Wind turbines taken down early Saturday morning
Gloucester Times|Bobby Grady |Apr 18, 2026
Gloucester's two wind turbines were dismantled early Saturday morning as part of Applied Materials' expansion in Blackburn Industrial Park. The turbines, operational since 2013, were part of a shared plan generating power and financial benefits for the city. Applied Materials terminated the 25-year energy agreement early, compensating the city with $587,000 for future energy proceeds.
Gloucester's two wind turbines were dismantled early Saturday morning as part of Applied Materials' expansion in Blackburn Industrial Park. The turbines, operational since 2013, were part of a shared plan generating power and financial benefits for the city. Applied Materials terminated the 25-year energy agreement early, compensating the city with $587,000 for future energy proceeds.
Gloucester’s two wind turbines were taken down shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday, the city reports.
Friday afternoon the city reported the two decommissioned turbines in Blackburn Industrial Park would be coming down as part of Applied Materials’ planned expansion.
According to a statement from Mayor Paul Lundberg’s office, the turbines came down without any issues and all temporary road closures have been lifted.
Applied Materials, located at 35 Dory Road in the industrial park, is constructing a new logistics center and expanding its manufacturing of the equipment needed to build computer chips.
It was first announced the turbines, which rose 256 feet above Blackburn Industrial Park and boasted rotors 295 feet in diameter, would be coming …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]Gloucester’s two wind turbines were taken down shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday, the city reports.
Friday afternoon the city reported the two decommissioned turbines in Blackburn Industrial Park would be coming down as part of Applied Materials’ planned expansion.
According to a statement from Mayor Paul Lundberg’s office, the turbines came down without any issues and all temporary road closures have been lifted.
Applied Materials, located at 35 Dory Road in the industrial park, is constructing a new logistics center and expanding its manufacturing of the equipment needed to build computer chips.
It was first announced the turbines, which rose 256 feet above Blackburn Industrial Park and boasted rotors 295 feet in diameter, would be coming down in early January.
The two, which began spinning in early 2013, were operated under a shared plan that generated power and financial credits for the city of Gloucester through Equity Partners of Needham, which built the turbines, and utility giant National Grid. Under the agreement, the city received 20% of the proceeds from the electricity generated by the turbines,
Applied Materials purchased 11 Dory Road where the turbines were located as part of its expansion. The company ended early the 25-year energy agreement it assumed from Equity Turbines Industry LLC when it bought the property and decommissioned the turbines earlier this year. The company paid the city $587,000, the estimated benefit from turbine-generated energy Gloucester would have received in fiscal years 2026, 2027 and 2028.
A third turbine, on Applied Materials’ Great Republic Drive campus, was dismantled by the company in 2023 after one of its three 160-foot-long blades tumbled to the ground and snapped in two sometime overnight July 31, 2022. That turbine was built in 2012 at a cost of about $8 million and went online that December. It was the first of the three installed in the Blackburn Industrial Park, and at 492 feet the tallest in the Northeast at the time.