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Sunday, November 1, 2009

Union Beach Wind Turbine Visible from Keyport and Cliffwood Beach?


The Bayshore Regional Sewerage Authority (BRSA) has cleared most of its hurdles to its plan to build a wind turbine to power its 100 Oak Street sewer treatment plant in Union Beach. NJ DEP approval has been granted, according to APP. Union Beach opposes the regional facility, per an August 2009 APP article found at Wind Watch, even though it will provide income to the strapped local budget. County and state officials made no effort to thwart the turbine plan, according to an October 2009 article in the Independent.

Back in 2007, when BRSA first proposed the concept, Atlantic City was operating the first five wind turbines in New Jersey, according to the New York Times. Frank A Wells, a Union Beach resident and BRSA commissioner, came up with the current idea after seeing wind turbines in action in California. Wells discussed the potential cost savings of the plan, as well as its environmental values, in an 2007 APP article available at the Bayshore Regional Watershed Council website.

Weston Solutions conducted a wind assessment for BRSA and found the Union Beach site had the capability to power a wind turbine.

Today's article says the turbine will support the sewer plant at 100 Oak Street (marked A on the map below) but would be constructed in the Raritan Bay somewhere off the westernmost portion of Union Beach Township. This means that the turbine will likely be more visible in Cliffwood Beach and Keyport than Union Beach.


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1 comment:

  1. AberdeenerNovember 2, 2009 at 5:50 PM

    Two years ago, I proposed windmills for the public schools but I've since changed my position.

    There's some evidence the constant background humming raises stress levels and windmills are often major bird killers because the best places for windmills are usually the best places for birds to fly.

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