Second Wind to help study harbor island wind potential

By Efrain Viscarolasaga

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Boston Mayor Thomas Menino announced today a feasibility study of the environmental conditions of Boston Harbor that could be the first step in bringing wind turbines to the harbor islands.

The study, which is being funded by a $21,500 grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Renewable Energy Trust , will take place on Moon Island, and utilize donated equipment from Somerville-based Second Wind Inc., a maker of data loggers for wind and other atmospheric conditions. Moon Island is slated to be the first proposed turbine site.

Bringing wind power to the City of Boston has been a priority to both Mayor Menino and Governor Deval Patrick over the past year. Last January, Menino announced plans to examine city hall and government center as possible turbine sites, while Governor Patrick has set a goal of developing 2,000 megawatts of wind energy capacity in the state by 2020.

Boston is also in line to receive $6.5 million in funding from the federal stimulus package which officials have said will go to funding the top projects on the city’s list of municipal solar electric, solar thermal and wind energy projects. Though whether or not those funds would be used to build a harbor wind facility has not been disclosed.

Second Wind is a local technology company that has developed a portable sonic detection and ranging (SODAR) device used to measure wind conditions up to 200 meters high from a ground-based unit. The company is funded through a $500,000 loan through the Renewable Energy Trust it received last year and more than $4 million in private funding it landed from New York-based venture firm Good Energies in 2007.

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