James Madison University

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The Virginia State-Based Anemometer Loan Program based at James Madison University was established in 2001 and has served more than 30 sites throughout the Commonwealth since then. In 2007, the program was temporarily halted to allow time for equipment upgrades and program assessment. The Virginia SBALP will resume operation, with updated mission and protocols, in Spring 2008.

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Wind Powering America - Next Step Initiative

Principle Investigator: James Madison University

As VWEC/JMU has installed, maintained, operated, and now begun to relocate 20-meter NRG meteorological towers across Virginia through SBALP, it has become obvious that the return to landowners is at best marginal. Numerous conversations with selected and prospective participants makes clear the fact that even armed with a year's set of data, most landowners still lack the analytical tools and fundamental understanding of wind power to make educated decisions pertaining to choice of turbine, placement of turbine, or whether installation of a turbine is even prudent. To address this barrier a new program is to be implemented that is designed to provide landowners, especially but not necessarily those who have completed a year with SBALP, a comprehensive set of analytical tools with which to consider their wind resource and potential for wind energy production. When data collected by a 20-meter on-site tower is not available, the Virginia Wind Resource Map will be used to determine the wind resource at a location.

Term: July 2003 - July 2005

Deliverables / Outcomes:

  • Issue press release
  • Identify clients and initiate data collections
  • Conduct wind and site analyses
  • Conduct economic modeling and analyses
  • Facilitate interaction between land owners and small wind developers
  • Final briefing
  • Final report