New York City is asking companies to come up with clean energy ideas, including wind power to fuel NYC. The city, released a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) that will call for innovative ideas to help New York City develop sources of renewable energy.
Mayor Bloomberg speaking at an energy summit recently spoke about the possibility of placing wind turbines on top of bridges and skyscrapers – saying it would cut the city's electricity needs, save hundreds of millions of dollars, and would ultimately make the city cleaner and more efficient. He also proposed the idea of offshore wind farms, tidal power, solar power and geothermal energy. "It would be a thing of beauty if, when Lady Liberty looks out on the horizon, she not only welcomes new immigrants to our shores, but lights the way with a torch powered by an ocean wind farm," said Bloomberg.
The mayor said "right now energy is the number one issue in America and criticized both presidential candidates.
"PlaNYC - is the 'greenprint' for the city's sustainable future. Because New York - like cities across the nation - is filling the leadership vacuum that Washington has left".
In New York, we're determined to do what no other city has ever even attempted: Keep our energy usage at or near its current level even as our population grows. As an example to the private sector, I hope to embarrass the Federal government - if that's possible - our Administration has mapped out a plan to reduce our own energy consumption by our own City agencies 30 percent by the year 2017.
"We'll do that by investing heavily in making our schools, hospitals, police and fire stations - all of our City facilities - more energy-efficient. We estimate that all the City's conservation investments will take an estimated 220-megawatt bite out of New York's peak power demand. And within five years, they'll have paid for themselves. After that, they'll be money-makers".
NYC will be grating property tax breaks that encourage private building owners to go solar. And the State will permit New Yorkers who generate their own solar power to sell what they don't use to other power customers - a real economic incentive for renewable energy.
Mitchell Hall, Associate Broker, New York, NY
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This is a wonderful plan! It is great to see a city the size of NYC looking towards the future and committing to something like this.