Town of Hempstead blows through a milestone

Round the final bend as you’re headed south on the Loop Parkway into Lido Beach, and you suddenly spot it in the distance –– a more than 10-story, high-powered wind turbine, with its massive rotors spinning in the wind, generating electricity to power a hydrogen-fueling station at the Town of Hempstead’s Department of Conservation and Waterways.

In six months, that turbine generated 125,000 kilowatt hours of electricity –– enough to light 14 Long Island homes for a year. And, in reaching that milestone, the town officially entered the 21st century, renewable-energy experts said.

To mark what Town Supervisor Kate Murray called a momentous occasion, she held a brief ceremony on May 23 at the turbine, which is located at the foot of the Loop Parkway’s southernmost bridge.

“I am proud to announce that the Town of Hempstead’s wind turbine has generated over 100,000 kilowatt hours since December, helping to power Long Island’s only hydrogen-fueling station,” Murray said. “Powered by the winds off Point Lookout, this wind turbine provides an almost constant supply of clean, renewable energy for the town.”

Hempstead has a small fleet of clean-running, hydrogen-powered vehicles. The wind turbine powers the hydrogen-fueling station, located within a stone’s throw of the turbine. The fueling station separates out hydrogen in water, leaving oxygen as the only byproduct, in a chemical process called electrolysis.

“Wind power is an integral part of our energy future,” said Angie Cullin, a Town Council member from Freeport. “I am proud to celebrate this important milestone with Supervisor Murray and our green energy partners.”