With the thin, dark coastlines of Maine and New Hampshire visible in the far distance across a shimmering Gulf of Maine, engineers use a backhoe to fit a 2,000-pound cylinder of galvanized steel onto a huge metal base.

The cylinder is part of the 80-foot-tall wind turbine about to generate electricity on Appledore Island, home of Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML).

Cornell partners with the University of New Hampshire to operate this remote facility, located six miles offshore, where students study such subjects as marine biology, ecology and sustainability every summer.

Powered by this new energy source, an array of instruments on the island will collect air quality and meteorological measurements year-round, instead of having to be shut off in October when SML staff batten down the lab and turn off the diesel-powered generators for the winter. The wind turbine also symbolizes SML's efforts to make Appledore a case study for innovative sustainable practices.

Breathtaking 95-acre Appledore Island -- with gulls squawking in the air and lobsters and crabs around its rocky shoreline -- is ideal for sustainable innovations because such practicalities as water, food, energy and waste cannot be taken for granted.

"Our very existence on an island helps people understand resource limitations," said Willy Bemis, the Kingsbury Director of SML. "We don't have the luxury of running the taps wide open."

Some freshwater, for example, is available from a shallow well. But when the student population peaks in July and August, a reverse osmosis (RO) machine is used to desalinate seawater. The RO machine puts an extra load on the island's generators and produces a concentrated stream of briny waste. SML is studying ideas for installing a roof-catch water system to provide a less salty feed-water source for the RO machine.

The wind turbine marks a significant step toward making SML more energy self-sufficient. The turbine's 11-foot blades optimally generate about 7.5 kilowatts, but with a larger turbine and blades, it could yield up to 30 kilowatts. Electricity generated by the turbine is stored in a bank of batteries and then converted from DC to provide 110V AC power. At typical wind speeds and operating conditions, SML's engineers expect the turbine to generate about 3 kilowatts. SML uses 34 kilowatts on average at any given time.

The wind turbine powers instruments for the University of New Hampshire's AIRMAP, an air quality and climate program seeking to unravel fundamental chemistry-climate connections in areas of New England directly downwind from major urban sources of emissions. Supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), AIRMAP funded $83,000 of the $120,000 price tag for installing the turbine. The balance came from SML operating revenues from student's tuition and fees and gifts.

As part of a month-long program this summer, SML's six engineering interns are assessing the turbine's effectiveness in generating power during the summer months, and helping SML determine the long-term feasibility of increased use of wind power on Appledore.

SML also installed eight solar panels this summer that generate about 2.2 kilowatts. They are part of a donation of 90 solar panels by Cornell trustee emeritus Dick Aubrecht '66, Ph.D. '70, vice chair and vice president for strategy and technology at Moog Inc.; some of the other panels from Aubrecht's donation were installed on Day Hall and the Cornell Store on Cornell's Ithaca campus.

While solar panels (which cost about $1,200 each) provide more bang for the buck, the combination of the turbine and solar panels with the battery backup system adds versatility in the event of cloudy or windless days. "What we're building is an alternative energy system," said Ross Hansen, SML's operations manager.

Managing liquid and solid waste poses additional challenges for sustainability on Appledore. SML is working toward more "green" disposal solutions by incorporating alternative technologies, such as composting toilets, into existing island wastewater treatment systems. The Kingsbury House, the director's residence built in 2000, already has two composting toilets in use.

Eventually, Bemis expects to replace the existing conventional toilets at SML with alternative models. Similarly, Appledore's kitchen has an aggressive composting system to safely dispose of food waste, which would otherwise have to be ferried to the mainland just as all other trash and recycling are every week.