There’s a lot of fuss made of wind turbines being an eyesore for people. This is something I have never understood, as I think they are quite nice looking and, furthermore, they are certainly tons more attractive and pleasant than a coal-fired power plant.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who likes the look of wind turbines (and loves seeing them when I visit other places). Local journalists in Philadelphia have a story this week on how Atlantic City wind turbines have become a tourist attraction there.
“The 32-story turbines of the Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm have so dramatically changed Atlantic City’s skyline – perhaps more than any casino could – that tourists haven’t stopped asking questions about them since they went up five years ago along a back-bay salt marsh,” Jacqueline L. Urgo writes.
“Some casino hotel guests are so fascinated that they ask for rooms with a view of the five delicate fans, resort operators say.”
Tours of Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm
The Atlantic County Utilities Authority is now offering tours of the wind farm twice a week (June-August), which sits on the grounds of the Route 30 wastewater-treatment facility.
Tours by appointment were started last summer to gauge interest. Up till now, 15,000 people a year have toured the facilities.
The tour covers the industrial-looking grounds of the wastewater-treatment facility, where a rotten-egg smell emanates from the containment basins and water-clarifying stations. But standing at the concrete base of one of the massive turbines gives visitors a better understanding of just how this operation saves 24,000 barrels of crude oil a year with the hybrid energy projects in use here.
While visitors can’t go inside and climb the winding staircases of the 385-foot carbon-steel structures, they can get close enough to the bases to hear the unique “whoosh” of the 120-foot blades.
Sounds cool.
The wind farm was the first commercial wind farm in New Jersey and the first coastal and urban wind farm in the United States.
I’m sure if I were visiting the area I’d try to go on a tour.
Photos via TruffShuff & PMillera4
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