Urban Harbors Institute Explores Possible Renewable Energy Facilities for Boston Harbor Islands

By Jack Wiggin

The Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) is spearheading a project to evaluate the feasibility of establishing renewable energy facilities on the Boston Harbor Islands. The goals of the project are to site and initiate development of a mix of solar, wind, wave, and tidal power facilities at sites on or around Boston Harbor's Long Island, Moon Island, Spectacle Island, and Thompson Island.

The project is supported by a $150,000 grant from the Renewable Energy Trust Fund, managed by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative which was established in 1998 to stimulate the supply of and demand for green power. The project team is led by UHI's Jack Wiggin and includes Kathy Abbott and Bill Green from the Island Alliance; Sally Wright, Jim Manwell, and Tony Ellis of the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Renewable Energy Research Lab; and David Dilts of Timeless Technologies. Faculty and graduate students from the Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sciences Department are also contributing their expertise in ocean energy.

The team has focused their analysis on four islands, which are part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area and ideal sites for renewable facilities. Boston is the third-windiest city in the nation and the four islands are all grid-tied islands, connected by electric cable with the regional electric grid. This connection now brings electricity to the islands, and could allow power generated on the islands to be fed to the grid and produce revenue for the park.

Long and Moon Islands, like several other islands in the park area, are host to important community services, and Thompson Island is the site of a school and environmental education center. Renewable energy on Spectacle Island would continue the theme of environmental restoration begun with the successful transformation of a former city landfill to an island park.

With this project, the team seeks to advance the sustainable development policies of the national park and the island owners; create an opportunity to educate the public on renewable energy; provide a source of revenue to support the park; and contribute to the supply of green power and a greater reliance on renewable energy in Massachusetts.

There are a myriad of considerations to be studied in the process of designing and siting renewable energy facilities in an urban environment such as Boston Harbor. Over the past year the project team has been analyzing the physical environment and the existing and planned uses of the islands; assessing the solar, wind, and ocean energy potentials; evaluating renewable energy technologies (wind turbines, photovoltaic systems, and wave and tidal devices); researching environmental issues such as potential impacts on natural and historic resources, risks to birds, and aesthetics; investigating compatibility with airport operations and grid interconnectivity; and evaluating alternative financial and operational models.

Throughout the process the team has been working closely with the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership and Advisory Council, the numerous federal, state, and municipal agencies with an interest or jurisdiction in the harbor, and meeting with representatives of the surrounding communities for their input. Community outreach and education is perhaps the most important aspect of the project, as people are very interested in how the project fits into the landscape and the park, and the environmental benefits of renewable energy for the Boston area.

Alternative development scenarios with data and visualizations are now being prepared for consideration by the partnership and by the public at community meetings over the next couple of months. At this stage the assessment suggests that there are good prospects for photovoltaics (solar panels) at several sites and for a small number of wind turbines on the islands. The potential to employ ocean energy technologies in the harbor, however, seems limited owing to low wave heights and the lack of strong currents. Given the project's publicly oriented goals and thorough research and outreach effort, those involved are optimistic that renewable energy will be the next chapter in the environmental success story of Boston Harbor.

Image: Members of the Renewable Energy Facilities project team include (from r to l): Jack Wiggin, project director and assistant director of Urban Harbors Institute, Bill Green of Island Alliance, Tony Ellis of the Renewable Energy Resource Lab at UMass Amherst, and Dave Ditts of Timeless Technologies. (Photo by Harry Brett)

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