Busted wind turbine in Bayonne, NJ has been wasting money for years

💨 The Bayonne wind turbine was an area first, built in 2012

〽️ After starting out strong, it's been offline since 2020

💰 At issue is who should pay for repairs, the city or the manufacturer

BAYONNE — A pricy wind turbine first put up over a decade ago in North Jersey has been out of use for more than two years along the Bayonne waterfront, leaving taxpayers wondering whether they'll see the savings once promised.

The $5.6 million wind turbine project was a partnership with manufacturer Leitner-Poma of America.

When working, it can generate more than 3 gigawatt hours of electricity per year with the ability to power up to 600 homes, according to the Hudson Reporter.

That output was supposed to have paid for operations of the nearby Oak Street sewerage facility, as reported by TapInto.

It started out strong and generated more than 632 megawatt hours in the first quarter of 2014, as tracked by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Output decreased over the next five years, until falling still in 2020.

It was also repaired at least once before in 2016 after a rotor brake part needed to be replaced, according to The Jersey Journal, which cited the Bayonne Municipal Utilities Authority.

In late January, NJ.com reported that an agreement was close between the municipality and the manufacturer to repair a faulty generator and other operational issues.

Last year, city officials speculated that the turbine might have been installed incorrectly, according to the same TapInto report.

Each month it's offline, the broken turbine has cost an average of at least $25,000 in potential energy savings, Bayonne Director of Municipal Services Tim Boyle was previously quoted as estimating.

Erin Vogt is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach her at erin.vogt@townsquaremedia.com

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