Town Administrator Robert Driscoll accepts the key to the Portsmouth Wind Turbine from Alex Pichs, AAER’s Northeast U.S. Sales Manager. Photo courtesy PEDC.

Portsmouth officially accepted the new wind turbine generator from contractor AAER at an informal meeting yesterday, the Portsmouth Economic Development Committee (PEDC) announced today. With minor technical issues hammered out over the last few days, and a review of the voluminous documentation complete, the town made their final payment and took the keys.

Robert Driscoll, Portsmouth Town Administrator said, "This project is testimony to the hard work of the Economic Development Committee under the leadership of Rich Talipsky and the Sustainable energy Subcommittee led by Gary Gump. This volunteer work and the cooperation between the Town and AAER were key to this project becoming a reality."

According to information provided by the EDC, the contract with AAER guarantees 90 percent availability for the first six months (95 percent out to two years) and pays the town for revenue lost if the wind turbine is not able to operate at rated power. In addition to the two-year bumper-to-bumper warranty, the Town has contracted with AAER to maintain the turbine for the first 10 years of operation with an option to continue to the end of life (which is expected to be greater than 20 years).

The wind turbine is expected to produce enough energy to supply over 60 percent of the town’s electrical needs (schools, fire and police stations, street lights, etc.) and return over $200,000 net positive revenue to the town the first year in operation.

The 1.5 megawatt turbine generator is expected to provide over 3 million kilowatt-hours of power per year. Under RI's new net billing law, this production will displace electrical power that the town normally buys from the power company. In addition, the Town will sell the energy’s environmental attributes to the green power provider, People’s Power & Light, for use in GreenStart. Together, the annual savings and income will more than cover the annual cost of operation and debt service.

Some site restoration work is still ongoing and a formal dedication ceremony is planned for later in the Spring.

Editorial note: Yup, this one's mostly from a press release.