Wind Power News: New York
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Town is taking steps to control its wind energy
CANAJOHARIE — During last Thursday’s Town Board of Canajoharie meeting, the board appointed the Town Planning Board as lead agency responsible for completing a SEQRA report in regards to a local law the town hopes to adopt, titled “Wind Energy Facility Law of the Town of Canajoharie.” The SEQRA (State Environ-mental Quality Review Act) report is a basic environmental quality report, which will detail the environmental impact the law will have, if any, if adopted. It was up to the . . .
Cape Vincent passes wind moratorium
There’s a new twist in the ongoing debate over wind power in the town of Cape Vincent The town board Tuesday night passed a seven-month moratorium on such projects. Industrial wind projects have been a hot-button issue in the town for years and now even individual wind projects are being put on hold. After a public hearing, the board voted 4 to 1 in favor of the moratorium, putting all wind projects on hold. A letter was sent last week . . .
Cape Vincent enacts 7-month wind moratorium
The Town Council passed a seven-month moratorium halting all wind-power development in Cape Vincent on Tuesday night without any surprises. The vote was 4-1, with the last remaining pro-wind councilman, Mickey W. Orvis, opposing the resolution. Cape Vincent now has until Sept. 7 to put together a new wind law, although some believe this is meaningless as wind-farm developers may choose to work around Cape Vincent’s local wind law by submitting another application for the state to consider under Article . . .
Tilting at windmills
Documentary makers are always hoping that their film will come out at just the right moment, when a favorable news cycle and popular sentiment are converging so that the public is primed for their message. In 1989, Michael Moore made his career with “Roger & Me,” a documentary that pinned the decline of his hometown — Flint, Mich. — on General Motors. By focusing his fire on GM’s chairman, Roger Smith, Moore tapped into the public’s anger at tone-deaf corporate . . .
Ecogen wind subject of Prattsburgh’s board meeting
Prattsburgh, NY — The Ecogen wind farm project in the town of Prattsburgh is the subject of a special town board meeting at 7 p.m. Monday night. Town officials said the meeting was called at the request of the town’s legal firm, Bond, Schoeneck and King in order to review information on the 16-turbine project. Little is known about the information to be provided to the board, although Ecogen reportedly unsuccessfully presented an incentive package last week to Prattsburgh’s neighbor, . . .
Windmills not as safe as you may think
If you think a 400 foot machine, weighing 164 tons, with enormous moving parts, isn’t a safety hazard, then you have simply been misinformed. Wind turbines are colossal. The rotor diameter is nearly as large as a football field. Each turbine holds about 200 gallons of hydraulic oil. When they catch on fire, you have to wait for the fire to burn out. (You can see this happening around the world on your computer.) That becomes an issue when the . . .
Pomfret board reviews comp plan, WECS law
During a recent special meeting, Pomfret Town Planning Board Chairman Jim Joy spoke before the town board on a number of topics. In 2010 the town adopted its comprehensive agricultural protection plan, essentially its comprehensive plan. Joy requested that the town board appoint the planning board to additionally serve as a comprehensive agricultural plan committee. “This committee is responsible for identifying the recommendations for implementation and to monitor the success of the town of Pomfret comprehensive agricultural protection plan,” he . . .
Turbines in the backyard: the sound and the strobes
We can all agree that energy independence is a worthy objective, right? Alternative energy sources like solar power can help free the United States from fossil fuels and the grip of unstable Persian Gulf states. And wind power — wait, not so fast, says “Windfall,” Laura Israel’s urgent, informative and artfully assembled documentary. An account of rural Meredith, in upstate New York, when wind turbines came to town, the film depicts the perils of a booming industry and the bitter . . .
Water authority waiting to issue decision on Laurel wind turbine; comments close today
The Suffolk County Water Authority hasn’t found any scientific documentation on abnormal fire risks associated with wind turbines, its chief environmental officer Carrie Meek Gallagher said this week. The authority plans to build a 100-kilowatt wind turbine at its pumping station near Laurel Lake in Laurel, but neighbors are adamantly opposed to the proposal, citing, in part, the heightened risk of fire if the turbine is installed in the middle of a wooded area. The utility is waiting until the . . .
Marble River Wind Farm work continues
ELLENBURG — The Marble River Wind Farm in the towns of Ellenburg and Clinton could be operational by next fall. Wind Farm Project Manager Dan Fitzgerald said work started last summer, and they are continuing to work on an electrical substation near Route 190 in the Ellenburg. That work is expected to be finished by spring, and turbine components should start to arrive in late May or early June. “We are currently targeting an October operational date,” he said. The . . .
