BROWN AND PEISCH ATTEND GROUNDBREAKING FOR THE BABSON WIND TURBINE
BOSTON, MA – State Senator Scott Brown and Representative Alice Peisch were guest speakers at the groundbreaking for Babson College’s new wind turbine. This project will make Babson the first college in the greater Boston area to utilize wind power through an on-campus installation.
Babson will install a residential-scale turbine, the Skystream 3.7 (1.8 kW), manufactured by Southwest Windpower. It is expected to be operational before the close of the spring 2008 semester. Based on production estimates and Babson’s wind resource, the turbine will produce enough energy to supply roughly 60% of the annual energy needs at the school’s entrepreneurship gallery after planned lighting renovations are completed within the space.
The college’s decision to complete the installation was the result of a proposal spearheaded by a team of three graduate students (Rob Banagale-M’09, Jonah Eidus-M’09 and Clinton White-M’08) and introduced through the Babson Energy and Environmental Club (BEEC), a student-led organization at the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College.
The project will be funded in part though a $5,000 contribution that will be given to the college on behalf of the BEEC.
“I welcome this wind turbine as an example of Babson's entrepreneurial spirit,” stated Senator Brown. “Projects like this are needed to build upon a successful history of green initiatives and a commitment to sustainable energy minded business practices through the use of renewable energy technologies.”
Representative Peisch said in her keynote address, “It is reflective of the entrepreneurial spirit for which Babson College is known that a small group of determined Babson students did more than talk, study, or lobby for such alternative sources — you actually made it happen… These young men and their fellow club members realized that by testing an emerging energy technology here, they could connect the academic world of ideas to the real world of developing new products while being sensitive to environmental concerns.”
More information about the wind turbine installation and the Energy and Environmental Club’s Entrepreneurial Expo can be found at www.babsonenergy.com.
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