LEGAL 



Kalhi MMief 



action fills the air at the McKimmon Center on a windy afternoon. 

 North Carolina State University's conference center is best known for the meetings 

 and activity inside — but today the action is outside in a nearby field. 



Atop a 30-meter tower in an open field, a weather vane spins with each wind gust. It 

 is not a relic of the past, but a possible symbol of the future: its built-in anemometer could 

 lead to a new type of renewable energy in North Carolina. 



"Anemometers could lead to people putting up wind turbines in wind-efficient areas 

 of North Carolina," says Beth Mast, renewable energy specialist for the North Carolina 

 Solar Center, headquartered at the McKimmon Center. 



Installed last summer by the N.C. Solar Center as part of its Coastal Wind Initiative, 

 the anemometer collects wind speed data every two seconds for 10-minute intervals. 



The Coastal Wind Initiative is attempting to educate and create excitement among 

 national developers and local residents about areas where wind speed has the potential to 

 produce power. Wind maps of eastern North Carolina have been created for the Coastal 

 Wind Initiative over the past couple of years. They have proved to be a useful tool for 

 judging where wind power might be greatest in the state. 



Until recently, the only wind speed measurements in North Carolina were from 

 generalized wind maps and didn't paint an accurate picture of larger areas. But experts 

 say that certain regions in eastern North Carolina have great potential to harvest wind and 

 convert it into energy. 



Most land areas in the coastal counties of Carteret and Hyde have Class 4 wind 

 areas, according to a map created by NC State's Center for Earth Observation. The map 

 also shows Class 5 wind areas in some spots off the coast, as well as Class 6 wind areas 

 — the highest on the scale — offshore of the Outer Banks. 



The Solar Center, with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and N.C. State 

 Energy Office, started an anemometer loan program last summer to target areas in the 

 eastern part of the state that potentially have sufficient wind. 



The on-loan anemometers include wind vanes, data loggers and towers measuring 

 20 to 50 meters tall. 



"The program is for small businesses, entire towns or just a home," says Mast. "The 

 anemometer needs to be there for a year to collect data. You need to have one year to see 

 what all four seasons look like." 



As part of the loan program, temporary anemometers have been installed by the 

 N.C. Solar Center at a number of sites, including Carolina Soy Products in Warsaw, 

 the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher, an island in Bogue Sound near Atlantic Beach, and a 

 municipal sewage treatment facility in Onslow County. 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 



