Town council in Stratford, P.E.I., hopes to save thousands of dollars a year in energy costs by installing two wind turbines, but isn't quite ready to put up the towers.

A study by the Wind Energy Institute of Canada, commissioned by the town, shows the turbines could pay for themselves in about seven years.

Coun. Diane Griffin, the chair of Stratford's environment committee, says two proposed wind turbines would pay for themselves in about seven years.
(CBC)

"These turbines would eventually end up … saving us over $11,000 at each site, so in total it would be over $22,000 per year that the town would save by having two wind turbines," Diane Griffin, the chair of Stratford's environment committee, told CBC News on Friday.

The turbines would cost about $500,000, but the town expects that cost to be offset by contributions from other levels of government.

Griffin said wind turbines would also send a strong message that Stratford is an environmentally friendly community, but despite her perceptions of the public relations and financial advantages, Griffin said the town still wants to consult residents about the idea.

"It may be that not everybody likes having wind turbines in the town," she said.

"I think it is the thing of the future but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so people would have questions that they would want answered, most certainly."

Griffin said if council and residents approve the plan, it will be at least a year or two before the project is up and running.