INTRO TEXT As controversy continues to swirl around the Cape Wind proposal in Nantucket Sound, the city of Medford is leaping to the head of the class by shoring up its renewable energy bona fides. The Massachusetts Technology Collabora-tive has awarded the city a $250,000 Renewable Energy Trust grant to design and build a 100-kilowatt wind turbine at the McGlynn Elementary/Middle School. An additional $100,000 may go to the project if the Legislature approves a request by Rep. Paul Donato, a Medford Democrat; the total construction cost for the project is about $473,000. The wind turbine will be similar in size to one located in Dorchester that is visible from the Southeast Expressway.
The blades are scheduled to begin turning next year, and the turbine is expected to provide 10 percent of the school’s annual energy use. That would save the city roughly $25,000 in electricity costs. It would also offset 76 tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
This northern suburb of 55,000, where solar panels help to generate energy for City Hall, is no stranger to green power plays. It was the first municipality in the state to adopt a climate action plan, back in 2001, and Mayor Michael McGlynn created the Medford Clean Energy Committee in 2004, which encourages residents to sign up with renewable energy suppliers.
Thanks to these outreach efforts—and the threat of rising fuel costs—Medford has turned renewable energy into a household term, says Patricia Barry, director of the city’s energy and environment office.
