Sunset Park in Brooklyn gained New York City’s first commercial-scale wind turbine on Tuesday, Jan. 14. The almost 160-foot tall wind turbine will power Sunset Park’s Material Recovery Facility, the principal sorting and separation center for New York City’s residential curbside metal, glass, and plastic recyclables. The facility itself is a little over one year old, having opened in December of 2013.
The turbine, made by Vermont-based Northern Power Systems, is expected to generate up to four percent of the energy required to run the facility. It stands on the windy 30thStreet Pier at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, overlooking the facility and its public Recycling Education Center. Combining the wind energy from the turbine with solar power on the roof, 20 percent of the facility’s energy will be generated on site.
It took four years for the turbine to go through the permitting process. In total, the project cost about &750,000, and is expected to pay for itself in about five years.
The facility is operated by Sims Metal Management and its Sims Municipal Recycling division.
“As a recycling company, sustainability is central to our mission, and in Brooklyn, we saw the opportunity to advance that agenda in new ways,” said Tom Outerbridge, General Manager of Sims Municipal Recycling. “The wind turbine, combined with the solar array, enables the facility to decrease its non-renewable energy consumption substantially.”
“Northern Power Systems would like to congratulate the entire Sims team for reaching this impressive energy sustainability milestone, paying dividends forward for decades,” said Trevor Atkinson, Sales and Business Development Manager at Northern Power Systems. “We are delighted to have this new installation join our growing global fleet.”
