Office of Borough President James P. Molinaro
Staten Island, New York
B.P. Molinaro: “Wind farm at Fresh Kills: the time is right in light of nuclear controversy”
B.P. calls on NYS DEC to support wind power at Fresh Kills
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – In light of the growing nuclear tragedy in Japan, and in support of Governor Cuomo’s call to close the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester, Borough President James P. Molinaro today renewed his call for a wind farm to be constructed on the former Fresh Kills landfill site, and urged the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to support and expedite plans for the project.
“Wind energy at Fresh Kills would be safe, secure, and would not hurt anyone,” Molinaro said. “It is the only location in New York City that can economically and technologically sustain a wind farm, and it is high time that this proposal be turned into reality.”
“A study completed in 2007, adjusted to reflect today’s wind turbine technology, shows that 7 turbines at Fresh Kills could produce 30 megawatts of energy, enough to meet 6% of our Island’s energy needs, powering 10,000 homes,” Molinaro said.
“New York State relies on the Indian Point nuclear plant for a good portion of its power needs, but the safety of the plant and the effect that a failure would have on our population must be taken into consideration,” Molinaro said. “Indian Point is situated on a fault line. God forbid our region experiences a high-intensity earthquake, we could be facing some of the same trouble that Japan is dealing with now.”
‘Indian Point should be closed, but before we can do that, we must address the need to make up the power that will be lost from its closure,” Molinaro said. “Here on Staten Island, we have presented the State DEC with the perfect solution to make up some of the power needs, yet our proposals have been met with strong resistance for no reason other than the DEC being uncooperative.”
“It is time for the DEC to face reality and begin supporting alternative energy sources. It is an absolute disgrace that the people of this area have to worry about nuclear accidents occurring when alternative energy sources, most especially wind power at Fresh Kills, could be up and running if DEC would only be supportive,” Molinaro said.
March 17, 2011