SMITHFIELD — The Town Council Tuesday hired a company to study whether there are any locations in town suitable for a wind turbine.

The $17,250 award went to Engineers Architects Planners Co., a consulting firm whose nearest offices are in Norwich, Vt. They submitted the lowest bid to the Energy Conservation Committee, which issued a request for qualifications in September. Two other companies turned in similarly priced bids while another company, Theilsch Engineering submitted a bid of $43,000.

Wind feasibility is the newest venture for the committee, which was established in 2008. It received permission from the council in August to pursue grants to fund the feasibility study.

In a memo to Town Manager Dennis Finlay, committee Chairwoman Brenda Amodei said that while EAPC was the cheapest, it also offered the town a more comprehensive approach than the other potential companies.

“EAPC’s approach was that they were not just going to look at the wind speed of a given site and then proceed with other considerations,” Amodei wrote in her Nov. 4 memo. “They proposed to look at all aspects of a site prior to recommending it for detailed study. It was to our favor that they were also the lowest bidder.”

Finlay, at Tuesday’s meeting, added that if a site was found with perfect wind flow, but for instance, would require the town to build a road to access it, the company would move on to find another site.

Initially, the study will be paid through the municipal contingency escrow fund, Finlay said, but the town is applying for a grant through the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation Energy Commission to reimburse that amount. If an acceptable site is found, the town will seek additional grants to pay for construction of the turbine.

The council, Tuesday, also approved the creation of an Energy Conservation Commission to replace the Energy Conservation Committee. The five-member group appointed by the Town Council will serve five-year staggered terms. A member of the group will also serve as a non-voting member of the Energy Review Commission. The group is tasked with assessing the town’s energy needs, seeking funding to help reduce energy costs and advise the council on energy conservation matters, according to the ordinance.

The commission was necessary, Finlay said, because two members of the current committee — Ronald Manni and S. Jean Cerroni –– are also Town Council members. The designation also allows for the group to be more permanent; a committee, Finlay said, is designed to operate for a limited amount of time. The current Energy Conservation Committee will be dissolved as of Dec. 16, when the ordinance takes effect.

In the meantime, Finlay said, the committee members will continue with the work they’ve already started with the feasibility study and other matters. The committee members will be eligible to apply for spots on the commission.

After Tuesday’s Town Council meeting, Finlay said that the town was gearing up to begin the search for a new police chief. Former Chief William A. McGarry left his post as head of the Police Department to become town manager in Hopkinton, effective Nov. 7. Deputy Chief Richard P. St. Sauveur will continue serving as acting chief, as he has since September, when McGarry filled in as acting town manager while Finlay was recuperating from surgery.

Finlay said he is assembling a search committee, but no timeline has been set on when they hope to have a new chief sworn in.

tbuford@projo.com