SACO (AP) – This southern Maine city is considering whether to expand its use of wind power.

A small wind turbine already produces 1.8 kilowatts of electricity for Saco’s wastewater treatment facility. Now, officials are thinking about buying a larger turbine that would be installed near the new train station on Saco Island.

The 50-kilowatt turbine, made by the Canadian company Entegrity Wind, would provide more than enough power to meet the station’s needs.

“For parts of the year or parts of the day, we (could) be selling electrons out on the grid,” City Administrator Richard Michaud said.

The 100-foot tall turbine has a 30-year design life and is estimated to pay for itself in cost savings within about 10 years. Concerns about noise and danger to birds that surfaced when the council bought the first turbine have proven to be unfounded, said City Councilor Eric Cote, a leader of the city’s energy-efficiency campaign.

“Our experience is that it doesn’t make noise and it hasn’t killed a single bird at our treatment plant,” Cote said.

Feedback on the city’s experiment with wind power has been positive, he said.

“People are very excited about it. They’re very excited about renewable energy in general,” he said. “There aren’t that many wind turbines around, and we get a lot of visitors.”

Travis Peaslee, a member of the Saco energy committee and a laboratory technician at the wastewater plant, agreed that the first turbine has been a success.

“We put the small one down here to get the city used to it, and now it’s sort of a proven thing,” he said.

The City Council is expected to vote next month on whether to approve the $150,000 purchase of the larger turbine.

“We’re promoting this technology,” Cote said. “We think it works.”

—

Information from: Portland Press Herald, https://www.pressherald.com