Wind turbines are being considered as a source of some power for the town's sewage treatment facility and the village's water wells.
Wind turbines are being considered as a source of some power for the town's sewage treatment facility and the village's water wells.
Kevin Schulte, vice president for consulting at Sustainable Energy, said he is expecting a decision on the applications by the end of January.
Webster village Mayor Jack Judge said power at the Dewitt Road well field costs about $60,000 a year and he hopes a wind turbine could cut that in half. The cost of installing the turbine would total about $300,000, he said.
"We kicked it around and one thing led to another and finally we decided we'd go ahead and submit an …
Kevin Schulte, vice president for consulting at Sustainable Energy, said he is expecting a decision on the applications by the end of January.
Webster village Mayor Jack Judge said power at the Dewitt Road well field costs about $60,000 a year and he hopes a wind turbine could cut that in half. The cost of installing the turbine would total about $300,000, he said.
"We kicked it around and one thing led to another and finally we decided we'd go ahead and submit an application to the state, which is where we are now," Judge said.
Town Supervisor Ronald Nesbitt is hoping that a wind turbine could provide 25 percent to 30 percent of the power needed at the sewage treatment plant at 226 Phillips Road, where electricity currently costs about $125,000 annually.
The town also is looking into using a water-powered turbine generator to provide electricity at the sewage plant. About two weeks ago, LaBella Associates started researching the idea at no charge, said Town Board member Ron Nothnagle. LaBella engineers are investigating the viability of a turbine powered by 4.4 million gallons of water per day as it is discharged from the plant to Lake Ontario.
Judge and Nesbitt stressed they are in a research phase and not ready to develop a concrete plan for any alternative energy devices.
The idea in the village started about three months ago when Trustee Jake Swingly met with Bob Bechtold, a Webster resident and the owner of Harbec Plastics Inc., 369 Route 104, Ontario, Wayne County.
A turbine installed about three years ago at Harbec Plastics provides about 20 percent of the company's electricity and saves about $40,000 annually.
Bechtold's turbine cost $375,000; he expects it will take eight or nine years for the savings to equal the cost.