The Catskill Chronicle

LOCH SHELDRAKE, NY – (May 2, 2011) After a number of attempts to re-engineer the vertical shaft wind turbine on the campus of SUNY Sullivan, Sam Ikeda, President of Environmental Technologies  LLC (ETLLC), announced, with regret, that his company will be dismantling the turbine and restoring the property to its original condition.

The final decision was made only after a series of meetings with SUNY Sullivan’s President, Dr. Mamie Howard-Golladay, who, despite the engineering problems with the turbine, believed the wind turbine could provide the college and the community with an exceptional learning tool.

“It is indeed unfortunate that the vertical shaft wind turbine is coming down,” said Dr. Howard-Golladay. “Even though the turbine gear box was not capable of delivering the intended results, we were hoping to use it to support our planned Wind Turbine Technology program and enhance our Green Building Maintenance & Management and Environmental Studies programs.”

The turbine gear box, which is located in a concrete casing below ground, and the turbine shafts as they were turned by the wind, could not work together properly to generate sufficient enough power to satisfy Ikeda.

“Despite the engineering problems, the college worked closely with Mr. Ikeda to find a solution that worked for both parties,” Dr. Howard-Golladay added. “In the end, however, Mr. Ikeda, whose company owns the turbine, made a decision that he believed was in the best interest of Environmental Technologies.”

Groundbreaking for ETLLC’s 1.25-megawatt, vertical shaft wind turbine (model ETC-LU) took place on an acre of land leased from SUNY Sullivan and the County of Sullivan in November 2008. Albany-based Clough Harbour & Associates LLC, an engineering firm, completed construction of the world’s first grid-scale, vertical shaft wind turbine in 2009.

A private company will begin dismantling the turbine for ETLLC on June 1.

(Kenneth Walter, photo)