New alternative energy project going on line

Two Turbine Projects Could Soon Be Spinning

Narragansett Bay Commission turbine on the Providence waterfront

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI.org News staff

Wind turbine development has been stalled or slowed in several Rhode Island communities, but two projects expect to reach significant milestones this week.

Providence. Three 364-foot-high turbines on the city waterfront are on schedule to be generating electricity by Wednesday. 



Final tests conclude Tuesday on the 1.5-megawatt turbines installed at the Narragansett Bay Commission (NBC). The three turbines will supply about 40 percent ($800,000) of the electricity used onsite at the regional waste and stormwater treatment facility.

The turbines were erected in February at Field's Point but additional time was needed to install connection equipment to the power grid.

The turbines are the first utility-scale turbines in Providence. Each turbine generates enough electricity to power between 1,200 and 1,500 homes. About 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide will be offset annually by the turbines, an amount equal to the emission from 534 passenger vehicles, according to the NBC.

The project’s $13.5 million cost was funded through the state Clean Water Finance Agency.

The Narragansett Bay Commission provides waste and stormwater treatment for 10 Rhode Island communities.

Watch a time-lapse video of the constriction here.

North Kingstown. A 413-foot-high wind turbine being built in an upscale housing development is scheduled to get its blades attached this week. Mark DePasquale is erecting the turbine at the North Kingstown Green subdivision. Property owners within the development will receive monthly payments of $150 for having the turbine in their neighborhood.

The turbine is about 50 feet taller than the three NBC turbines but otherwise identical. All four of the 1.5-megawatt turbines were manufactured in China by Goldwind.

The North Kingstown turbine is one of several DePasquale plans to build across the state. The turbine was granted a building permit before the town instituted a moratorium on wind projects in 2011. A subsequent turbine at Stamp Farm was denied a permit by the Planning Board.

National Grid expects the North Kingstown Green turbine to be operational and connected to the electric grid by the end year.  

Sludge gas. The Narragansett Bay Commission also expects to produce energy from gas released by sludge at its Bucklin Point wastewater treatment facility in East Providence. A 600-kilowatt combined heat and power (CHP) system will burn methane to generate heat and electricity for the facility.

More than 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions will be saved annually through this biogas project, according to the NBC. The project is about 50 percent completed and construction is expected to be finished in early 2013.