Steel Winds (or Steel Winds I) is a wind energy project located on the coast of Lake Erie in Lackawanna, New York, just south of the City of Buffalo proper in Erie County. The project is situated on 30 acres (12 ha) of the 1,600-acre (650 ha) brownfield that was the former Bethlehem Steel Plant. It was designed to produce 20-MW of electricity (enough to power 6,000 average American homes) or 9,000 homes in New York. Power is being sold into the NYS ISO grid for sale to retail customers. It is one of the largest urban wind power developments in the world.
The project is owned by First Wind, who will be selling energy, capacity and RECs to energy retailer Constellation NewEnergy through 2009. The project was built by Tennessee Valley Infrastructure Group, of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is operated by First Wind. Operation and maintenance services will be provided by the manufacturer of the turbines, Clipper Windpower, for the first five years.
The project uses the old steel mill's roads and off-site transmission lines, requiring little new infrastructure. The project cost was $40 Million.
Read more about Steel Winds: Specifications, Project History
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God for his Richard hath in heavenly pay
A glorious angel. Then if angels fight,
Weak men must fall; for heaven still guards the right.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Bring me an axe and spade,
Bring me a winding-sheet;
When I my grave have made
Let winds and tempests beat:
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True love doth pass away!”
—William Blake (1757–1827)