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School Taps Self-Generated Pot of Gold

Along the shores of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay is Portsmouth Abbey School, a 500-acre, co-ed boarding school founded by Benedictine monks in 1926. Its alumni roster also includes some of America’s most accomplished physicians, teachers, businessmen and entrepreneurs. But the school has more recently gained worldwide attention for its environmental savvy.

In fact, anyone traveling within miles of the school - especially if approached from the bay - would quickly see the school’s most noteworthy asset, the state’s first and largest utility-scale wind turbine. Installed in March of ‘06, the spine-shaped tower and three, 77-foot blades rise 240 feet above a grassy bluff, a stone’s throw from the school’s newest learning crucible, the “solar house,” given to the school by the Rhode Island School of Design which, in 2005, joined 20 other Solar Decathlon entries on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

According to Brother Joseph Byron of the school’s Order of St. Benedict, the wind turbine and solar house, combined with other energy initiatives at the Abbey, fit together nicely into a new, earth-wise endeavor there. “It involves students, staff, resource management and - somewhat unexpectedly - broad outreach among people, businesses and institutions who have sought us out as sources of information and expertise,” said Byron (who’s known on campus as “Brother Joe,” or simply “Bro Joe”).

The tall, white Vestas wind turbine immediately became a symbol of the School’s commitment to energy independence. Shortly after the turbine’s construction, Governor Donald L. Carcieri said, “By harnessing the power of this natural resource, the Abbey will not only help the environment but will lessen its dependence on foreign energy sources.”

In addition to providing 40 percent of the school’s and monastery’s electric energy needs, the wind tower has been a constant source of educational opportunity and a catalyst in the pursuit of cleaner and more efficient ways to produce energy.

The green movement began at Portsmouth Abbey 12 years ago - long before the concepts of “green-built,” “green living,” and “green energy” entered the global consciousness, now at the heart of a paradigm shift, moving people, manufacturers and nations toward a quickly-expanding understanding of an environmental plight we all share.

“ We can do something about it. Improvements to the environment are within our reach, but we’ve got to be purposeful and united,” asserted Brother Joe. “Some of the world’s greatest thinkers have said that now is the time to make substantial change. A guiding principle of the Benedictine monks is to serve as stewards of the land. We take that calling very seriously.”

Paul Jestings, who joined the school’s staff in 1990 as a facility engineer, was promoted to director of operations in 1998. His long list of credentials includes plant engineering, licensing as a pipe-fitter and journeyman electrician, and refrigeration.

Together with Brother Joe, and a cautiously willing administration, the two agreed in the mid-90s to research and improve Portsmouth Abbey’s energy options. As one of the largest consumers of electricity in the area, and with an annual fuel budget that seemed to grow exponentially, their concerns for the school spurred deliberate investments in equipment and materials that, over the years, have substantially reduced energy consumption there.

According to Jestings, the rewards grow each year in response to the Abbey’s deliberate capitol renewal and replacement project. “It’s allowed us to put money aside for a wide variety of purchases, weighing multiple projects on merit - all of which enable us to reduce energy expenses,” said Jestings.

“ We’re nowhere near complete in that mission,” he added. “Every savings we see is invested back into the school. It’s an approach that’s enabled us to avoid an energy crisis, something that many schools, unfortunately, are now seeing on the horizon.

In its first year of operation, the wind turbine - which generates 1.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year - reduced the school’s electrical energy use by 40 percent. By displacing retail-rate electricity purchases, valued today at about $.13 Kw/h, this pumped $220,000 into the school’s budget. The energy dividend now grows each year through electricity cost-savings, electricity sold back to the grid, and renewable energy credits.

Unlike models of the 1980s, Brother Joe said the school’s Vestas V-47 turbine does not interfere with television reception. He also said the only light fixture the school would use is a small red blinking light on top as required by the Federal Aviation Administration. And he said safety is their paramount concern.

Modern wind turbines have special design features that have significantly reduced operating noise. The wind turbine produces less than 45 dB (decibels) at the edge of the lane that leads to it. This is comparable to the ambient sound of wind blowing through the trees. The wind turbine is not a hazard to wildlife.

During its first year of operation, the highest documented wind gust was 67 mph. The turbine generates electricity in winds up to 55 mph, then pitches the blades to 90-degree angles and waits for the wind to subside to 45 mph before starting to turn again.

Energy costs have risen steadily since construction of the wind turbine. At first, school administrators envisioned a five- or six-year payback on the investment. “Today, we expect to see a net gain, with full payback, after just three-and-one-half years - by somewhere around September. At that point, it’ll all be profit to be pumped into our ongoing efforts to reduce the school’s carbon footprint,” said Brother Joe.

Any excess energy generated is sold at a wholesale rate back to the electric grid and then shared with the greater community.

The school continues to implement a number of earth-friendly or green measures throughout the campus, including the replacement of incandescent lighting with energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs, the use of electric cars for maintenance and security. They’ve purchased truckloads of insulation, connected to sophisticated energy management systems, and have installed hundreds of thermopane windows and new, high-efficiency hydronic equipment and solar heat technology.

“ We’re also looking now at photovoltaic cells, geothermal heating and cooling and water catchment,” added Brother Joe.

The turbine provides a green energy dividend the school now uses as a “pot of gold” to fund ongoing equipment purchases and installation. Among the technology installed recently from this resource are two, high efficiency, condensing Viessmann boilers and a substantial Viessmann solar array.

Oddly, it wasn’t concern about energy consumption that stirred the green movement at Portsmouth Abbey. “We had maintenance issues,” said Jestings. “Boilers and water heaters just a few years old were breaking down. I’d call manufacturers to hear the old refrain: ‘Sorry - your equipment is just past the warranty period,’ they’d say.”

Jesting’s search for new suppliers eventually led to Viessmann, a hydronics and solar equipment manufacturer with North American operations based in Providence, RI. “We bought two of their boilers. Steve David (Viessmann’s commercial sales manager) offered a trip to Germany for several customers, where they’re based, coinciding with a visit to ISH - the world’s largest heating trade show which we went to in Frankfurt. After touring their manufacturing facilities, and seeing their advanced engineering, it was apparent to me that they took ‘commitment to customers’ seriously. We now have 52 Viessmann products at the Abbey - boilers, solar equipment, thermal storage tanks and water heaters.”

The newest Viessmann product at the Abbey is an LP gas-fired Vitodens 200 boiler that Jestings plans to install as a back-up heat for the in-floor heat system installed in the basement floor of the Solar House. A solar-to-thermal-storage-cell system will be the primary source of heat.

Jestings said the school is now using “some of the most efficient and reliable equipment available today. The Europeans have been in the hydronics business - and wind power - so much longer than we have, and their much larger market there, with most homes and businesses being heated with hot water, has led the way to the world’s best product development and application,” offered Jestings.

So effective are the energy savings that Vatican Radio, the official broadcasting station of the Holy See, caught wind of the operation there, halfway across the world. They developed an interview with Brother Joe in which he discusses the success of the Abbey’s wind turbine and other on-campus energy conservation initiatives. The interview is part of a program called “Going Green,” which speaks of the Vatican’s increased efforts to play a leadership role in reducing carbon emissions and combating global warming.

“ Our costs for fuel oil and electricity were going through the roof - particularly oil at the start of the last heating season,” said Brother Joe. “Without the wind turbine, which provides electricity for various uses here, including energy for heat, and the new hydronic and solar equipment, we’d be facing some real tough decisions. Collectively, they’re saving us. There’s something almost spiritual to that,” he says with a smile.

“ And we’re not done yet,” added Brother Joe. “Far from it. Solar photovoltaic and geothermal equipment are on the list. More solar heat arrays and thermal storage tanks. Some remaining, older boilers to replace - all are part of a greater plan.”

In May ‘08, Portsmouth Abbey built the foundation for the rebuilding of an ultra-energy efficient home. The “solar house,” which was placed within a stone’s throw of the school’s massive wind turbine, stood briefly on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. as part of the 2005 “Solar Decathlon.”

The 800-sq-ft. solar house was designed by Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) architecture students under the guidance of school professors. Newport Collaborative Architects donated their services to add an additional 800 square feet of living space to make it a more practical space for faculty housing. They also are working on site-layout and aesthetic features to try to soften the structure’s radical and innovative contemporary design.

The original part of the house is constructed of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs). The structure is equipped with Viessmann 300 series vacuum tube solar panels and photovoltaic solar panels, energy-recovery ventilation system, radiant heating, thermal mass storage units, and will feature Energy Star appliances.

The house, which will be used as a single-family faculty dwelling, features two bedrooms, heliotropic louvers, variable lighting settings according to space function, solar surfaces and heating, cooling and ventilation systems. The home, which will be used as faculty housing, will be permanently located near the upper entrance to the school in close proximity to the wind turbine, making it visible to all campus visitors.

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