Wind turbine grant still up in the air
Westport Town Hall could be the first municipal building in the state to be wind-powered, but the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative - the state's renewable energy development agency - must first approve a $45,000 grant for the project.
The Board of Selectmen voted Tuesday to sign a pact to build the 120-foot-high turbine, but the contract has no signatures yet. The selectmen, contractor Alternate Energy, town counsel and the town accountant must sign. Town Administrator Michael Coughlin will meet with town counsel to solidify the contractual language before the next selectmen meeting Oct. 22.
The MTC also requires local approval to issue the grant, but the building inspector's office said Wednesday it hasn't received any plans for review. Without the grant, the turbine would not be built.
If the turbine is ultimately built, it could set a national precedent, said Michael Bergey, president of Oklahoma-based Bergey Windpower Co., one of the largest builders of small turbines.
"Other cities might be looking at this," Bergey said. "We don't know of any other turbines for municipal buildings. That's why this is an important project for us.
"This shows that the people of Westport are progressive."
Bergey said the contractor's guarantee of a 13-year payback period on the turbine cost - $18,400 after the MTC grant - makes sense. He added that the latest estimate of a 10-year payback, based on information from a wind test tower across Main Road from Lees Market, is more accurate.
"Our 10-kilowatt turbine will pay for itself in a reasonable amount of time," he said. "What makes this feasible is the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative program, encouraging cities and towns to get involved in small-scale projects and larger ones like in Hull."
Bergey said he knows of turbines that power state office buildings or schools, but none that serve a town hall. MTC officials said Wednesday they know of no other town hall or municipal building in the state that is wind-powered.
Several dozen, though, use solar power, said senior project manager John Abe. The MTC's small renewable initiative includes more than 500 solar projects and about 75 turbines, he said.
The chances the turbine is approved for a grant is "very good," Abe said. All turbine projects must pass a minimum production requirement based on a model that takes into account wind speed, turbine height and the surrounding terrain, including trees and buildings, he said.
"In general," Abe said, "there's a pretty good chance of meeting it. It's a very objective process. I'm confident they will approve it."
The application review process typically lasts three or four weeks if the application is "100 percent technically complete," Abe said. The contractor for the turbine, Plymouth-based Alternate Energy, has not yet applied; it had been waiting for final approval from selectmen before proceeding.
State Rep. Michael Rodrigues, D-Westport, said Wednesday he was happy that the turbine received approval because it is important to promote clean energy, and wind power is the most advanced and readily available of the clean energies.
"And as much as it generates energy, it generates knowledge," Rodrigues said. "I think it's a great symbol for Westport, that it's progressive, that it's on the cutting edge, that it's worried and concerned about future generations."
Bergey, the turbine company president, said in a letter to selectmen dated Oct. 4 that the strength of the wind in the area of Town Hall "is about average for a small wind turbine installation."
Bergey said data taken from a test tower in Dartmouth cited by some turbine opponents "underpredict[s] performance," and defended the energy cost savings.
"The logic for [Westport] to buy the wind turbine is the same economic logic that favors buying a house versus renting a home. It builds assets and is eventually paid off. The alternative is to buy services in perpetuity."
E-mail Grant Welker at gwelker@heraldnews.com.