Beach Access Wind Energy Project:
Questions and Answers
Last modified on 2011-03-24 14:28:01 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Questions
Questions
1. Who will own the turbines after installation?
Answer: Though the grant is authored by the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, ownership will be with the City of North Myrtle Beach.
2. You may know that we submitted a response to Santee Cooper’s RFPs for Wind Projects, including one proposed at Ocean Park in North Myrtle Beach. Is this the same project as the one listed as Site 5 on your Invitation to Bid?
Answer: Yes, that is a location Santee Cooper is considering in our Wind for Schools program.
Since Santee Cooper’s project focuses on public education, a city park better suits their project than a less developed beach access. The installation will likely include an informational kiosk to teach visitors about small wind, about offshore wind, and they think they would be happy to incorporate information about the NSCWT’s project.
There is room for two turbines at the park.
3. Site 6 at the Avista Resort – is the proposed installation on the grounds or rooftop?
Answer: The Rooftop
4. How high are the surrounding buildings?
Answer: Around 200 ft on for the sites with condo building.
5. Will you be able to exceed max height of 35′ to 40′ to 45′ or 60′?
Answer: We want to stick to the original specs. 35-40′
6. Have you had a wind assessment evaluation for these sites?
Answer: Each individual site has not received a study. A data set for the Apache Pier weather station for reference.
7. Will these units be monitored?
Answer: Yes. Equipment must be able to transmit data via Internet. It will be initially collected by Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College and verified by a third party, Savanah River National Laboratory. See specifications for requirements. If the bidder’s equipment is unable to supply any of the specified information, please indicate this in your bid.
8. Are all the requested Wind Turbines to be 1KW?
Answer: We ask that turbines be rated at 1KW or greater.
9. Will training or a maintenance program be required for these units?
Answer: Warranty program is part of the consideration. Maintenance programs and training programs are favorable.
10. Are the locations noted in the attachments the final, absolute locations for the turbines?
Answer: No. All locations are subject to change (revised 08/03/10).
11. Where on the lots can we place the turbines? Can we go outside the areas of the lots? Closer to the beach?
Answer: The placement on the lot is along the ocean edge, center. Exact point of placement will be determined with the winning bidder. The spots will actually be just forward of the fronts of the buildings in direct line with prevailing ocean winds.
12. How high are the surrounding buildings within 500 ft?
Answer: Most buildings are built right up to the maximum height of 17 stories, 200 feet approx.
13. Are there other sites we could potentially look at? If we can get the city parcel layer, we could do a more complete feasibility study.
Answer: The sites specified are the ones you should bid for, The North Strand Wind Team may decide on moving a site placement to another beach access, but this should not affect your bidding effort. If a site change occurs after contract, then that aspect of the contract becomes subject for new discussion and negotiation.
14. Buy American Provision, while our turbine is manufactured in the US some of the components are not such as our monopole towers, they are manufactured in Asia. Does this preclude us from bidding?
Answer: I suggest reading the Buy American Provision. However, I would not halt consideration on bidding based on the pole. Idea- Possibly find another pole somewhere else. There are many poles made in America.
15. What time frame is the ROI over (20 or 30 years?)?
Answer: I believe ROI is calculated in number of years to recoup the investment.
16. What is the required survival speed?
Answer: Please read the city ordinance in the document library regarding this, please note the hurricane preparation requirement.
17. Is there a particular model Turbine in mind so we can offer most accurate modeling based on the power curves?
Answer: Our official answer is NO. We do recognize that some turbines perform better in certain environments over others. Our beach access locations are unique in that additional factors have to be considered.
- The close proximity to the building cause enhanced wind speeds.
- The close proximity to the buildings causes turbulence.
18. What is the average wind speed for your production assumptions, just so
everything is apples to apples.
Answer: We have provided the Apache pier data as a representation.
19. The invitation states that, “Equipment installation assistance will be
provided in the form of scheduling, boom truck and infrastructure
installation to turbine base by the City of North Myrtle Beach.”
Does this mean the installer is just responsible for the everything from
the foundation of the turbine and up, speaking to the construction side?
Answer: No, the installer is responsible for everything to the final interconnect. Non monetary assistance will be given where possible. Specific requests of assistance need to be submitted as early as possible .
20. Will each turbine be 240 volt single phase connections or will
some or all of them be 208 volt three phase connections ? to what we
assume are existing grid connected electrical service breaker panels
at each site?
Answer:
Site 1 – 120/208 volt (1-ph or 3-ph)
Site 2 - 120/240 volt (1-ph)
Site 3 – 120/240 volt (1-ph)
Site 4 - 120/240 volt (1-ph)
Site 5 – 120/240 volt (1-ph)
Site 6 - 120/208 volt (1-ph or 3-ph)
Site 7 – 120/240 volt (1-ph)
21. Following up on the above assumption, what electrical grid
connection equipment/breakers currently exist at each interconnection
point; or, what is proposed to be provided by the electrical grid
service provider and what by the bidding contractor?
An electrical contractor will need to provide any work performed on the City owned meter bases, not the electrical grid provider (Santee Cooper). Minimal line work by Santee Cooper will be necessary for Sites 1, 3, and 7, typically at the expense of the customer (unless expense is waived by Santee Cooper Management).
Site 1 - A meter base will need to be installed beside existing UG transformer
Site 2 – Existing meter base will need visible disconnect added
Site 3 – A meter base and UG service will need to be installed at base of pole
Site 4 – Existing meter base will need visible disconnect added
Site 5 – Existing meter base will need visible disconnect added
Site 6 – Existing metering is instrumental/secondary metering at UG transformer (assume you will pull out of panel?)
Site 7 – A meter base and UG service will need to be installed at base of pole
I also made a correction below on one of the sites under Question 19.
Old note….
Site 5 – Existing meter base will need visible disconnect added
Correction…
Site 5 – Existing meter base has an existing, visible disconnect
22. Has the grid interconnection point location been determined for
each location being bidded (YES) and, if so, is that location included in
the RFP or can it be provided for each site.
Site 1 – Beside UG transformer #86447 (approx. 120 ft from blvd.)
Site 2 – At existing meter base B78123 (inside fence approx. 20 ft from blvd.)
Site 3 – At the bottom of pole #12687 (approx. 10 ft from blvd.)
Site 4 – At existing meter base B79287 (approx. 35 ft from blvd.)
Site 5 – At existing meter base B74876 (approx. 15 ft from blvd.)
Site 6 – Somewhere inside Avista Resort building
Site 7 – At the bottom of pole #37647 (at corner of Duffy St & 36th Ave N)
