Portsmouth Town Council President Peter McIntyre and AAER VP of Sales Daniel Charette cut the ribbon on new wind turbine.

A crowd of more than 100 packed the parking lot below the Portsmouth wind turbine this afternoon as local and state officials joined in a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of the project. The new 1.5-megawatt turbine was hailed as a success for the Town and a model for Rhode Island.

"You are showing the state the way," said Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts, thanking the town officials for their hard work and the voters of Portsmouth for their support of the project. "You are showing all of us state-wide how a local investment can transform the community, and the economy. You've done a great thing for all of us."

Lt. Gov. Roberts points to the Portsmouth WTG. "What a beautiful thing that is."

Andy Dzkevich, commissioner of the RI office of energy resources echoed Roberts. "We're happy to see the way Portsmouth approached this project," said Dzkevich. "It really is a model for every other municipality in the state. We're looking forward to seeing this thing being very productive for the town."

Attending the ceremony on behalf of turbine manufacturer AAER was VP of Sales Daniel Charette, who said, "We are very proud at AAER to be part of this tremendous historical moment for Portsmouth." He and Portsmouth Town Council President Pete McIntyre held the scissors for the ribbon cutting.

McIntyre acknowledged the five years of hard work by the Portsmouth Economic Development Committee, who received a warm round of applause "And they're all volunteers," he said. But he singled out the voters of Portsmouth as the real driving force behind the project. "This could not have happened without the support of the citizens of Portsmouth [who] went to the voting booth in November 2007 and overwhelmingly approved the project," said McIntyre. "We have been humbled by the confidence that the people of Portsmouth put in us to turn this project into reality."

Portsmouth Sustainable Energy committee chair Gary Gump served as master of ceremonies, and introduced Brother Christopher of Portsmouth Abbey who provided the same invocation used when they dedicated their turbine. "They had such good luck with it," said Gump, "We want to be sure we sprinkle ours with the same good luck."

According to Gump, there are a few remaining mechanical checks being performed, but the turbine should be producing power within the next couple of days. The group of current and former officials who worked to make the project happen posed for a photo in front of the tower.

L-R: Jamie Heaney (SC), Town Admin Bob Driscoll (rear), Jim Seveney (TC), Keith Hamilton (TC), Huck Little (TC), Dir. of Business Development Bill Clark (rear), Peter McIntyre (TC President), Bill West (former TC, rear), Dennis Canario (TC), Jeff Plumb (TC, rear), EDC Chair Rich Talipsky, RI Energy Andy Dzykewicz, Sustainable Energy subcommittee chair Gary Gump, Len Katzman (Former TC), EDC member Doug Smith. (TC= Town Council, SC=School Committee). Photo by Jack McDaid.