Powering the Future

Wind: The Past and the Future
Salem, founded in 1626,  has a rich history, intertwined with the power of the wind. Wind-powered ships brought the colonists to our shores, and in the late 17th century, the wind, powering great trade vessels bound for the Far East, turned Salem into the wealthiest community in the nation.

Today, Salem has the opportunity to capture the wind for our future. We are leaving the industrial era of the 19th and 20th centuries behind–symbolized by the imminent closing of the fossil-fueled Salem Harbor Power Station. We now know that coal-fired plants like the one in Salem are killing our planet. As a coastal community, we are already experiencing the effects of climate change, with rising sea levels and more intense storms. The tides are flooding our streets and the rain is coming down in buckets.

“Salem Has the Best Wind”
According to Meridian Associates, an energy consultant working with Salem’s Renewable Energy Taskforce, “Salem has the best wind resource we’ve seen.”

A wind turbine on Salem’s shores will provide efficient, clean energy for our City. It will be a symbol of the future, standing in the shadow of the 20th-century fossil fuel plant that powered our economy but damaged the  health of our citizens and the earth.

Hope for Our Planet
Though a single wind turbine powers only a few hundred homes, a turbine in Salem is one of many sprouting across the state.

On the North Shore, Ipswich, Newburyport, and Gloucester are already capturing the wind. Lynn, Beverly and Swampscott are planning to erect turbines. Across the state, 27 sites host 40 turbines. With these small steps foward, we are joining a movement to transform  how we produce and consume energy–that is the only hope for the future of our planet!

 

THE HULL TURBINES 

SAFE VISITS HULL 2 from Marilyn Humphries on Vimeo.