February 3, 2012
Massachusetts

Public hearing on Moon Island turbine set for Feb. 8

By Jack Encarnacao, The Patriot Ledger, www.patriotledger.com 2 February 2012

QUINCY – The public will have its first chance to comment on the city of Boston’s proposal to install a 400-foot wind turbine on Moon Island.

The Quincy Planning Board will hold the hearing at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday at city hall.

Officials from Boston and Quincy’s planning department will do presentations of the plan prior to the hearing. A planning board vote on the turbine might take place at the meeting.

The plan is being closely watched by Squantum residents, who have a history of tension with the city over its use of local roads to access the island, which has a Boston police shooting range. Moon Island is owned by Boston but is within Quincy’s city limits.

The mayors of Quincy and Boston will discuss splitting a percentage of the revenue that will come from selling energy the turbine generates to the power grid.

A recent independent review commissioned by the planning board pointed out several potential issues with Boston’s proposal, which was first publicly floated two years ago.

Nicholas Verenis, Quincy’s economic planner, said the city has since met with the proponent to hash out issues including noise, flicker effects and regulatory approvals.

He said Boston also revisited numbers, calculations and renderings it provided with the proposal.

“We’ve covered all the bases,” he said. “I don’t see an issue.”

The application can be approved before the cities figure out how turbine revenue would be used and whether Boston would pay any mitigation in accordance with an approval.

Ward Councilor Brian McNamee has said the proposal does not have enough incentives in it, considering that the turbine construction materials could be transported to the site on Quincy streets.

McNamee said possibilities such as closing the gun range on Moon Island or reconstruction of Dorchester Street in Squantum need to be discussed.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/02/03/public-hearing-on-moon-island-turbine-set-for-feb-8/