From the Editors
A Windmill, Worcester, Massachusetts
I saw it yesterday when I came home from work. A skinny colossus visible through the trees. It is not the first of it’s kind and likely not the last, but it is a drastic technological, aesthetic, and societal landmark for a city that is more like a big town.
A wind turbine has gone up on Vernon Hill. Worcester, Massachusetts has seven hills, and from afar this one has no noticeable features. Mount Saint James has the College of the Holy Cross. Airport Hill has, well, an airport, that happens to be virtually vacant. Most of Worcester’s “skyline” is located in a valley at the center of the city. Anything that could possibly be recognized from Vernon Hill is generally hidden by thick trees.
This includes the Holy Name Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School. Through a collaborative with the state’s renewable energy development agency and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the high school has raised enough money to actually change the sky.
In Massachusetts, windmills aren’t a new topic. For a number of years, the idea of planting turbines off the coast of Cape Cod has been floating around. The main detractors of the idea are those that would have their site line obstructed by the wind turbines. This includes the Kennedy family, which you can assume has the power to hold up some plans.
I would venture to guess that the people who are against these turbines because of their looks haven’t taken a look outside of their window and noticed the power lines lately. Imagine what people thought when those were first raised.
Fortunately, and riskily, there haven’t been any loud objections to the Worcester windmill.
From a technological standpoint, there is something beautiful about something that uses the environment, but does not take from it. Aesthetically, the aerodynamic form, being moved by the invisible, is an example of mechanistic allure. For a society, both locally and globally, it is an icon of the possible future.
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Discussion
10 comments for “A Windmill, Worcester, Massachusetts”
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Nice article Mike! I can see the windmill from my house & it doesn’t look bad at all
I noticed the new wind turbine on Monday. I hadn’t even heard one was being built. It’s right behind where I live.
Great to see it so close to my house. Are there more on the way?
I forgot to add - I can see it from the Pike in Southboro/Westboro line. Nice article Mike.
This is the only windmill planned. But like anything, success will breed imitators I’m sure.
I think the wind mill is great. But, I have’nt actually seen it turn yet.
I was thinking the same - I haven’t seen it turn yet (it’s windy today).
I saw it from the bus on the way home from work last night. Like a vessel under full sail, I thought it was beautiful. It is the wind made visible, a kinesthetic object d’art.
On a more practical note, I read that it is hoped that it will help put a dent in the school’s $20,000 annual electric bill. At a project cost of 1.5 mil, that means it should pay for itself in, say, 75 years :-). However, this really should be looked at more as a proof-of-concept endeavor, to get the idea in people’s minds that windpower is a genuine, acheivable approach to the energy dilemma. As such, it’s value is inestimable.
Lionel Beaudet
The source I quoted had the figure wrong. According to the firm that built the wind turbine, Sustainable Energy Developments Inc., the yearly savings are in the neighborhood of $150,000. Quite a neighborhood, indeed. For the technorati among you, the website is http://www.sed-net.com/NEWS/tabid/67/Default.aspx.
I have seen this beautiful addition to the Vernon Hill skyline, and applaud it. Someone now needs to speak with those in control of the old Airport, and convince them that at least a portion of the empty land surrounding the runways, would be perfect for a new wind-farm. Or, if the latest attempt at commercial service fails, then “pack it in,” and turn the entire facility into a wind-farm!