Winds of change blew through City Hall Wednesday night, bringing two new turbines with them.
That’s because the City Plan Commission approved plans for two new wind-powered turbines.
One of these, to be erected by New Haven’s Phoenix Press, will be 120 feet tall, with 30-foot blades, making it the largest in Connecticut, according to its owners. Phoenix’s turbine will generate about a third of the business’s power.
The other new turbine, a smaller 90-foot affair, will be put up by the city in partnership with the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. It will be used to power a building at Long Wharf Park.
Rob Jenen is a project manager with wind turbine company Alteris Renewables, which will be installing both turbines. He assured the board that the 120-foot turbine will not be loud and will not be a hazard for birds.
The board gave its unanimous approval to both projects.
“We’re thrilled,” said Brian Driscoll (at left in top photo), the president of Phoenix Press, who was wearing a silver wind turbine pin on his sweater vest. Driscoll said that he has been working on the project for about three years.
“It’s like giving birth!” Driscoll said to City Plan Director Karyn Gilvarg, who stepped out into the hallway to congratulate him.
Driscoll said that he hopes his new turbine inspires others. “I want to see a whole bunch of these things around.”
“This is a model for development in the city,” said Giovanni Zinni (at right in top photo), a City Plan staffer who helped Driscoll with the approval and funding process.
See Mary O’Leary’s Register coverage on this topic here.