Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The Portsmouth Town Council took no votes Monday night on what to do with the town's broken wind turbine generator.
The Portsmouth Town Council heard a number of possible outcomes for the town's wind turbine generator, but did not vote during public and executive session on Monday night. The town council is weighing possible options for its broken wind turbine generator, which has been stopped since last May. Last July, the town council learned repairing the wind turbine next to Portsmouth High School could cost the town anywhere from $200,000 to $1.5 million. On Monday night, Gary Crosby presented the following two options for discussion to the council. The first option involves wind turbine repair and resuming operations, which includes the following: The second options would involve selling the wind turbine to a developer, and could involve …
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
The Portsmouth Town Council met Monday night at Town Hall. Featured here is an account of actions taken during the meeting.
Editor's note: There was a bit of a technical problem with the previous article. We've started a new article here and caught up at 7:23 p.m. 6:58 — The meeting is expected to start soon! 7:01 — The meeting just started. All members are present except Keith Hamilton, who will be a little late, according to Joe Robicheau. Council approves peddler license for Baga'dowe Athletics of North Kingstown for an event at the lacrosse camp from July 23 to 27 at Glen Farm. 7:03 — Philip Driscoll stands at podium, asks council question. Robicheau says question is not on the agenda. Robicheau says Driscoll can ask the question to the town administrator. 7:04 — Robicheau says the council had joint meeting with School Committee. Both the council and …
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Portsmouth Town Hall
2200 E Main Rd, Portsmouth, RI
/articles/live-town-council-meeting-of-july-9-2012
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Friday, June 15, 2012
The wind turbine generator stopped spinning again on Friday.
For the second time in two months, the Portsmouth Wind Turbine Generator has stopped spinning. "Due to recurring problems with oil pressure monitoring in the gearbox, the wind turbine is currently offline," Assistant Town Planner Gary Crosby said in an e-mail Friday. "We are awaiting analysis and recommendations from our operations and maintenance contractor and the gearbox manufacturer. The turbine will be back in operation the instant the problem is resolved." In May, the wind turbine, located at Portsmouth High School, shut down for several weeks after town officials were unable to find a "specialized part" needed for the turbine. The turbine began spinning again in late May after workers installed a new oil pressure sensor.
41.613121
-71.249789
Portsmouth High School
120 Education Ln, Portsmouth, RI
/articles/portsmouth-wind-turbine-goes-offline-again
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/locations/7216758
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Workers installed a new oil pressure sensor and performed routine maintenance.
The turbine at Portsmouth High School is spinning again after workers installed a new oil pressure sensor last Friday. "Once the new one was installed everything was working just fine," said Assistant Town Planner Gary Crosby. "We fixed the problem and it's been operational ever since." The turbine stopped spinning last week after an error message appeared. The repair costs were minimal and only a "few bucks," Crosby said. While the turbine was stopped, workers were also able to perform routine 6-month maintenance to keep the windmill spinning smoothly.
41.613121
-71.249789
Portsmouth High School
120 Education Ln, Portsmouth, RI
/articles/turbine-spinning-after-minor-repairs
226689
/locations/7124575
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
The town's wind turbine generator has been motionless for more than a week.
Assistant Town Planner Gary Crosby says a hard-to-find "specialized part" for the Portsmouth Wind Turbine Generator has kept the turbine from spinning its blades for more than a week. The town's wind turbine, located at Portsmouth High School, has remained motionless since May 10 after an error code alerted town workers to a problem on site. A "pressure sensor" is to blame for the error code, Crosby says. "The short story is Lumus believes the fault is in a pressure sensor and they are having difficulty locating a replacement part," Crosby wrote in an e-mail to the Portsmouth Town Council Monday. This "highly specialized part" is hard to located, according to the assistant town planner, who has worked as the unofficial, iterim town …
41.613121
-71.249789
Portsmouth High School
120 Education Ln, Portsmouth, RI
/articles/workers-struggle-to-find-specialized-part-for-broken-wind-turbine
226689
/locations/7067872
Friday, May 18, 2012
The Portsmouth wind turbine shut down last week after an error message.
Town officials are working to undercover what broke last week on the Portsmouth wind turbine generator. The turbine, located at Portsmouth High School, stopped spinning last week after an error message appeared. "If all goes well, we should have the turbine back in operation this afternoon (Monday)," wrote Assistant Town Planner Gary Crosby in an e-mail. "Last week and over the weekend, we were struggling with an error message indicating a high speed gearbox pump showed no pressure. Turns out the pump was pressurized just fine, so it is likely either a switch or sensor of some sort that is malfunctioning. "Technicians are there this morning and will hopefully get to the bottom of the problem today. As with any complex machine, error …
41.613121
-71.249789
Portsmouth High School
120 Education Ln, Portsmouth, RI
/articles/town-to-repair-portsmouth-wind-turbine
226689
/locations/7005823
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
The third wind turbine in town and fourth on Aquidneck Island is officially turning its blades and generating electricity.
The Hodges Badge Co. wind turbine might have seen like a stagnant, steel maypole for the past few months, but as of Monday morning, the giant in the sky began to finally turn its blades. "I am pleased to report that our turbine is up and running as of this morning," wrote Hodges Badge President Rick Hodges in an e-mail Monday. "Actually, it was ready to run last Friday, but there wasn’t enough wind to turn the blades over the weekend. "I expect that there will be a few more shutdowns as we resolve some teething issues, but it will generally be in automatic operation going forward, meaning that it will turn into the wind by itself, and start and stop as the wind comes and goes. "It will be off tonight (Monday) because we are waiting for…
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-71.25234
Hodges Badge Company
1170 E Main Rd, Portsmouth, RI
/articles/video-portsmouth-s-third-turbine-is-officially-spinning
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Find out what's delaying the new Hodges Badge wind turbine in Portsmouth from spinning for the first time.
It's been more than two months since construction on the Hodges Badge wind turbine was completed, and yet the turbine is still not turning. What's the hold up? Rick Hodges, owner of the Hodges Badge company, says they are waiting on certificates and approval from National Grid before turning on the turbine. Hodges writes about the process in the following e-mail: We are getting very close. National Grid says that we should have their letter some time next week stating that we have met all of their conditions to connect to the grid. The other thing we are waiting from is a welding certification (which has to come from the tower manufacturer in India) and should also be here next week. When we have both of those, we can finish the …
41.56576
-71.25234
Hodges Badge Company
1170 E Main Rd, Portsmouth, RI
/articles/what-s-preventing-new-wind-turbine-from-spinning
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/locations/6616692
Monday, January 9, 2012
Get a glimpse of daily life around Portsmouth from the top of a wind turbine.
Do you like to take pictures? Have you recently captured a shot of something neat in town? Send us your favorite shot from around Portsmouth and it could become our Photo of the Day! E-mail photos and a few sentences with information including when the photo was taken, where it was taken and who is in it, to Sandy@patch.com or text them to (401) 207-7811. Want to be notified when there is a new Photo of the Day? Click the "keep me posted" link below!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
The wind turbine's blades were attached Wednesday evening at the Hodges Badges Co. This was the last piece to be added before testing begins.
Imagine ending your workday and walking out to the parking lot to a gigantic, spectacular site — a new wind turbine! That was the experience of workers at Hodges Badge Co. on Wednesday evening. Just as the sun set and the final blades were attached to the turbine's nacel, employees exited the company to find three, 49-foot blades attached to the 98-feet tall turbine. Several employees smiled at the sight, while many others took out their phones to take a picture. Some employees gathered in small groups to discuss the finished project. "It's about time. It's taken years, years," said employee Kim Trask. Following the commissioning of the turbine and acceptance by National Grid, the turbine will become the third in operation in …
41.56576
-71.25234
Hodges Badge Company
1170 E Main Rd, Portsmouth, RI
/articles/company-employees-rejoice-as-wind-turbine-construction-ends-video
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/locations/6128827
Bill Carson
10:16 pm on Saturday, May 18, 2013
Many modern megawatt turbines manual is a proprietary document that gives general guidance Manufacturers have done site-specific review of Portsmouth and other cities and towns and found them to be an unacceptable location for the large turbines. Most manufacturers today requires that turbines be situated no closer than 2,500 to an off-site residence, hotel or motel, hospital, day care center, … more ›