Windmill Study Approved by Selectmen

The town is looking into the possibility of erecting a windmill at the town dump to generate electricity for nearby town-owned buildings that could save taxpayers about $350,000 a year.

The Board of Selectmen this afternoon voted 3-0 to approve $50,000 for a feasibility study that would determine if local, state or federal barriers exist to erecting a windmill at that location; wind velocities at different altitudes; and a cost-benefit analysis, including the amount of grant money that could be obtained for construction of the windmill. The $50,000 expenditure is fully reimbursable by a state grant, town officials said.

Town Public Works Director Richard White told the selectmen that the height of the windmill would determine the visual impact on homeowners, but he noted that homes really aren't nearby the proposed location. He said wind speeds at different altitudes would determine how high the windmill should be.

White said the town dump was a prime location for the windmill because it's near Long Island Sound and in a good wind zone, and it's also near town-owned facilities that use electricity, such as the wastewater treatment plant, the Animal Control Department, the Fairfield Fire Department's training center, the DPW's garage and a building used by the town's Conservation Department.

The town generates 641 kilowatts of electricity for the wastewater treatment plant through microturbines, fuel cells and other sources but pays for another 759 kilowatts of electricity, White said. If a windmill is erected at the town dump, electricity generated by the windmill could cover the balance of electricity needed for the wastewater treatment plant, White said.

White said the town would look to erect a 500- to 750-kilowatt windmill, which he said would generate more than $350,000 worth of electricity a year that the town now purchases. He said the cost to build a 500-kilowatt windmill would be about $2 million, but 50 percent of that cost could be covered by a grant, which would leave the amount to be paid by taxpayers at $1 million.

"There could be less than a three-year payoff," White said.

First Selectman Ken Flatto wanted to ensure that the windmill didn't impact views of nearby residents. "It's definitely something the town has to explore, to see if it's feasible and to understand it," he said.

White said windmills built today move slowly so they don't pose a hazard to birds or cause sunlight to flicker off their blades. "I think people are going to start to accept them and see them as a value," he said.

The feasibility study would take about a year because wind velocities need to be measured in different seasons, White said.

White said he's not aware of another municipality in Connecticut that uses windmills to generate electricity but noted that the town of Hull, Mass. uses windmills for that purpose.