Comments on: Windmills on NYC Skyscrapers Sound Cool, but Wouldn’t Work

By: moi

moi — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 01:55:50 +0000

Affixing turbines to buildings entails serious engineering problems, but the lack of wind in New York isn’t such a big deal. There *is* wind at the height of tall buildings! (outside the tropics, anyway)

By: Robert Dollar

Robert Dollar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:36:11 +0000

Sometimes obstacles point to new directions. Here here to Mayor Bloomberg for at least tossing the idea out. Besides, isn’t Chicago the windy city?

By: Jef

Jef — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:05:39 +0000

You should look at the link I put up earlier. I’m not associated with that company, so I’m not spamming, but they don’t kill birds and they don’t look bad and, though they never go very fast, the fluctuation is very little as they’re moving rather constantly in the type of twisting, gusting wind you find in a city. They’re not loud or heavy and they don’t cause very many vibrations. They’re not expensive, particularly on upkeep. Really, the only disadvantage is that the power output is far from impressive. But hey, put enough partial solutions together it starts looking like a solution.

By: Bernard Gilland

Bernard Gilland — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:05:00 +0000

Windpower, in New York or anywhere else, is a stupid nonsolution to the energy problem. It is a fluctuating energy source that requires backup from fossil fueled power plants. It would be far more sensible to build a nuclear power plant in Central Park.

By: Joe

Joe — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:16:48 +0000

I’m with Todd. Have any of the people who complain about the looks of windmills ever seen an open pit coal mine?

By: Christopher Wilson

Christopher Wilson — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:45:01 +0000

New York does not have the same intensity of wind that one finds in many wind-farm areas. But there is plenty of wind for a number of custom wind-turbine designs throughout the city, designs that are lightweight, with vibration dampers and bird safety features included. Hold competitions for new designs with substantial cash prizes, and the appropriate engineering will come, I guarantee it. When we depend on old ideas and existing technology, that’s what we get. New skyscrapers, by their shape, permit many new approaches to engineering wind power. Let New York show how it CAN be done, and put a sock in the mouth of the nay-sayers; they are the ones who are pulling this country down into a miasma of insoluble problems and perpetual mediocrity!

By: Todd

Todd — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:24:46 +0000

I love how one of the arguements against wind power is that it’s ugly. You know what else is ugly? An energy crisis.

By: Evrim

Evrim — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:47:49 +0000

If Man can step on the moon, why can’t be futuristic enough to support Bloomberg and atleast do not disagree with his ill-visioned aim to lace a wind turbine on each building. Why? and Why Not? Somebody has to study the social, structural, economic, and legal feasibility.

By: Damian

Damian — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:43:53 +0000

If they were worried about the blades on just Freedom Tower slicing up birds and freezing in the winter, how about an entire _city_ worth of frozen-solid-turkey-chopping whirligigs?

On the other hand, it would be the most interesting skyline in human history.

By: Jef

Jef — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:42:02 +0000

I remember seeing these vertical axis turbines on a television program. I’m not sure if that’s what they meant by ‘eggbeater’ but they seem like a good partial solution. I found a promotional pdf that explains it rather well: http://www.govenergy.com/2006/pdfs/Becker_3A.pdf
As far as harnessing wind in urban settings, I haven’t seen any better ideas yet.

By: Eliza Strickland

Eliza Strickland — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:53:59 +0000

You remember right. The “Freedom Tower” was originally slated to have 8 vertical wind turbines in an open-air structure towards the top, which were meant to supply some of the building’s power. But NY Governor Pataki worried that the blades would slice up birds, and others worried that the turbines would freeze in the winter, so the whole concept was eventually scrapped.

By: Damian

Damian — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:22:50 +0000

Great article. Don’t I recall that one of the preliminary designs for the rebuilt WTC would have involved two towers, with the upper 20 floors of each tower consisting of an enclosed wind turbine? I wonder if that proposal was viable, or whether it was similarly ill conceived.