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The 393 ft. tall tower, located on the west side of Williams County Road 12 about a quarter of a mile south of State Route 34, is owned by Public Broadcasting Foundation of Northwest Ohio (WGTE). WGTE has agreed to let Bryan Municipal Utilities and GEO place the wind monitoring equipment on the tower at no charge.
Dan Niedzwiecki, director of engineering for WGTE, said, "We are a public corporation, and this sounds like a great project for the community. We are happy to be involved."
Six monitoring sites will be selected around the state under the Tall Towers program - so named because wind monitors will be placed on existing structures such as radio station broadcast and cell telephone towers.
Bryan Municipal Utilities and WGTE are partnering with GEO to conduct the wind monitoring for 18 months. The goal of the program is to determine the potential for wind power development in the area.
Steven Watts, Green Energy Ohio's Tall Towers staff researcher, said he is pleased with the support GEO has received from Bryan Municipal Utilities and WGTE. "GEO wants local communities to take our final project report and immediately pursue development. We are very pleased that Bryan's Utilities Director Steve Casebere has been very proactive in working with us."
Mr. Casebere said the Bryan Board of Public Affairs is pursuing the possibility of adding wind power generation to Bryan Municipal Utilities' power supply mix. In 2004, about 90 percent of Bryan's electricity was supplied by American Electric Power and 10 percent was from hydroelectric facilities.
"This is just the first step in a long and complex journey toward wind generated electricity," said Mr. Casebere. "The journey has begun, however, and we're proud to be part of it."
GEO's Executive Director, Bill Spratley, says Bryan has the potential to follow in the footsteps of Bowling Green where four giant wind turbines are producing electricity for the city.
"Two years ago the municipal utility in Bowling Green pioneered utility-scale wind development in Ohio with the installation of two, 1.8 megawatt turbines, said Spratley. "Last November, Bowling Green has added two more units and now has the capability of generating 15,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy each year.
The Tall Towers program is funded in part by the Ohio Department of Development and the U.S. Department of Energy.
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About Green Energy Ohio (GEO): Headquartered in Columbus, GEO is a statewide not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting environmentally and economically sustainable energy policies and practices in Ohio. GEO promotes renewable energy by acting as a clearinghouse to inform Ohioans about sustainable energy. For more information on the Tall Towers project, as well as other GEO initiatives, please visit the GEO website at www.greenenergyohio.org
Contact: Steve Watts, 330-721.1555 slwatts@zoominternet.net
Bill Spratley, 1-866-473-3664
About the Public Broadcasting Foundation of Northwest Ohio (WGTE): Public Broadcasting Foundation of Northwest Ohio is a non-profit, public broadcasting corporation that is engaged in radio and television broadcasting. It exists solely to serve the citizens of our community by providing a diverse array of quality programs, educational and public services for people of all ages and walks of life. Locally, WGBE FM 90.9 Please visit www.wgte.org
About Bryan Municipal Utilities (BMU): Bryan Municipal Utilities is a customer-owned, non-profit municipal utility providing the best quality water, electric, and communications services to the residents of Bryan, Ohio. Bryan Municipal Utilities began over 100 years ago with the establishment of the Bryan waterworks in 1892. Electric service was added in 1896 when the residents of Bryan voted to create their own electric company. Communications services were added in 1998 to provide Bryan with a fiber optic system designed to provide advanced technology for television and high-speed Internet access and data transfer. Presently, the utility serves approximately 5,800 customers. Since its formation in 1906, the Board of Public Affairs has developed the policies that govern the utility's operation. Please visit www.cityofbryan.net
Contact: Lou Pendleton. 419-636-1559 lpendleton@cityofbryan.com
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