New Haven Independent

Posted by: Walt | March 19, 2009 9:06 AM

Sounds good as long as the noise ordinance covers it.

Posted by: robn | March 19, 2009 6:06 PM

Interesting...120' is like how tall the taft is. Is this to the upper tip of the extended blades or the center of the turbine?

Posted by: ParkStTaxPayer | March 20, 2009 9:11 AM

The wind turbine at Phoenix Press will be clearly visible from the Q bridge, but if you stand at Criscolo Park (across the street from Phoenix Press) you'll notice the noise from the harbor and the nearby I-95/I-91 interchange is VERY noticeable.

I have driven through windfarms (multiple wind turbines over 300' in height, MUCH larger than the one to be installed at Phoenix) and I can tell you firsthand both how beautiful these modern kinetic sculputres are, and how QUIET they are. Stand underneath one, and you'll hear:

WHOOOSH........WHOOOOSH............WHOOOSH

as the blades turn. Free energy; but wind blows strongest the higher in the sky they're placed. Interference with nearby buildings, trees, structures such as the Q Bridge, all generate turbulence as the wind strikes them, making the wind slower and harder to harness. That is why the turbine needs height.

It is my understanding that the turbine won't be taller than the new Q Bridge, and there will be an FAA navigation (red blinking) light on the generator.

Clean energy has NO adverse impact on the environment. Guantanimo Bay Naval Station is powered by FOUR wind turbines; diesel generators are just too costly there. With Connecticut electricity rates the HIGHEST IN THE CONTINENTAL US, with only Hawaii being more expensive (very far from the mainland) it makes perfect economical sense to generate one's own energy ON-SITE.

Where the Register and WTNH got the story wrong is that this turbine, the Northwind 100, IS the first turbine of its model number to be installed in Connecticut, but it is NOT the first turbine of its kind in the NATION.

Phoenix Press IS THE FIRST PRINTING PRESS TO GENERATE ON-SITE WIND POWER IN THE NATION. This is significant; in business today, companies are quick to say they're "greening" their business, so they buy CREDITS or coupons which offset, or predict the electrical load of their operation, while funding renewable energy projects. They still use dirty power in the meantime.

Phoenix Press is generating ONE-THIRD of their power on-site, with New Haven Wind, with NO NOISE, and is clearly showcasing their concern for their impact on the community. New Haven has one of the highest asthma rates in the region; take a drive down Woodward Avenue (or ride your bike) on a hot summer day, and you'll realize just how much pollution comes out of the harbor! Burning kerosene and natural gas at New Haven's power plant only contributes to world wars and pollution.

Wind = free = clean = beautiful kinetic sculptures.

Now all who pass through New Haven will see we are a community for change, a community who embraces clean air, a community who doesn't need "more studies" but who is acting on PROVEN WIND TECHNOLOGY WHICH HAS SERVED THE WORLD FOR DECADES.

If you need posters for your business, or other print jobs done, call on Phoenix Press. Support a business who cares about the community!

On the day this story broke, Phoenix Press hosted a neighborhood Blockwatch meeting (as part of a rotating schedule of meeting spots), clearly indicating their dedication to the residents in the area.

Posted by: DEZ | March 20, 2009 10:16 AM

I am for clean energy and wind power as a means to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Do not, on the other hand, believe that this is just "beautiful kinetic sculpture". These turbines make noise. I own a home in Lempster New Hampshire where the ridge now sports 12 of these turbines, albeit on a much larger scale.
http://www.ironworkersdcne.org/news/LU7MDWalbridgeLempsterWindTurbines101008WEB2/index.htm

They make noise. I have heard it. Some have reported it as a drone. Ours are large, huge. They stand on top of a once pristine ridge and look other worldly in that context. Others have said the turbines dwarf the landscape making the observer feel as if they are being watched by some "giant preying mantis". Indeed in their movement and sound, they are alive. I see it as slightly "War of the Worlds" in the old vs.. the new. Terrific care must be taken when placing these turbines to offset possible negative impact to the communities in which they stand.

Posted by: ParkStTaxPayer | March 20, 2009 1:20 PM

this turbine won't be very large, and it will stand in a noisy industrial zone, near the municipal airport at Tweed, a draw bridge with noisy warning bells across the street, on a river with heavy boat traffic, near the Interstate 91/95/CT RT 34 interchanges, 100 yards from a busy shipping port, where new bridge construction is going on. Impact hammers at the bridge construction site, ship's horns and engines, vehicle back-up horns, vehicle sound systems at the park across the street, and other noises will effectively drown out any noise that might be emitted from said turbine.

I can appreciate the silence of New Hampshire; I received my Bachelor of Arts degree from a small, private school in Henniker, which is a town of 4,000 people and has little industry.

I'd much rather, though, have a wind turbine and its associated "noise" in my backyard than a smokestack belching toxic fumes. Speaking of "backyard" there aren't any houses within the vicinity of Phoenix Press; just old boarded-up warehouses and a factory that makes ladders. This isn't a residential area at all, and the turbine will be located as close to the edge of the property (close to the river and harbor) as possible, to further mitigate noise, as I understand it.

I invite you to stand at the site where the turbine is to be installed and measure the noise levels now and after the turbine is installed. My guess is, it won't be an audible difference.

Phoenix Press went through all the appropriate channels and the project was approved. I can't wait to be there on the day of the turbine's commissioning! This is a very exciting time for New Haven, as private industry starts to fund renewables in an era of high energy prices and pollution!

Posted by: robn | March 20, 2009 2:06 PM

this is great. the future is now.

Posted by: Dave | June 23, 2009 10:06 AM

" So let me get this right the Driscolls pay $87,000 of the estimated $500,000 cost and we the unfortunate taxpayers pay the other $413,000 plus interest and the Driscolls get to keep the income from the turbine to compensate them for their "investment" while we the taxpayers get nothing but the $413,000 + interest bill.

Even the Driscolls themselves stated they would not pay for this themselves. But they seem to be able to sleep fine at night knowing you and I will be footing the bill.

Shame on you, shame shame shame on you. "

Posted by: laineygolightly | July 28, 2009 2:52 PM

The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund has been created specifically to fund opportunities like this project which produce renewable energy to offset the Dirty 6 power plants of Connecticut. You pay into the CT Clean Energy Fund when you pay your Dirty 6 energy bill every month. Don't like the high prices that you're paying on your energy bill? Buy energy efficient appliances and purchase your energy from other sources like Sterling Planet. Or better yet, why don't you install some solar panels or a wind turbine. I hear that the CT Clean Energy fund has money available. The people of CT have the highest energy bills in the entire 50 states-- that includes Hawaii. Without initiatives to get us off the dependence of the Dirty 6, we will continue to use old, dirty methods of energy production and continue paying through the nose for these awful energy production means. If you want to cast shame on something, cast it on the Dirty 6 and while you're at it, start applauding the CT Clean Energy Fund.