UD and Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica sign an agreement that could facilitate the installation of a utility-scale 2-megawatt Gamesa wind turbine at UD's Hugh R. Sharp Campus. The agreement was reached in a memorandum of understanding signed by representatives of UD and Gamesa, with a final accord anticipated in the months ahead.

Construction is under way on a 2-megawatt land-based wind turbine at the University of Delaware’s Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes, part of UD’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment (CEOE).

It began in March, involved more than 50 loads of cement, 60 tons of rebar, and one very large crane, but construction of the University of Delaware's 2-megawatt wind turbine is now complete. A time lapse video of the action is available here.

Culminating years of planning and study, the University of Delaware and Gamesa Technology Corporation held a ceremony June 11 to commission a 2-megawatt wind turbine at UD’s Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes.

University of Delaware and Stanford University researchers find that the wind resource off the Mid-Atlantic coast could supply the energy needs of nine states from Massachusetts to North Carolina, plus the District of Columbia — with enough left over to support a 50 percent increase in future energy demand.

UD researchers find that Delaware residents support wind power development.

Inspired in part by UD researchers’ findings about the region’s wind resources, UD announces plans to work with Ontario, N.Y.-based Sustainable Energy Developments Inc. (SED) to study the potential for wind power generation at UD’s Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes. The land-based project is not connected to current discussions about a proposed wind farm off the Delaware coast.

A temporary monitoring tower is installed on the Hugh R. Sharp Campus as part of the UD/SED wind power feasibility study.

UD launches the CEOE-based Center for Carbon-free Power Integration, which conducts research and policy analysis aimed at understanding how to eliminate emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by humans through transportation and electricity generation. The center is a collaboration of several UD colleges and is administered by the UD College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. Visit the web site at http://www.carbonfree.udel.edu/.

On the Hugh R. Sharp campus, a standing-room-only audience hears the results of the UD/SED wind power feasibility study. Study results indicate that there is sufficient wind energy to support an on-campus wind turbine and power the campus. In addition to providing energy, the project would add another dimension to the research possible at UD. With the turbine located near the coast, research opportunities for the college and university would include addressing issues such as salt tolerance, corrosion, and avian impact as well as understanding policy issues related to renewable energy.

In a ceremony held on the Hugh R. Sharp Campus, UD and Gamesa finalize the agreement to install a
utility-scale 2-megawatt wind turbine in 2010. The agreement creates a joint ownership organization — First State Marine Wind LLC — which is owned by Gamesa and Blue Hen Wind Inc., a private organization created by the university. In addition to gernerating carbon-free electricity, the project will enhance the two parties’ research in areas such as turbine corrosion, avian impacts, and policy issues related to renewable energy. Information gained from the project is expected to help the university and Gamesa establish the first offshore wind turbine in the Americas in 2011 or 2012.

City of Lewes approves a memorandum of agreement with UD to construct and operate a 2-megawatt wind turbine electric generator for purposes of research and education.