Port of Bellingham plans for 18-month wind power experiment

Bellingham Business Journal, August, 2008

The Port of Bellingham, in partnership with Western Washington University and Bellingham Technical College, is planning to install a meteorological tower at 300 W. Laurel St. to collect wind data for 18 months.

Adam Fulton, a project engineer for the Port of Bellingham, said the 160-foot-tall, 6-inch-wide wind tower with 8-inch turbines could be installed on the former Georgia-Pacific property as soon as September.

Fulton said the tower will take wind measurement at three or four places along its elevation, then it will send that data to a computer program, which will be monitored by port officials.

"We are investigating the feasibility of wind power in our area," Fulton said.

According to building permit data, the cost of the project is estimated at $5,000.

For more information, contact the Port of Bellingham at 676-2500.