Windmill to fuel Smithtown recycling center

A wind turbine could be providing low-cost electricity to the Smithtown recycling center by the end of the year.

The Smithtown Town Board has awarded a $75,000 contract to Green Logic Energy of Southampton to install the 120-foot-tall windmill at the town’s recycling plant in Kings Park.

The turbine will provide 10 kilowatts of electricity — a fraction of the power used by the plant. The facility uses more power than any other town building, Supervisor Patrick Vecchio said.

Nonetheless, the wind turbine, combined with solar panels installed at the recycling center earlier this year, is expected to make a long-term dent in the plant’s electric bill, Vecchio said.

“In seven years, I think it will be a significant reduction,” he said.

The wind turbine joins other environmentally friendly initiatives adopted by the town, including buses powered by compressed natural gas and streetlights fitted with energy-efficient LED lamps.