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In last week's column I examined a fairly unusual local power source: the Northfield Mountain pumped hydropower system, which is used for "storing" electricity--by pumping water uphill. This week we'll take a look at a very different power-generation system that's even closer to home: the landfill gas power plant at the Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD) facility on Ferry Road.

whir... whir... whir.. whir... CLUNK! It finally worked... after decades of catching nothing but birds and bats, while making a small amount of electricity as a byproduct, the international effort to catch a UFO netted its first victim. A wind turbine in England lost one of its rotors last week in a nighttime incident with no clear cause, on the same night that locals observed unusual lights. Too bad we misunderestimated the aliens... there is no sign of a downed spacecraft, and they apparently made off with the broken rotor, which can't be found. Meanwhile, George W.

Last weekend, looking for someplace new to explore, my wife and I drove down to Northfield, Massachusetts, to check out the cross-country ski center. The skiing was great, and it occurred to me that readers of this column might be interested in learning about the pumped-hydro power plant on the mountain--the ski center was created as a recreational amenity for this power project.