By Patrick Anderson
Supermarket chain Stop & Shop is placing a big bet on wind power at its Bass Avenue shopping center, even as the store faces stiff new competition from Gloucester Crossing.
The company is working on plans to build a windmill in the East Gloucester shopping center that would power the store there and serve as a pilot project in a larger corporate green energy initiative.
The windmill would be the fourth commercial wind project planned for Gloucester in the last five years, but could be the first actually built.
Rival grocer Whole Foods Market is studying a turbine to power its seafood processing plant on Gloucester Harbor.
Stop & Shop is considering a wind turbine in the 250-foot range, said Michele Harrison, the local attorney representing the market for the project's permitting, although the precise height has not been determined.
"They are still in the planning stages and doing some feasibility work to see whether it makes sense," Harrison said. "The parent company has made a corporate commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by 20 percent by 2015."
This fall Stop & Shop floated a balloon over the store to get an idea of what kind of visual impact a windmill would have in various parts of Cape Ann. The grocer has also started holding neighborhood meetings to get a feel for how the idea will be received by residents.
Tentative plans call for a turbine in what is a parking area adjacent to the west side of the Stop & Shop building, between the supermarket and CVS pharmacy, Harrison said.
The Gloucester project, chosen for its access to consistent breezes coming off the Atlantic beyond Good Harbor Beach, would be Stop & Shop's first windmill.
Faith Weiner, a spokeswoman for Stop & Shop, said if this pilot project goes well, the company could build similar units at other stores.
To build the turbine, which is not an allowed use under the zoning, Stop & Shop will need approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals before going on to City Council for a special permit. The Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled to take the issue up next Thursday, Dec. 10.
The future of Cape Ann's supermarkets has been a subject of speculation since Market Basket opened its store this fall at the Gloucester Crossing shopping center off of Blackburn Circle.
Counting Stop & Shop and Market Basket, there are five supermarkets on the island, including Shaw's stores on Eastern Avenue and Railroad Avenue in Gloucester and the IGA in Rockport's Whistle Stop Mall.
Whether the 45,000 or so residents on Cape Ann can profitably support that many stores is unknown.
Unlike many supermarkets, which lease their spaces, Stop & Shop owns the Thatcher Road shopping center, including the CVS building, making an investment in a wind turbine simpler.
Weiner sidestepped the question of whether the wind turbine was a sign of commitment to keeping a Stop & Shop on Thatcher Road, saying only that the company has a long history in the city and looked to "deliver the best experience for our customers."
Stop & Shop renovated its East Gloucester shopping center and the 63,000 square-foot supermarket, built on a former salt marsh, in 2004. According to assessors records, the property is worth $5.4 million.
Started as a Boston-area family business in 1914, Stop & Shop now operates 375 stores in New England and New York. In 1996, it was purchased by the Dutch company Royal Ahold, which owns supermarket chains in Scandinavia, France, and the Czech Republic, as well as the United States.
Stop & Shop's windmill proposal comes after Whole Foods this summer introduced its plan to build a 240-foot windmill at its plant at the base of the Jodrey State Fish Pier.
A spokeswoman for Whole Foods said this week that the company was hoping to finish a feasibility study of its project by the end of the month and could have an announcement on the next step on its plans this winter.
Whole Foods estimated its turbine would cost $2 million, a significant cost of which would be defrayed by government incentives.
Cape Ann's most significant wind power project — a pair of 360-foot turbines proposed by Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates — remains stalled by the recession.
Varian last month received an 18-month extension on its permit to put up the turbines at its Blackburn Industrial Park plant.
A fourth windmill, planned by developer Mac Bell for his property on Emerson Avenue, has also been approved by the city, but is also in limbo.
Harrison said that if Stop & Shop's request to the Zoning Board of Appeals is approved, the company would do further study in advance of a pre-application information session before City Council this winter.
Although there is no way of knowing how long the special permit process will take, Harrison said that, when it is done, Stop & Shop would likely move quickly.
"Once Stop & Shop has its permits, it will construct its turbine, because they are committed to their corporate goal to reduce their dependence on foreign oil and greenhouse gas," Harrison said. "Once you get the parts, construction goes quickly."
Patrick Anderson can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3455, or via e-mail at panderson@gloucestertimes.com
