Trying to Catch the Wind

Wind energy has become a highly contentious coastal issue in recent years, with environmental interests, businesses, and the general public unable tp reach a general consensus on what the overall impact of offshore wind farm will be. Several projects have been proposed up and down the eastern seaboard, including one off of Jones Beach in NY. In NJ, turbines are already being constructed, as explored by the article below. JB

ED McDONALD, a low roller at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, was waiting for a jitney when he paused to gawk at what may turn out to be yet another of this city's tourist attractions - the nation's first coastal wind farm, whose sleek 380-foot-high turbines stand like immense kinetic sculptures at the entrance to this seaside resort.

"It's clean energy, it's futuristic, it doesn't block the view," said Mr. McDonald, 52, an unemployed warehouse worker who had just quit the blackjack tables after four hours and enough losing hands for one day. "Offshore, out in the water, then I would say they'd be a problem, then you're taking away from the seashore itself, the view and everything."

Federal and state officials are betting on wind power as an environmentally friendly and economically viable way to help reduce the ever-growing dependence on fossil fuels for generating electricity, particularly along New Jersey's rapidly growing Shore communities.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/25/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/25njCOVER.ready.html