First wind turbine tower section installed

Lowering Turbine 2's base tower section. Suzanne Pude

The first tower section of Turbine 2 was installed on Tuesday, September 1 at the Fox Islands Electric Cooperative's wind power project on Vinalhaven.

Workers from Cianbro, the project's general contractor, used a 320-foot tall crane and ropes to guide the base section onto the foundation, according to Suzanne Pude, director of the Island Institute's Maine Community Wind Program.

Each of the three, 1.5 megawatt wind turbines has three tower sections. The next base section is scheduled to go up on September 4. All three turbines should be erected by the third week of September. The project is still on track to produce power for the community in November.

Construction on the wind power project began in June at the 75-acre site on the north side of Vinalhaven, commissioned by the Fox Islands Electric Cooperative. When finished, the three turbines will generate roughly the total amount of electricity used by North Haven and Vinalhaven. The cable to the mainland will still be used to sell excess power and to purchase power when the wind is not meeting the two islands' demand.

The Island Institute, which publishes Working Waterfront, assisted in the financing and permitting process and helped with community involvement.