Bloomberg Eyes Danish Offshore Wind Farm and Sees New York’s Future
Johan Spanner for The New York Times New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg gazes at the world’s largest offshore wind farm, 13 miles off the coast of Denmark.
“I don’t understand what there is to complain about,” said Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, as he gazed out the window of a helicopter swooping low along a bank of giant wind turbines in the North Sea, some 13 miles off the coast of Denmark.
Mr. Bloomberg — who like thousands of others was touching toe here during two weeks of historic climate talks in Copenhagen — was referring to a key hurdle often facing offshore wind projects in the United States and elsewhere: people don’t want to look at them.
“Would they rather be staring at a coal plant?” he asked.
The mayor and his sustainability director, Rohit Aggarwala (also along for the ride) are hoping that a consortium linking government agencies and utilities in Long Island and New York will begin fielding proposals early next year for what could become the world’s largest offshore wind power complex — a 700-megawatt affair that could cost up to $3 billion.
At the moment, however, this 91-turbine farm near Esbjerg — about 180 miles west of Copenhagen — holds the title of world’s largest, with 209 megawatts of capacity. It opened in September and is called Horns Rev 2.
Combined with its nearby neighbor, Horns Rev 1, …
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