Kaisa Holloway-Cripps, an analyst at the school’s Office of Campus and Community Sustainability.
The turbine, which would have a rotor diameter of 157 feet, would be located 2,550 feet from Alden Avenue, 1,796 feet from the front of the Campus Center and 1,615 feet from the Chancellor’s Office.
The structure would be located near Ring Road, but that thoroughfare would be outside of its “fall zone,” according to state officials.
The shadow flicker from the turbine blades would not be visible as drivers pull onto campus, said Stephen Wiehe, a consultant for the project.
The state expects to put out a request for proposals for the project by the end of the month, select a contractor in January or February, begin construction in April and have the project complete before the end of next fall, said Edward Ransom, a program manager for the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management.
The state will likely spend about $1 million to erect the turbine, Ransom said.
The wind measures 5 meters per second 50 meters up from the ground on the spot of the proposed turbine location, according to Jenna Ide, a DCAM official.
Not everyone is supportive of the location.
Dr. Fred Gifun, a professor emeritus of history at the university, said the structure would deviate from architect Paul Rudolph’s 1963 design of the campus. He said he did not think the turbine belonged at the proposed location, saying Rudolph’s campus design should be honored.
“The integrity of this campus is unique,” he said.
Town resident Ron DiPippo had similar thoughts, suggesting moving the structure a little northwest to “get it out of that corridor.”
“I’m a little surprised people are digging in their heels on this location,” DiPippo said. “We’re throwing away something that is architecturally significant.”
Kurt Tramposh, a self-described “environmental health planner” from Wayland, wanted to know what kind of shadow flicker the proposed turbine would cast on certain dorms and academic buildings on campus.
He said after the forum, which was held in the Claire T. Carney Library, that he felt his inquiry went unanswered.
No neighbors griped about the proposed location.
David K. Pierce, chairman of the Marion Alternative Energy Committee, meanwhile, offered support for the project.
“I am convinced in 25 or 50 years we’ll look back on this and say ‘It makes so much sense,’” he said.
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