Think globally, act locally. It's the tree-hugger's mantra, and while it looks great on the bumper sticker of the Prius that jammed itself into the parking spot in front of you, to many in Hoboken it's more than just a catchphrase.
When you're essentially entombed in concrete, it's hard to imagine that anything you do in a city like Hoboken can impact "the environment." But it's not just about birds, bees flowers and trees--steps taken right here in our midst can have dramatic effects on the effort to not only heighten environmental awareness but make tangible strides in both the way we determine our energy sources and how we make the most efficient use of them.
Thinking Globally
"The answer is blowin' in the wind." Apparently some people took Bob Dylan literally, as societies across the globe look more closely at harnessing the wind for their energy needs. One might think our city's early Dutch influence may have played a role in a windmill company setting up shop here, but the answer is actually much more pragmatic.
Our founder and several of our staff live in Hoboken," says Hoboken-resident Jim Lanard, managing director of Deepwater Wind, which headquarters its operations out of the old Clam Broth House building at 36-42 Newark Street.
When they're not stuck behind the desk, Lanard and his colleagues can be found at their other Hoboken office. "We often hold meetings at La Isla," says Lanard, "we love that place."
What they discuss at these meetings are ways to build upon that quixotic windmill model and make it work in today's energy market. Windpower is a clean, renewable energy source--that much is relatively safe from debate. There are no greenhouse gases generated by windpower. The fuel is both free and available domestically, which alleviates some of our dependence on foreign oil. Furthermore, at the right scale, "wind farms" can generate enough megawatts to rival the output of a nuclear power plant.
So why don't we have more of these apparent cure-alls for the environmental crisis? An early hang up was simple aesthetics. "People don't necessarily want to look out from their porch and see hundreds of these massive wind turbines," admits Lanard. So Deepwater Wind has come up with an interesting solution--putting them in deep water.
“We put our wind farms fifteen-to-twenty miles off the coast, where on a clear winter day they will appear to be no larger than half of one’s thumb nail and in the hazy days of summer they be all but invisible,” says Lanard. “Our name and slogan pretty much reflect our point of view: Deepwater Wind--clean energy is just over the horizon.”
Copying a page from the offshore oil and gas concept, Deepwater Wind uses jacket foundation technology that allows for constructing platforms in water depths considerably deeper than traditional offshore wind farms in Europe (which have been operating since 1991). Furthermore, Deepwater Wind's unique assembly system makes for cost-efficient construction, which allows for the development of wind farms on a scale big enough to make a serious impact in a region's energy needs.
Aside from mucking up the scenery, another argument against the large-scale development of windpower has been the effect it has on bird populations--particularly shorebirds. Says Lanard, "Our platforms are so far out that the effect on migrating bird populations, which tend to stay nearer to the coast, is minimized."
Deepwater Wind currently has projects in different stages of development off the coasts of Maine, Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island, Long Island and of course, New Jersey. Meanwhile the base of operations is right here in Hoboken. "We have a brain-trust in Hoboken which is primarily responsible for a lot of the preconstruction development work; designing, engineering and planning," says Lanard. "We love the proximity to New York, and as our projects continue to grow here in the Mid-Atlantic, Hoboken will continue to be our main location."
Deepwater Wind's solution to energy seems relatively simple to the layperson--likely because it is. "We welcome the continued development of wind power, even if it means more competition," says Lanard, adding "whatever it takes to make it more viable."For more on Deepwater Wind, visit dwwind.com.
Acting Locally
While we can't all run out and set up a wind farm, there's plenty we can do within our own homes to make the most of the energy we use to run them. If you'd care to know exactly what can be done, talk to Tom Chartier.
Initially the Chartier Redevelopment Group (CRG), headquartered at 1034 Clinton Street, began as a real estate management and development company by simply acquiring properties and renovating them for sale and or rent. Throughout that renovation process, Cartier recognized the long-term economic benefits of remodeling with energy efficiency in mind.
"By replacing light fixtures, we cut lighting bills by 50 percent," says Chartier. "Over 12 months, the payback in utility bills is easy to demonstrate. By adding insulation and air-sealing doors and windows, that [procedure] would pay for itself within 3 to 5 years."
Plenty of people have their hearts in the right place, but there's always the bottom line to think about. Chartier's specialty is demonstrating how these measures are not only good for the environment but can quantifiably help the enduser in a place where we all need it--the back pocket. "When you look at big ticket items--new appliances, like a more efficient boiler--it's going to take 10 years to pay for itself through cuts in the heating bill. But we look at it as a necessary evil, since you probably would have to replace an old boiler over the next 10 years anyhow."
It's the pragmatic outlook of merging new-age environmental activism with good old-fashioned business sense that has CRG making quite an impact. Meanwhile, the reduction in energy consumption, increased building durability, and overall environmental quality of their projects can be seen as an all-around benefit--so much that CRG also provides consulting services for all types of buildings.
"For 1 to 4 family homes, we conduct real testing--we do blower door testing to identify leaks; we improve insulation make use of compact fluorescent lighting," says Chartier.
When it comes to larger-scale buildings, CRG takes a look at more substantial initiatives.
"We look at a 12-month period compared to an average building of its size and then audit the energy using features to find out where the savings will be found."
For example, replacing big-ticket items like hot water heaters or electricity in a larger building, the payback is bigger. For more radical innovation, such as the addition of solar panels or storm water mitigation (or particular interest to Hoboken considering the frequency of flooding events), the savings is also easier to demonstrate. "It will take 8 or 9 years to pay for the installation of solar panels, but you can compare that to not having an electrical bill."
Of course the main obstacle to renovation is having that capital of 8 or 9 years of utility bills to invest in the here and now. CRG stresses the benefits and incentives offered by the State of New Jersey's Clean Energy Program as a way to cope with that drastic blow to the wallet. Meanwhile CRG is working with local organizations to emphasize the benefits of these measures in terms of new development here in Hoboken. Progressive new construction like Metrostop near the 9th Street Light Rail are already blazing the trail of innovative design, while the Garden Street Lofts project between 14th and 15th Streets received the highest-rates Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, which in turn can translate into tax incentives for developers and/or owners.
"We identify what's important to the town," says Chartier, "It's not about forcing extra cost; we stress the benefits of long-term efficiency." For more, visit chartier-group.com.
Cottage Industry
It's not just developers and real estate magnates that can benefit from the environmental trend. "I get one new client a week," says contractor Will Wallace of Will Wallace Carpentry [(201) 951-4342], "and I've done 40 estimates in the past three months."
As the economic downturn continued its trickle down, a lot of contractors have seen some lean times. With the emphasis on saving money as well as energy, there's work to be found in home efficiency.
"We've seen a huge increase in volume," says Wallace. "The biggest is insulating the attic and the walls, then replacing broilers and water heaters--serviced correctly to make sure they're not wasteful." And seemingly it's more than just a flash in the pan. "It's gotten huge in the past 2 years," he says, "and over the next five years it's going to get bigger."
Yes, acting locally does in fact have global ramifications--the bumper sticker on the Prius doesn't lie. Despite the fact that Hoboken is just one square mile, we all know it's the center of the world. So it should come as no surprise that what's being done here should have such positive impact on the planet as a whole.
