Planned Riverhead turbine could cost less

A planned wind turbine in Riverhead that would be Long Islands largest could cost even less to operate than previously thought, officials said at a hearing Tuesday night, though some residents raised questions about how noisy it would be.

Town officials and environmentalists largely praised the project at the hearing at Riverhead Town Hall, where officials were told costs for taxpayers would be half previous estimates. Previously, sewer district officials said the project would cost taxpayers on average about $22 annually. Working with LIPA the cost could be cut in half to about $12.50 a year.

LIPA wasn't at the hearing last night to comment.

The $1.8-million turbine is proposed to power the town sewer plant. It would supply about 40 percent of needed energy.

Two residents raised noise concerns about the project, which will stand 275 feet tall.

Susan Frohnhoefer said she lives across the Peconic River from a smaller turbine, and when it gets going "our windows actually vibrate." She said she supported renewable energy, but told the town council "you wouldn't want to hear it 24/7."

Supervisor Sean Walter, an early skeptic of the project but now a supporter, said the town would consider further noise studies. Consultants said the turbine would meet noise ordinances, meaning it won't exceed 50 decibels at nearby homes.

Another resident, Pamella Hogrefe, who lives on nearby Riverside Drive, asked if the turbine would be visible above 80-foot trees around her house.

Consultant Peter Rusy of the Neutral Group said Riverside Drive residents likely wouldn't see it, though it will be visible "at long distances," at Sound Avenue to the north, for instance.

The Riverhead Sewer district has been testing wind velocity at the site since August. The 750-kilowatt turbine would be Long Island's largest wind-energy project to date.

The Neutral Group, which conducted a feasibility study for the town, said the turbine would save over $200,000 a year in energy costs for the sewer district, and supply around 40 percent of a sewage-treatment plant's energy needs. The plant is undergoing a mandated overhaul.