New England Tech’s turbine goes up off Route 95 in July.

The Providence Journal John Freidah

Another wind turbine may be going up along Route 95 in Warwick.

Shalom Housing Inc., a nonprofit agency that operates 154 apartments off Route 5 near Route 95 in Warwick, has won a $1.5-million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and plans to use some of the money to erect a turbine to generate electricity for the complex.

New England Institute of Technology recently erected its own turbine a short distance away on the other side of Route 95.

Shalom, sponsored by the Jewish Seniors Agency, is the only Rhode Island entity to win a grant from the $250 million in stimulus money set aside by HUD earlier this year to improve energy efficiency and provide alternative energy sources for multi-family housing initially funded by the department.

The U.S. Department of Energy has also earmarked $58 million in stimulus money for projects in Rhode Island, but that funding has not yet gotten through the state Energy Office. The loss of some key staff has delayed distribution.

Bonnie A. Sekeres, executive director of Shalom, said the HUD project was an unusual grant that had to be applied for under a tight timetable. Many applicants were disqualified for filing incomplete paperwork, she said.

Now the complex faces a series of deadlines to plan and carry out its green retrofit. The work will be done on the 101 units in the Shalom I complex.

“This is exciting news for us,” said Sekeres. “The building is almost 30 years old, and these funds will allow us to complete some major projects that we have been planning.”

It is uncertain which work will be done because of the nature of the grant process. Shalom proposed some initiatives, contractors hired by HUD have inspected the complex and they are expected to make their recommendations in early September. HUD will have the final say on what it funds.

If there is enough money, Sekeres said, she hopes to put up a turbine that would generate most of the electricity used by the complex.

Tenants contribute to the cost of electricity, so a turbine would save money both for them and the agency.

But Sekeres said she also wants to replace the complex’s old, gas-fired boilers, install Energy Star refrigerators and retrofit with low-flow toilets and showers.

She said the complex has already installed energy-efficient lighting and taken other conservation measures. But what’s on the table now would be a major step forward.

“What’s got everybody excited here, though, is the wind turbine,” Sekeres said. “We’re all hoping they will approve a wind turbine.”

plord@projo.com