Mass Megawatt wins Army wind-power deal

WORCESTER, MASSACHUSSETTS - Mass Megawatt Wind Power Inc., a Worcester, Mass.-based maker of wind turbine power plants, has made its first penetration into the military market with the sale of a 50-megawatt wind-power plant to be constructed at the U.S. Army Intelligence Headquarters at Fort Huachuca.

Construction of the facility near Sierra Vista in Southern Arizona is expected to begin this spring as part of the Army's efforts to expand into renewable energy, according to officials at Mass Megawatt.

The wind-power plant will include Mass Megawatt's Multiaxis Turbosystem with a newly developed, adjustable augmenter that reduces electricity-generation costs. The augmenter is capable of increasing the amount of energy harnessed by wind power by up to 70 percent, translating into a power output increase of more than five times.

Financial details of the deal were not provided.

The project is being coordinated by Ameresco Select Inc. a wind site developer in Tennessee that is division of Ameresco Inc. of Framingham, Mass.