
Photo provided courtesy of York County History Center
Reprinted with permission from https://grandpasknobcommunitywind.com/
RESTORING, HONORING HISTORY
In 1941, the world’s first electric grid wind turbine sat atop Grandpa’s Knob. Grandpa’s Knob Community Wind (GKCW) is a proposed single wind turbine project to be sited in Castleton, Vermont just below the peak near where that first turbine sat.
COMMUNITY ENERGY PROJECT
Like the 1941 turbine, GKCW’s turbine will be interconnected with the local electric grid, providing wind powered energy to Vermonters as part of the state’s renewable energy “Standard Offer” procurement program. Working with the community and the Select Boards, GKCW intends the project to benefit the local community, specifically the towns of Castleton, Hubbardton, West Rutland, and Proctor, with tax revenue and other benefits.
SIMILAR HEIGHT TO EXISTING GRANDPA’S KNOB COMMUNICATIONS TOWER
Right now, there is already a 310-foot-high lattice television and communications tower on the peak. GKCW’s 1.5 MW wind turbine, sited 110 feet in elevation below the knob where the existing tower is located, will measure 275 feet to the generator hub. The blades will sweep 143 feet higher than the hub.
The wind turbine will be manufactured by Goldwind.
NO NEW ACCESS ROADS
The site is accessible by an existing truck-ready gravel road that was constructed in 1941 to transport the original Grandpa’s Knob wind turbine and that now services the communications tower.
MEETS VT’S STRICT SOUND STANDARDS
A sound level of 50 dBA is considered “quiet,” a normal conversation is in the range of 60 dBA, and most people watch television at a sound level of 70 dBA. Sound from the turbine’s operations will be regulated by Vermont’s strict wind energy sound standards which require a maximum sound level of 42 dBA between 7 AM and 9 PM, and 39 dBA between 9 PM – 7 AM, at a distance of 100 feet from the residence of a non-participating landowner.
MORE INFO COMING
Like the existing communications tower there now, the wind turbine will be visible from certain viewpoints in Castleton, Hubbardton, West Rutland, and Pittsford. A comprehensive analysis of the turbine’s visibility is underway and will be shared as soon as it is available.
The York County History Center has an online exhibit all about Grandpa’s Knob wind turbines called “Energy Awaits.” You can view it at .
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