Winds of Change: Engineering a Resilient Future for Chestertown

Learn how our first-year Engineering Technology Exploration students approached a complex, semester-long project and create your own pinwheel memento! Teams of first-year Engineering Technology Exploration students have been tasked with a mission that could redefine Chestertown's future -- a journey blending innovation, sustainability, and community welfare. Our teams' Chestertowns are imaginary towns, based on real-life places, rich in history, but grappling with a modern challenge: frequent blackouts from an outdated power grid. The challenge is two-fold. First, we delve into our Chestertowns' essence, studying geography, climate, and engaging with locals to understand the toll of unreliable power. Second, we design a wind farm tailored for Chestertown—determining electric power needs, proposing a suitable location, and considering the costs. But it doesn't stop there. Teams work together to craft a small-scale windmill, not just for clean energy but also capable of storing excess power. We rigorously test its performance, ensuring stability, and design packaging for retail sales. Our diverse teams face real-world complexities, addressing power reliability issues, enhancing residents' quality of life, and balancing renewable energy with local ecosystem preservation. Our budget covers design, construction, and economic benefits. At this Imagine RIT exhibit, we unveil our findings—a wind farm proposal and a small-scale windmill prototype. Our presentation paints a vision of a transformed Chestertown—a town with clean energy, reduced power failures, and enhanced community resilience. Welcome to our journey as architects of change, ready to showcase how innovative solutions can transform Chestertown into a resilient and sustainable community.