Comments on: Mayor Bloomberg floats New York City wind plan

Michael Bloomberg envisions an off-shore wind farm and small turbines on skyscrapers and bridges that would provide part of the city's electricity needs in coming years.

[bermuda65]

I am writing in Michael Bloomberg's name for President. If we all do it, we will get a candidate who both sides might actually want.

[Dan_DHRT]

Finally, a politician who understands that it is not just the the supply side (by drilling for more oil) but also the demand side. Having energy sources that do not consume non-renewable resources is a start to reduce the demand for energy from non-renewable resources.

Average home owners generally would also invest in these technologies if the financial payback is 3 to 5 years. Even with current government grants, their not there yet; however, the more mass production which occurs for these renewable energy source products, the faster prices will come down that the average joe homeowner can afford.

Dan
DailyHomeRenoTips.com

[ckgnyc]

Martin, I am a founder of Pickens Plan NYC and would like to describe an idea that we are interested in. Maybe your writing can assist in this effort.

We believe a very large wind turbine temporarily installed in Central Park would be a very powerful event for the greater New York City area. This would be a two to four month installation and the wind turbine, at least in simplest terms, would not be generating electricity for public consumption (more on this in a few paragraphs). This is an art installation akin to a public exhibition of a large Alexander Calder mobile. This wind turbine would be the largest type possible and would be an art installation that is funded by both private and institutional contributors, possibly in association with a major art institution.

This wind turbine would be on loan from a company (GE?) and after the show it will go to its final location in the ocean or a wind farm, possibly in the Midwest.

I have been wondering what the theme for such an installation would be (here is the philosopher in me coming out. Prior to my time at major financial institutions I wrote a Postmodernist philosophy thesis at UC Berkeley comparing the artists Julian Schnabel (American) with Anselm Kiefer (German)):

Shall we ask ourselves some very basic questions to get to our theme? For the most part I will let the poet in you answer these questions yourself.

This wind turbine, let?s called it a sculpture, has meaning. What is it? What will this beautiful, elegant wind sculpture actually do once it is installed and generating power in the ocean or in its Midwest wind farm? What will it provide real people like you and me? What will its actual existence be like on a bright, hot, sunny afternoon or in a freezing cold winter storm? What will its character be like? Will those for whom it provides income for its maintenance prefer working on it for its particular characteristics or on the others nearby? Will they give it a name? Will this wind turbine have a particular, recognizable sound compared to the others?

During that freezing cold winter storm mentioned above this wind sculpture will provide very real warmth for our mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, sisters, brothers, grandmothers, and grandfathers, friends, and colleagues.

It will provide the young start-up with power to run their business; for the major corporation, it will enable it to manufacture, sell, and distribute its products domestically and internationally.

The accident victim and the newborn child will be monitored and comforted in their hospital by the power that this sculpture provides.

This wind sculpture will contribute to making our world a better, cleaner, healthier place.

It will rise high and majestically in Central Park?s North Meadow, The Great Lawn, or The Sheep?s Meadow. During the day people will go up to it and touch it, have their pictures taken in front of it. At night it will be fully illuminated like our other great landmarks such as The Empire State Building. If it is generating energy then it would be doing so only to illuminate itself at night (as such, the wind would not need to be significant). It would be paying for itself.

On its way to its working home it will stop over in New York City for some major exposure to the most diverse population in the world. Concerts will be thrown, high-school essays will be written, and television documentaries will be produced in honor of this living, giving work of art. This work of art will be on its way to providing the many benefits above and more. Herein is a possible theme: ?On Its Way?

What are your ideas about a theme?

If any city in the country can do this it is definitely New York City. It is going to take leadership, focus, energy, cooperation, coordination, and lots of love. This is also what it is going to take to keep our energy expenditures home in the United States which is the essence of the Pickens Plan.

What are your thoughts Martin?

Best to you,

Charles K. Gonzales
Co-founder and Principal
Primus Strong LLC

[mlamonica]

The notion of making a functional sculpture in New York is an interesting idea!

It seems to me that people are very split on wind turbines. Some like seeing turbines and the clean energy production they represent. At the same time, others flat-out dislike turbines because they mar a view or cast shadows. Placing small turbines atop skyscrapers, along roadways or off-shore is feasible, it seems, because siting them that way could allay some of those aesthetic concerns.

[atici]

Nonsense. The government should not be in the energy business, period. It all sounds cool of course... until they tell you what it costs. The people in NYC already pay exorbitant amounts of city and state tax to feed the bureucrats. This is just a ploy to introduce future reasons for tax increase.

If you want clean energy, you already have a choice: speak to your electric company and buy your electricity from clean energy producers. Just don't waste the taxpayers' money for your grandiose and unrealistic schemes.

[stlwest]

I think if a city wants to install a windmill to promote "being green" they should not just erect it for art, it should in fact be setup to run all the lights in Central Park, a wind monument is nice, but a functional piece of artwork is even better. And temporary is just a gesture while a permanent placement shows the city is dedicated. I think windmills on top of tall buildings would be perfect because they are in a constant stream of wind most of the time.

[nullbull]

atici - If you imagine that the government isn't ALREADY in the energy business, that is hasn't ALREADY BEEN in the energy business for decades, then you are kidding yourself.

The amount of direct and institutional subsidies for all manner of energy producers, including coal producers, oil producers, etc. is staggering. Direct subsidies topped 50 Billion in 2007 alone.

Free Market dogmatists will likely bristle at the notion that such bedrock US businesses have been at the taxpayer-funded trough for years. Nonetheless it is true.

We subsidize energy for the same reason we subsidize small business creation, the defense-industrial complex, mass transit, etc. Because the free market system as it is currently employed in the US, utterly fails at accounting for value outside a purely financial system. There is an intrinsic value to energy security, national security, and broadly available mobility. There are downstream effects that far outweigh the upstream costs (subsidies), and the free market system is utterly incapable of measuring or incentivizing these in a way that jives with common sense or the desires of society.

WE ALREADY SUBSIDIZE ENERGY and have been doing so for years. Any subsidy that FAVORS one production method over another is the only way we have to inject value and worth into a system obsessed merely with cost (no matter how distorted that cost may be).

[AVE_fan]

It isn't necessary to put a windmill in Central Park as a demonstration, because everybody knows what conventional, horizontal axis, windmills look like. Oftentimes, the wind isn't even blowing there, and when it does, the windmill could become a Cuisinart for birds.

An energy source that is far more bountiful than are horizontal winds, is Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE), the same energy source that powers thunderstorms. A device to harvest this energy has been invented and patented by a Canadian, Louis M. Michaud, P.Eng. The website is http://vortexengine.ca

The Atmospheric Vortex Engine (AVE) device was discussed last year in the New York Times Online forum Freakonomics. Installing one of these in Central Park as a demonstration will do far more to advance the cause of renewable energy than will some dumb, standard, windmill, which Don Quixote knew many centuries ago to be a menace.

May the AVE-Force be with you!!--DQdlM

[gmulaw]

I applaud Mayor Bloomberg for his leadership.

Marquiss Wind Power of Folsom, CA has a wind turbine that is designed for rooftops and is highly efficient using ducted turbine patented technology and is also aesthetically pleasing.

The MWP Aeropoint series of Ducted Wind Turbines (DFWT) stands 19 feet tall and are specifically designed to take advantage of commercial settings and turbulent wind flows associated with rooftops. The aerodynamic design allows it to continue to re-orient itself to changing wind flow directions and turbulence, while the ducted design and other patented technologies enable the turbine to accelerate the wind speed as it approaches the turbine.

These attributes cause the power output from the turbine to exceed that of conventional turbines. Depending on the power needs of a company or building, multiple wind turbines can be placed on a building?s rooftop.

http://www.marquisswindpower.com/
Marquiss Wind Power
101 Parkshore Dr., Suite 109
Folsom, CA 95630
[phone]

- R.P. Albrecht

[Manhattan2]

Another politician jumping at the chance to show how green he is. Many of these attempts to go green will just cost the tax payers. ill advised solar and wind installments will be costly and only make us feel good short term. Long term solutions in renewable power is what is being done at SolarTransfer.com. Have the mayor email us at [e-mail] we think we can help.

[NicoleEverson]

great to see long term plans!!!

You can see more of my photos on my photography website <a href='http://www.nicoleeversonphotography.com' target='_blank'>Nicole Everson Photography.</a>