Information for this geocaching page was obtained from three
websites which are www.hullwind.org and www.weirriver.org and
www.hulllandconservationtrust.org
Hull has 3 wind turbines. Hull Wind I, Hull Wind II, and and a
small, home sized version dubbed Hull Wind 2 ½. Because of this,
“the Town of Hull, Massachusetts, has won the Department of
Energy's Wind Power Pioneer Award.”
Hull Wind I was first conceptualized in the early 1980s and was
commissioned in the spring of 1985. It was a 40 KW turbine mounted
on an 80 foot tower at Pemberton point, adjacent to Hull High and
Hull gut. The first Hull Wind I was badly damaged in a storm in
March 1997. Throughout that time Hull Wind I reduced Hull High
School’s electric bills by > 28% and had saved the town
> $70K. The second and current Hull Wind I is a 660 KW turbine
with a rotor-diameter of 154 ft. and a hub-height of 164 ft. It
began operating in December 2001.
Hull Wind II is a 1.8 MW turbine with rotor diameter of 262.5
ft. and needs to be mounted at a height of approximately 250 ft. It
was placed at the site of the old Hull landfill—a great use
of the property—and adjacent to the Weir River Estuary. It
began producing power in May of 2002. “In its first year Wind
II produced enough energy to power the street lights and approx
$150K in excess energy was sold.
Hull Wind 2 ½, a residential sized turbine, was placed at the
Wier River Estuary building in Hull by the Light Department and
produces the electricity for that building. The planning stage
continues for the installation of 4 offshore wind turbines that
would supply all of Hull’s electrical power.
The Wier River Estuary is part of the Weir River Watershed and
separates Hull from Hingham and Cohasset. The watershed area also
flows through Weymouth, Rockland, Norwell. “A watershed is
the area of land that catches rain and snow and drains into a
marsh, stream, river, lake or groundwater” and supplys
drinking water to various areas and supports a multitude of
wildlife.
Other parks are part of the watershed area including Wompatuck
State Park, Weir River Farm, Turkey Hill, and World’s End.
The Weir River Estuary is designated as a “highly stressed
basin” so, as always, please be respectful of the land,
water, and wildlife surrounding the estuary and the
cache.
Please rehide as well or better than you found the stages as all
areas are high traffic areas especially in the summer months.
Congrats to Lark78 for FTF!!!!! Glad you enjoyed it!!