Johan Spanner for The New York Times
As the world’s eyes zeroed in on this week’s COP15 climate change talks, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg gazed on a much more placid scene – Denmark’s 209 megawatt Horns Rev 2, the largest offshore wind farm in the world. Bloomberg admired the overhead view as he toured the farm by helicopter, and expressed his desire for the Big Apple to follow suit. With gears already cranking on a 700-megawatt wind energy project in Long Island that could eclipse the Horns Rev 2, the mayor seemed to be daydreaming of his own wind-powered vision for NY‘s future.
One of the biggest obstacles facing the Long Island project, other than the fact that it could cost up to $3 billion, is the number of naysayers complaining about a field of wind turbines being an eyesore. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion about the aesthetics (or lack thereof) of the possible wind farm, Bloomberg makes three great points:
1. We already see a lot of things that might be considered less than pleasant in our environments without giving them a second thought. “We see power lines, we see gas stations, we see trains going by loaded with coal. There’s always something to see,” he said. So while we might think that wind turbines will be these hugely disruptive monoliths, they’ll most likely blend very easily into our surroundings.
Bloomberg’s already invested personally in green tech consulting groups, so it’s no surprise he’s ready to move forward with some alternative energy projects for NY. This off-shore wind farm could do great things for the city’s power needs and constant shortages.
If you’re interested in wind energy, check out http://www.greencollareconomy.com. It has hundreds of case studies on emerging green technology and wind farns. It’s also the largest b2b green directory on the web.
Very ambitious! And very state-of-the-art. Bloomberg’s plan to use wind driven in NYC is great. He will set the example for other major cities to follow.