Riverhead's wind-power proposal

Building an array of power-producing wind turbines off our coast has seemed too costly to be feasible. But if we can't yet take that giant leap, we can at least applaud a baby step that the Town of Riverhead is proposing. It's a good idea.

The town wants to float a bond of as much as $1.8 million and use it to build a wind turbine that would generate 750 kilowatts and reduce the sewer district's annual electric bill by more than 40 percent.

The key question for taxpayers is how long it will take the reduction in costs to pay back the initial investment. That depends partly on the economics of what the Long Island Power Authority can do, such as purchasing the turbine's excess power or offering the town some other form of help.

The town has tested the wind in the area and found it even more favorable than initally predicted. Now comes the retail politics. Supervisor Sean Walter did well to embrace the proposal by the sewer district's superintendent, Michael Reichel. But he still has to sell it to the public. There's a hearing on it tomorrow evening.

The turbine is a good move for the town. But beyond that, the data and experience that it could produce would be helpful as we continue to explore much larger wind installations. Sometimes baby steps lead to giant leaps.