BOSTON -- When Clay Nissan needed an overflow lot to store part of its automobile inventory, the Dedham, Mass., dealership ran into a problem.

Clay found a great location on the east side of Providence Highway, or Route 1, about a quarter of a mile from the dealership. But there was no available power source to provide electricity to the site.

Brian O’Connor, the manager of the Clay dealerships, said trying to "get a (traditional) power source to the lot was not sensible." O’Connor said it was cost-prohibitive and it would mean construction, which would involve digging conduits through the property of several of Clay’s commercial neighbors.

So Clay turned to Alternate Energy, a Plymouth, Mass., company that installs equipment to provide wind and solar power.

Steve Pitney, founder and general manager of the Alternate Energy said Clay was in an unusual situation.

"Most often where you have commercial businesses, power sources are readily available. But to provide power to the lot Clay was building, you would have needed to provide conduits through wetlands and be concerned about abutters."

The lot is on the other side of Costco, O’Connor said. He didn’t feel the wholesale club would "take too kindly to our digging through its property to provide power for our parking lot lights."

O’Connor said there was no trouble getting the town of Dedham come on board.

"The town seemed to like the idea of the wind turbine, so we went with it," he said.

"The Dedham Conservation Commission was excited to hear about the alternative energy source lighting that facility." said Chairman William Gorman. "It's nonpolluting, uses no resources and is a good model for anyone thinking about using alternative energry," he said.

The turbine sits atop a 35 foot tower, on Clay's property. The setup also includes two light towers, each with four 1-kilowatt light fixtures and a shed that houses batteries.

"The wind turbines harness the electricity, which powers the batteries, which in turn power the lights," said Pitney.

He said the system generates a couple of kilowatts of light a day, enough to accommodate Clay's needs for the lot.

The lights are triggered by motion sensors, that turn on when someone enters the area.

The project is costing Clay about $30,000.

"After the initial construction, there is no cost for the energy from the wind turbine," Pitney said.

O’Connor looks for the project to pay for itself in a few years. "It’s a nice way to provide your own energy and not have to rely on foreign energy," he added.