Slater Mill goes green

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) - Samuel Slater built the first successful water powered, cotton spinning mill in the country back in 1793.

Still standing more than two centuries later, Pawtucket's Slater Mill is returning to its roots and going green at the same time by restoring a turbine that turns water into electricity.

The mill is using a grant from Housing and Urban Development to help pay for the project that will eventually use hydropower to generate electricity. That electricity will be used to power most of the mill's machines that still work.

Originally installed in the late 1800s, the hydro-turbine harnesses the water running through the Blackstone River. The turbine's propeller blades spin, generating energy which is converted to electricity.

The mill's curator, Andrian Paquette, says the turbine is being removed piece by piece. This last part, will be removed Tuesday, February 21.

After some tender love and care at a restoration shop in Massachusetts, the turbine will return to power the mill, hopefully putting a dent into what can sometimes be a very pricey energy bill. "We've gotten bills as high as $5,000 for one month," says Paquette.

A second turbine will be restored too, but that will be for display purposes only. It's in more fragile condition and it's more historically valuable.

The plan is to have to the other turbine up and running by this fall.