Allan Appel Photo
The last stage of installation of Connecticut’s first commercial wind turbine was underway beneath an azure sky Wednesday afternoon, as dozens of onlookers peered up from James Street and the Quinnipiac River’s edge below.
They saw technicians Dan Maclean and Ken Mayer of Alteris Renewables guide the rotor and blades from the crane and attach it to the nacelle or topmost portion of the turbine’s tower 125 feet above.
Installation began on Monday. All was on schedule Wednesday, with only some more electrical attachment and related work to be done below, said Hannah Morini, an Alteris spokesperson.
She said the city’s building inspector had recently been by. He pronounced the installation of the turbine on the property of Phoenix Press “one of the best run construction projects in the city,” she added.
Among the most pleased of the spectators was Giovanni Zinn. As a staffer with the City Plan Department back in March, he helped guide the project to Phoenix Press and through city approvals as well as a successful grant application to the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. Today Zinn is a consultant with the city’s new office of sustainability.
“This is the end of a road for Phoenix Press and the city, but just the start for New Haven and businesses all around Connecticut,” he said.
A formal ceremony marking the occasion is scheduled for the end of the month. The electricity is expected to be on line beginning in March, Morini said.