Day: November 14, 2012

CITY OF GLOUCESTER
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR-

Gloucester to Host Wind Energy “Blade Signing” Ceremony

New turbines are expected to save the City millions in energy costs

(Gloucester, MA) – The City of Gloucester will host a “blade signing” ceremony on Friday, November 16 at 10 a.m. The event marks the installation of two wind turbines located on the Gloucester Engineering site, at 11 Dory Road inside Blackburn Industrial Park. The turbines are being built as part of a 25-year agreement with Equity Industrial Turbines, which is expected to save the City of Gloucester a minimum of $11 million dollars over the life of the contract.

“Gloucester residents will benefit from our abundant supply of wind power” said Mayor Caroyln A Kirk, “For the first time, green energy will be used to provide power to city buildings including seven schools, public safety buildings, and water and sewer treatment plants. This change will result in substantial fiscal benefits for our city and make Gloucester one of the greenest communities in Massachusetts.”

Mayor Kirk will be joined at the event by the Gloucester City Council, the chairman of the Gloucester Planning Board, the Director of the Green Communities Division of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, the Executive Director of the Energy Consumers Alliance of New England and Mass Energy, the Mass. Municipal Association, and representatives from Gloucester Engineering, Equity Industrial Turbines, and the local residents. All who attend will be invited to sign their name on the turbine’s blades.

The City anticipates the energy savings realized will be used to support a new joint public safety building and improvements to local schools.

About the City of Gloucester

America’s oldest seaport, the City of Gloucester is known throughout the world as an authentic, working waterfront community, a place of spectacular natural beauty, and home to a diverse population of about 30,000 residents. An important center for the fishing industry, Gloucester also is proud of its rich art heritage as one of the premier art colonies in the United States. The city also is a destination for thousands of visitors who visit the harbor and its beaches during the summertime. In recent years, Gloucester has been diversifying its traditional maritime economy, adding leading small research institutions such as the UMass Amherst Large Pelagics Research Laboratory and the Ocean Alliance to the array of state and federal agencies working in the city, and with investments in robotics and new product development from the fishery.