Results tagged “windpower”

Yesterday lawmakers in New Jersey gave their approval to allow the construction of a $1 billion offshore wind farm as part of an overall plan that calls for 20 percent of the state’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2020. The plan includes the building of 96 turbines beginning in 2013 that will power over tens of thousands of homes. Unlike previously proposed turbines that were seen as potential eyesores on ocean views, these will be deep sea turbines, built 16 to 20 miles from the shore. PSE&G says that the turbines would produce enough energy to enable the company to break even within seven years. New Jersey's bold initiative is expected to provide momentum in New York, where Con Edison is currently investigating how to feasible using wind power would be following Mayor Bloomberg's talk over the summer imagining a city skyline where turbines sat atop New York City buildings.

The reaction to Mayor Bloomberg's wind power plan, which proposes wind turbines off the shores and maybe even atop buildings and bridges, is decidedly mixed. In one corner, you have fans like Donald Trump--"It's something we should absolutely be looking at"--and former mayor Ed Koch--"I think it's ingenious. Absolutely ingenious." In the other corner, you have, oh, architects and engineers who think the plan, per the NY Times, "would be complicated and expensive and barely begin to meet the growth in demand for electricity that is expected in the coming years."

Mayor Bloomberg took another step in introducing green ideas for New York City by announcing the city would start looking at off-shore windfarms. Or maybe those wind turbines could be a lot closer. From his speech at the Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas:

Perhaps companies will want to put windfarms atop our bridges and skyscrapers, or use the enormous potential of powerful off-shore winds miles out in the Atlantic Ocean, where turbines could generate roughly twice the energy that land-based windfarms can. Windfarms located far off our shores, some evidence shows, could meet 10 percent of our city's electricity needs within a decade.

He emphasized, "We don't generate a lot of electricity in New York City. But we can work on using less. And in New York, we're determined to do what no other city has ever attempted, and that is to keep our energy usage at or near its current level even as our population grows," and added, "I think it would be a thing of beauty if, when Lady Liberty looks out on the horizon, she not only welcomes new immigrants, but lights their way with a torch powered by an ocean windfarm."

READING: Dave Eggers has delivered two (out of three) great novels, and tonight he reads from last one (which is just out on paperback), What is the What. He'll be at the Strand discussing the book and he'll also give a slideshow presentation from a recent trip he took to Sudan. More info here. Friday // 7pm // Strand Bookstore [828 Broadway] // Free EVENT: We love a good pillow fight, and tonight there's a...

Irene Boland, the co-author of Wind the World Over, works in the sustainability office of the EPA. Her office covers Region 2 (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) helps people pursue green living through their built environment. You can find out more about her office at the EPA on their website. Irene resides in Brooklyn, "under the BQE." How did you and your co-author, Vanessa Kellogg come up with the...

The MTA announced today that it has formed a Sustainability Commission to create a "sustainability master plan" by Earth Day of next year. MTA Executive Director Elliot Sander said, "The MTA’s public transportation network makes the entire New York region sustainable, but in the era of climate change we have a responsibility to go even further. The commission will build on the exciting green initiatives we’ve already completed to make sustainability a permanent part of the MTA’s DNA.”

Picnick, the new Will Goldfarb double kiosk project at the Battery, is starting to shape up for its projected Labor Day weekend opening. Director of operations will be Kevin Pomplun, most recently chef at the Hotel on Rivington restaurant Thor.

Solar One is New York City's first solar-powered “Green Energy, Arts, and Education Center,” leading the way in getting city dwellers to be a bit more environmentally responsible. They do this by not only reaching out to the community and educating through games and workshops, but also through some great events, green markets and more (they even have their Solar2 building coming soon, watch a video about it here).

"An eventual field of underwater turbines in NY's East River" sounds like a dream, but it turns out it may be a reality in a near future. Verdant Power, with the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority is working on the Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project that would bring up to 10 Megawatts of energy from an East River turbine field. While the first turbines are supposedly being deploye this year, Verdant has been talking about this since 2004. From the Columbia News Service:

Verdant Power plans to install hundreds of what look like underwater windmills in the East River -- the misleading name for the tidal channel that separates Manhattan and Long Island.

Continue reading "Turbines in the East River"

The Statue of Liberty won't need to worry about Con Ed having another blackout and dousing the light in her torch: The General Services Administration will get power from wind turbines. The Post reported that the GSA signed a three year contract for wind power to light the statue, plus Ellis Island, from upstate and other states, so no freaking out there the government will be putting huge windmills on Ellis Island - we're guessing the wind mills are situated near the Albany, because there's lots of wind up there from those windbags. But this make Gothamist wonder about having wind farms off the water in the city - those wind gusts from the water can be fierce.