Four years ago Mary Riordan, now president of Holy Name Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School in Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S., realized that the cost of heating her school threatened the future of the institution. Riordan looked to the wind to solve her problem, and on Oct. 2, 2008, with the help of Sustainable Energy Developments Inc. (SED; Ontario, New York, U.S.), she found her solution. SED completed the installation of a 600-kW wind turbine on the school's campus.

SED is the first company to install two utility-scale wind turbines in the Commonwealth, and it plans to complete four more utility-scale wind projects in the state by the end of 2008. The decentralized wind-power company continues to pave the way for wind power in the Northeast with projects at sites that include ski resorts, a commercial green house operation, schools, municipal facilities and a granite quarry.

Riordan started the process of developing a wind turbine by working with students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute to assess the feasibility of a wind project. In 2005, Holy Name hired SED to guide the project's development from the initial technical feasibility study to securing funding from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, through to the erection of the structure and the first turn of the blades.

Riordan set out to cut the costs of the school's electric bills, and with the completion of the project, she is expected to do just that. With the advent of the Green Communities Act in Massachusetts, the wind turbine is expected to produce 100% of the power required for the school, saving at least $150,000 a year.