Local Solidarity with NY City-Long Island Offshore Wind Project
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On May 31 2016 a group of about 25 activists met at Rochester's Liberty pole. The action was led by Mothers Out Front, an environmental group advocating renewable solutions to climate change. The timing of the event was in national solidarity for the Long Island-New York City Offshore Wind Project. The project would construct a large number of 300 foot diameter wind turbines 12-15 miles from the south shore of Long Island. The project is a joint effort between Consolidated Edison Co. which supplies electricity to New York City, the New York State Power Authority and the Long Island Power Authority. Hearings were being in conducted in New York City at the same time as the national rallies, and a large crowd was assembled outside of New York's City Hall.
The proposed project would produce 350 megawatts of power with the wind blowing 40 percent of the time. If the project is successful the number of windmills could be expanded to produce over 700 megawatts. By comparison, Rochester's Ginna nuclear power plant is rated at 600 megawatts. Each of New York's nuclear reactors at the Indian Point plant, 35 miles up the Hudson river, produce about 1,100 megawatts. One reactor is permanently shut down and the two operating ones are leaking radioactive toxins into the river. Projects such as this are a giant step toward eliminating nuclear plants and their toxic waste, as well as coal and gas plants and their greenhouse emissions. An added bonus is no corporation or foreign cartel can raise the price of the wind.
More information can be found at http://www.linycoffshorewind.com. The site has computer generated images of what the project would look like. The towers would barely be visible from shore on a clear day and you would need binoculars or a telescope to actually see them moving.
The project is part of Governor Cuomo's renewable energy plan. Similar projects off the shore of Lake Ontario are feasible locally.
