Wind Turbines an Atlantic City Tourist Attraction

Atlantic City Wind Farm

Atlantic City wind turbines have become a tourist attraction there. Tourists haven’t stopped asking questions about the wind turbines since they went up five years ago along a back-bay salt marsh. Some casino hotel guests are so fascinated that they ask for rooms with a wind farm view.

The Atlantic County Utilities Authority is now offering tours of the wind farm twice a week. Standing at the concrete base of one of the massive turbines gives visitors a better understanding of just how this operation saves 24,000 barrels of crude oil a year with the hybrid energy projects in use here. In its five years, the wind farm has saved the utilities authority about $2.5 million in energy costs.

John Wolfram of Absecon, who works in guest relations at the Water Club in Atlantic City, said visitors constantly asked about the turbines, so he took a tour to satisfy his own curiosity and to pass information along when he is asked. "People drive in and see these things, and they are intrigued," Wolfram said. "They're like a tourist attraction. A lot of guests request rooms with a view of them."

Dan DiPasquale, visiting the casinos with his wife and parents for the weekend from Wallingford, Conn., said he and his father had taken the tour as an alternative to gambling and walking on the Boardwalk. "You know, you want something to do that's a little different, and we always wondered about these big turbines as we're driving in here, so we saw a brochure on it and thought it might be entertaining," DiPasquale said. "Who knows? This could become as big a tourist attraction as the casinos."

http://articles.philly.com/2011-06-12/news/29650149_1_turbines-first-commercial-wind-project-wind-energy