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The turbines at Steel Winds are providing clean, renewable energy to an area that has been troubled in the past by pollution. In fact, the construction of Steel Winds included cleanup of a former Superfund toxic waste site, clean soil cover and revegetation of the area. The land has now been returned to productive use under the New York Department of Environmental Conservation Brownfield Cleanup Program.
- No pollution: Wind farms create zero air or water pollution and no greenhouse gases.
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- Reduced use of fossil fuels: The energy produced by Steel Winds is equivalent of burning approximately 115,000 barrels of oil or 32,000 tons of coal per year, yet has none of the associated toxicity, health, or cost issues.
- Fewer emissions: Based on data recently published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) Emissions and Generation Resource Integrated Database (E-GRID), traditional Upstate New York generation sources producing an equivalent annual amount of electric energy would emit greenhouse gases (GHG) consisting of nearly 23,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) and 29 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx). To put this in perspective, 23,000 tons of CO2 is equivalent to the annual emissions of over 4,000 cars or over 2,900 SUVs. In addition, equivalent energy production from traditional sources would produce 121 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2). Both SO2 and NOx cause acid rain, which harms our lakes and rivers.
- Minimal developmental impact: The facility was built using existing power lines, rail lines, roads, and port to minimize infrastructure intrusions.
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