Mount Desert Rock is a treeless island about 25 nautical miles south of Bar Harbor.  Because of its location a lighthouse was placed on the island in the 19th century. In addition to the lighthouse the island has a house and barn used to house light-keeper families. As with nearly all lighthouses the operation of the light is now automated.  Now the island is the home of the Edward McC. Blair Marine Research Station.

In the early 1970s, students, staff, and faculty from College of the Atlantic visited the island. They noted that the site was a prime location for marine mammal research. This facility has been a key element of the work done by Allied Whale, the whale research group at College of the Atlantic.  Currently during the whale research season the work there is powered using diesel fuel generators.  In addition to the cost and the environmental impact of the generators, certain types of work are influenced by the presence of the emissions from the generators.  The goal of this project is to evaluate, design and verify the application of wind power for the energy needs of the rock.

Special thanks go to : John Rush (Tower distributor), Ben Duhaime (Freshwater Stone, Quarry Foreman), Prof. Micheal Peterson, Prof. Vince Caccese for letting us use his equipment, Jacob Folz for lending a hand during the anchor tests and all from College of the Atlantic and Maine Maritime Academy that participated.