Andrew Stern, an advocate who helped launch wind power in Hull, talks to a group Tuesday about the project at the base of Hull Wind 1. Planning the construction of this turbine took about five years. It cost $770,000 and earned back the initial investment, paid by the municipal power company, in about three and a half years. Now that the upfront costs have been recovered, the turbine saves the town $1 million every three and a half years in power it would have to buy from the grid.
Stern said that 95 percent of residents support wind power in the town. In other towns, that's not always the case. Community wind projects often face resistance from residents who have concerns over the location of turbines, noise and potential effects on wildlife.
Offshore wind projects, such as the proposed Cape Wind development, also face opposition, though the size of these huge projects dwarfs the turbines that Hull has installed. Another offshore project in Long Island was recently scrapped for economic reasons.
Photo by Martin LaMonica/CNET Networks
Caption by Martin LaMonica
