BECKET — Becket is looking to harness wind to power its municipal functions.

But first, it needs to secure the funds for a 15-kilowatt wind turbine that would stand right next to Town Hall.

If it comes to pass, the 120-foot-tall white monopole will make a visual statement about the town’s commitment to green energy while also throwing excess electricity into the grid.

It’s expected to generate 40,430 kilowatt hours per year, nearly twice the amount of electricity the town uses for municipal functions.

But who will pay for it?

Settling on wind

Becket has applied for a $139,500 Green Communities grant to pay for the bulk of the cost of the turbine as well as its installation. Federal tax credits generated from the wind turbine are expected to cover the additional $46,500 cost to build and install the turbine.

The narrative accompanying the grant application describes the turbine as small.

“This will also help meet the new statewide renewable electricity standard that every town have 30 [percent] fossil free energy by 2030 with its power coming from renewable energies like wind and solar,” the narrative reads.

A wind turbine wasn’t the first choice of the Energy Committee, which was founded in 2013. It first researched developing a solar farm, said Garth Klimchuk, Energy Committee chair.

“You needed to be close to a substation or you needed to have a transmission line very near the land that you want to put the solar farm on,” Klimchuk said. “It was very difficult to find that.

“We couldn’t find a cost-effective location for solar,” he said. “In addition, we found out that we weren’t going to get any grant money for solar.”

‘One of the best wind sources’

Klimchuk said the Energy Committee learned that the town could get grant money for a wind turbine.

“Becket has one of the best wind sources in the county if not in the state of Massachusetts,” Klimchuk said, adding that Becket’s high elevation contributes. “It’s very windy and it’s a constant wind. The best wind resource is a relatively fast wind on a mile per hour basis and constant, a lot of it. And Becket has that as a resource.”

The Energy Committee is working with Hudson Valley Wind and Solar in Pine Plains, N.Y., to source and install the turbine, which will have a direct link to Town Hall as well as to the grid, allowing for internal net metering for off-site municipal electricity.

“We’ve got multiple meters in the town, in addition to the Town Hall, and so whatever load is on those other meters, it’ll be offset by that excess power,” Klimchuk said.

Self-Reliance, a company contracted by the town, performed a site assessment for the wind turbine. It was paid with a $9,000 Green Communities grant.

Wind turbines at Jiminy Peak and in Otis are much larger than the one that may stand next to Becket Town Hall, which will be less than half the size with turbine blades of about 1/5 the size.

No danger to birds

Klimchuk said this turbine is designed to minimize risk to birds.

“We have a monopole, so the birds will not be attracted to landing on the turbine tower, because they can’t,” he said. “These blades are quite small. We don’t expect any bird kill.”

The concrete foundation supporting the turbine will go about 4 feet down.  It will be covered and seeded over with grass. A ladder will run up the side, but its annual inspections will take place by bucket truck. The turbine will include a steel monopole, a steel generator and fiberglass blades with a five-year warranty on some parts and a 50-year usable life.

Klimchuk said some residents were initially concerned about how it would look but one were mollified following a site visit.

“We’ve got very good support,” he said.

Becket expects to hear about the grant in about a month.

“Wind is a far more efficient source of renewable energy than solar is,” he said. “Output versus input is far more efficient. This is a much better option. We’re going to get a bigger bang for our buck.”