NEWBURYPORT — The city could soon have a second wind turbine.
Mass Audubon's Joppa Flats Education Center is looking into placing a small turbine on their property, sanctuary Director Bill Gette confirmed yesterday.
Gette said the center hopes to install the "evaluation turbine" immediately adjacent to the property's parking lot by the end of the year, if it meets all zoning regulations and permits. As an evaluation turbine, the structure would be up for a certain length of time to determine if it works for the property.
Mass Audubon has undertaken a major campaign to reduce its use of fossil fuel and to replace it with renewable energy, Gette said. The center already uses solar panels and purchases 100 percent "GreenStart electricity" through a program provided by Mass. Energy.
"Mass Audubon does not have any wind turbines yet," Gette said. The group is dedicated to being a leader in renewable energy and has taken a strong role in energy conservation, Gette said.
"We're just trying to be as green as possible," he said.
At a maximum height of about 50 feet — just slightly higher than the telephone poles, Gette said — the turbine would be about 2.2 kilowatts and produce about 6 to 10 percent of the center's electricity needs, he said.
"It's a microsystem," Gette said. "It's a small system."
Mass Audubon will be working closely with the Planning Department to put together a plan that the City Council and Joppa Center's neighbors will be comfortable with and is committed to working with the city, Gette said.
It has given Planning Director Sean Sullivan recommendations for the city's wind turbine bylaw that is now being reconsidered by the City Council. The bylaw was first adopted last summer.
Mass Audubon has not yet filed a request for a special permit under the bylaw, Gette said.
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