Wind Turbine to Spin by Friday

If you see the blades on the Charlestown wind turbine moving on Friday, don’t be surprised.

Ria Convery, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Water Resource Management Authority, said workers are addressing the turbine’s , and should have the blades ready to spin in 25 mile-per-hour winds by the end of the week.

“They just need to do one more round of the bolts, which they think they’re going to finish by Wednesday or Thursday,” Convery said.

Engineers working on the project are also developing a plan to give the windmill extra support around the perimeter, Convery said, but those plans have yet to be finalized.

She characterized the settling—which ranges from three-quarters of an inch to two inches, depending on where workers measured—as more than statistical noise, but less than an emergency.

“They anticipated some settling, but it was more than they thought and quicker than they thought,” Convery said.

Charlestown Patch readers have been critical of the wind turbine project—reader Bill Carson earlier this month—but Convery said the $4.7 million installation has been producing energy.

Since its installation late last year, Convery said, the turbine has produced about $90,000 worth of electricity. Some of that has run equipment on the premises, Convery said, but the rest has been pumped into the electrical grid, offsetting the MWRA’s electrical bill.

While the turbine has been for a significant portion of its lifespan, Convery noted that this type of windmill is expected to function for 25 years.

This most recent round of repairs, she added, also fall under the windmill’s warranty.