Is it time for wind turbines atop the Empire State Building?

New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg this week unveiled an ambitious renewable energy strategy that could see wind turbines and solar panels installed on some of the city's iconic buildings and bridges and up to 10 per cent of its energy provided by offshore wind farms.

Unveiling the plans at an alternative energy conference in Las Vegas, Bloomberg said that he was committed to making New York the "number one city in the nation" for renewable energy, adding that he envisaged the Statue of Liberty's torch one day being "powered by an ocean wind farm".

He also invited renewable energy firms and investors to propose ideas for how the city could bolster its renewable energy capacity with proposals for offshore wind, micro turbines, solar panels, tidal power and geothermal energy all likely to be considered. "We want their best ideas for creating both small- and large-scale projects serving New Yorkers," Bloomberg said.

Speaking to the New York Times, Rohit Aggarwala, the director of the city's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, said that New York had the potential to become a major source of wind energy, arguing that new wind turbines that can be integrated into tall buildings could be effectively deployed while there were also a number of suitable offshore locations that could be harnessed.

"If rooftop wind can make it anywhere, this is a great city," he said. "We have a lot of tall buildings."

However, others were more sceptical about the viability of plans. Christine Real de Azua, spokeswoman for the American Wind Energy Association told the Bloomberg news agency that turbulence in cities makes urban wind development notoriously difficult and as such "New York is more likely to get offshore wind parks than on top of buildings or the Brooklyn Bridge".

Meanwhile, Bloomberg will be in a race against the clock to get his plans formally approved and underway before he leaves office in 18 months time, particularly when large scale projects such as offshore wind farms are likely to require federal approval.

However, speaking at a press conference following the announcement he insisted that he was committed to driving the plan through, arguing that while wind power was "not a panacea" and that energy conservation still had a major role to play there was a compelling case for urban renewable energy technologies. "We're not saying: "Not in our backyard"," he said "We're saying: "We'll do it"."