Zephyr, Jiminy's 1.5MW wind turbine, provides approximately 33% of the electrical demands of Jiminy Peak annually. During the winter months, when the wind resource is the strongest, it may provide as much as half of our electrical demand.

• The turbine generates approximately 4,600,000 kWh each year of which, Jiminy Peak uses about half.
• The wind turbine sits atop a 253 ft tower.
• The nacelle that sits on top of the structure and houses the shaft for the blades, the gearbox and the generator is approximately 13 ft wide and 13 ft tall and 26 ft long.
• Each of the 3 blades is approximately 123ft, therefore to the tip of the blade the entire structure is 386 feet tall.
• The blades turn a maximum of 22 RPM even in high wind conditions.
• The installed turbine price was approximately $4 million.

Jiminy received a renewable energy grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative for $582,000, which was used for all of the design and purchase of the turbine. Jiminy also receives federal tax rebates and Renewable Energy Credits to help afford the project. Payback will take approximately 7-8 years.

It takes 1 gallon of diesel fuel to generate 12 kWh and therefore this turbine permanently eliminates the need for 113,022 gallons of diesel fuel generated power.

• Producing 4,600,00kWh annually offsets the emissions of conventional power plants. The Jiminy wind turbine will offset the emissions of:
• 7,100,000 pounds of CO2 (a greenhouse gas)
• 33,000 pounds of SOx (a leading contributor to smog and the chief cause of acid rain)
• 10,000 pounds of NOx (a leading component to smog and a cause of asthma)

This amount of electricity is also equivalent to:

• Driving 75,000,000 fewer miles in a conventional automobile each year the wind turbine is in operation
• Planting 83,000 new trees.

The turbine helps to protect the long-term viability of Jiminy Peak as a resort and therefore helps to assure jobs better than being at the risk of changes in power prices.

Perhaps more importantly is the impact of this wind turbine on our generation’s grandchildren and great grandchildren in a country where we have too much dependency on fossil fuel for energy.

When the turbine is running at full capacity one would measure about 60 decibels at the bottom of the tower. Sound attenuates as one moves away from the source so at about 200 yards, the sound level would be less than 30 decibels which is equivalent to a quiet whisper.

We retained a group of knowledgeable, experienced people on environmental and wind turbine issues in order to analyze and understand every aspect of the environmental impacts this project may have.

We do not anticipate that there would be significant impact to any plant or wildlife that exists at Jiminy Peak, and do not expect the project to interact with any endangered species.

The wind project at Jiminy Peak will have little to no impact on local impacts on avian and other wildlife species. We are mitigating our potential impacts by using previously disturbed ground for the project’s location and transportation routes.

The potential impact wind power can have on avian life is often due to cutting off large areas of migratory flyways with strings of wind turbines or wind farms. A single wind turbine at Jiminy Peak should have very little impact on such a flyway. We performed a Phase 1 avian impact assessment to ensure that this project would not have an affect on local or migrating avian species.

The turbine is designed to shut down during icing conditions, and the machine will not restart until the ice has melted off the tower and blades.

Wind turbines have a 30-50 year design life. However, electrical and structural components, including the tower, foundation, and interconnection equipment have a far longer design life. Jiminy expects that at the end of the useful life of the wind turbine and blades, it will re-power the equipment using the same tower and electrical components but replacing the generator with a new and more efficient unit.

If an unforeseen circumstance arises and the wind turbine needs to be removed from Jiminy Peak, the wind turbine would be removed with a crane, the foundation would be removed to a minimum of 1ft below grade and any impacted soils would be re-vegetated.

Jiminy is proceeded cautiously with its first wind turbine. This wind turbine was designed to provide approximately 1/3 of the total electrical needs of the resort. If the first project is successful, a second machine may be considered on the eastern side of the resorts property. Jiminy has no interest in a commercial wind farm on its ridge. Any wind power at Jiminy will be used solely to reduce the electric bills of the resort and lesser the reliance on fossil fuels.