Saugus board making progress in implementing turbines

SAUGUS – Some might think John Truesdale and his Alternative Energy Committee is tilting at windmills but they might be surprised to know he has made some serious strides in bringing wind power to Saugus.In his report to Town Meeting members Monday, Truesdale said the Saugus Alternative Energy Committee (SAEC) is continuing its push to put wind turbines up on the abandoned road bed in the marsh area of east Saugus.The committee has been researching the possibility of wind power and solar power since the group’s inception in June 2007.Truesdale said the committee is looking to install 1.5 megawatt turbines or higher but, he added, residents needn’t worry about potential noise.”Every day they make these things more modern,” he said. “We had a committee member stand right underneath one and you couldn’t even hear it.”He said the committee also recommends plugging the turbines directly into the electrical grid, rather than trying to actually power a building with the windmill. Research shows that feeding the grid is more cost effective “and profits will be greater and realized faster.”While the SAEC looked at the idea of installing smaller 600 watt turbines to power individual buildings, Truesdale said for the most part that wouldn’t be prudent.To make sure the old roadway bed is prudent, the SAEC is working to develop an on-site survey deal with Renewable Energy Resource Laboratory and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.The committee is focusing first and foremost on wind power because Truesdale said they believe that is where the greatest financial gain lies, but it is not ruling out solar power. He said although it’s not as cost effective, there is definitely room in town for both wind and solar power.Once it was determined that the Main Street landfill wouldn’t be viable for wind power, Truesdale said all thoughts turned to installing a solar farm.During its research, Truesdale said the committee also learned that while alternative energy will save the town in the long run, there are out of pocket costs to get rolling, not the least of which is roughly $2 million in insurance.Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian asked if Truesdale planned to meet with east Saugus residents prior to the turbines going up. Truesdale said he would if that’s what Manoogian wanted, but added that the turbines were a long way away. He said there were still site tests to conduct – one of which will take a year – permits to obtain and other footwork to finish. He said he’d like to complete that before taking the plan to the street.Meeting member Al DiNardo wondered if the turbines were even financially worth the work.Truesdale said a 1.5 megawatt turbine will produce $300,000 worth of electricity in one year. The town’s electrical bill is roughly $1.5 million per year, so one turbine would take about 5 years to pay for itself.”But if you put up four it gets you the electrical bill for the town,” he said, adding there is nothing else in town that could generate that kind of funding for the community.”I’m very impatient,” he said. “I want it right now. I want to get it up and running so we could help the town now . . . It’s very important that we pull this thing off because it’s important to the town.”Truesdale said the committee also wanted to reiterate its stance that any savings realized by the town through alternative energy should be redirected to the School Department, “and go directly to the benefit of students.”