The Providence Journal/Mary Murphy
The three towers that stand 364 feet tall when their blades are at their highest point, as seen from Sabin Point in East Providence in April. The turbines are expected to be fully operational after about a week of spin testing.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- After eight months of standing idle, the most prominent wind turbines in Rhode Island are about to start spinning.
The three 1.5-megawatt turbines that have towered over the Providence waterfront since February are set to have their first test spins starting Tuesday before the Narragansett Bay Commission puts them into full operation soon afterward, according to a spokeswoman for the agency.
The turbines, which each stand 364 feet tall when their blades are at the highest point, are expected to provide up to 40 percent of the electricity at the commission's Fields Point wastewater-treatment plant, which spends $2.5 million a year on power.
They are the only large wind turbines in Rhode Island's capital city, and are among the largest in the state -- the same size as both a town-owned turbine in Portsmouth that broke down in the spring and a turbine that a developer is putting up in North Kingstown.