Announcements (Updated 2/14/08)

The Virginia State-Based Anemometer Loan Program based at James Madison University was established in 2001 and has served more than 30 sites throughout the Commonwealth since then. In 2007, the program was temporarily halted to allow time for equipment upgrades and program assessment. The Virginia SBALP will resume operation, with updated mission and protocols, in Spring 2008.

Featured Photo (Delaplane, VA (Oct. 2003)

Wind News in the Region

Wind is Given 2nd Look As Energy Needs Grow, Washington Post (Aug. 3rd, 2008)

Community Wind Energy 2008, Windustry (Feb. 28th, 2008)

USDA Outreach Conference at Virginia State University, USDA (Feb. 28th, 2008)

2008 Renewable Energy Workshops, North Carolina Wind Energy (Feb. 25th 2008)

Wind farm proposed near Elkins, Charleston Gazette (Feb. 13th, 2008)

An Island Of Energy, Daily News Record (Feb. 6th, 2008)

Equipment

Device	Description
	The tower that will be installed on the land owners property is a 20 meter tilt up tower with guyed supports. Below the image is a list of the dimensions of the tower. The tower will have an anemometer and wind vane mounted at the top.
	The anemometer is the wind measuring device. The cups are spun by the wind and this is how the wind speed is measured.
	The wind vane is moved by the wind and is used to measure the direction the wind is blowing. The direction is important when siting for a turbine in order to get the maximum amount of power out of the turbine.
	The Wind Explorer receives the signals from the wind vane and the anemometer. The Wind Explorer processes the information and writes it to the data plug.
	The data plug records all the information that the Wind Explorer processes. The data plug is removed every month and replaced with a new data plug. The plug is then sent to James Madison University where the information is processed.