Wind energy to power New Jersey port

To be wind powered...

As part of America's desire to implement more renewable energy into their infrastructure, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have announced plans to use wind energy to power the Port Jersey-Port Authority Marine Terminal on the New Jersey City and Bayonne border.

According to news on NJ.com, the New Jersey port terminal will be powered by five 288-feet high wind turbines, set to be built on a 70-acre site - to the east of the Global Terminal - where the Port Authority is constructing the new container port on the former Northeast Auto Marine Terminal.

When it is finished, the new container port is expected to consume as much energy as 2000 homes, which is not surprisingly considering the expansion of the port will see it quadruple its current capacity of 323,000 containers.

Wind powered port

When constructed, the wind turbines will generate a combined 7.5 megawatts of power, enough to supply the energy needs of the port, with any surplus going back to the power grid.

Contracts are expected to be awarded later in the year, as the Port Authority is currently looking for feedback from industry companies in planning the project as well as addressing costs and the scheme's timeline.

In terms of energy generation, using wind energy is ideal due to the location of the port in Bayonne, plus it is essential for the New York and New Jersey Port Authority who recently vowed to lower their greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent of 2006 levels by 2050. It is hoped that this project will be the first in several steps to achieving this.

Bill Baroni, deputy executive director of the Port Agency, said "Bayonne is perfectly situated for lots of things, but it also is perfectly located to host the first wind terminal in New Jersey."

"This is one of one many steps we are taking to cut our carbon footprint and be good neighbors in New Jersey," Baroni said. It was stressed that the wind turbines will also be far enough away not to bother Bayonne and Jersey City residents, so as not to repeat the protests currently affecting the Cape Wind farm.

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Timon Singh

Timon Singh is a graduate of Liverpool University where he received a degree in Social and Economic History. He has previously worked for BBC Magazines on BBC Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, the publication for the popular genealogy show.

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