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.
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 . . .
Wind turbine route among road projects
LITTLE VALLEY — Cattaraugus County’s most expensive road project this summer may make a smooth road for what could be hundreds of truckloads of components for wind turbines. County Road 30 — Chipmonk Road in the towns of Allegany and Carrollton — is slated by the county Public Works Department for a nearly $3 million reconstruction this summer. That is almost half of the county’s nearly $7 million road construction plan for 2012. EverPower Wind Holdings Inc. is also eyeing . . .
Appellate court upholds dismissal of Galloo Island wind farm challenge
An appellate court has unanimously upheld a state Supreme Court judge’s dismissal of the town of Henderson’s legal challenge to a proposed wind farm on Galloo Island in the town of Hounsfield. In a decision entered Tuesday, the state Appellate Division, Fourth Department, affirmed Judge Joseph D. McGuire’s August 2010 ruling that, among other things, determined that the Henderson Town Council lacked standing to bring an Article 78 action against the Hounsfield Planning Board in which Henderson sought to have . . .
Higher towers, more output urged in wind energy law
FREDONIA—The Pomfret Planning Board has recommended that the Town Board make two changes to the town’s wind energy conversion system law relating to small wind energy systems. The first would increase the maximum tower height allowed from 80 feet to 120 feet. The second would change the maximum kilowatts allowed from 10 to 100. The board took no action on the proposals at its Wednesday meeting. Supervisor Don Steger questioned why the law makes it easier for a farm to . . .
Take a hard look
Each August, my husband, daughter and I travel to my cousin’s house to enjoy an idyllic family gathering around a pristine North Fork lake — Laurel Lake. The setting is so peaceful that we have been considering moving from California to live there permanently. With great chagrin, we heard this week that the Suffolk County Water Authority, which owns the adjacent tract, is attempting to install a 125-foot wind turbine. This has been undertaken in a rather fast and covert . . .
The human price
As my husband, Mark, and I first drove down Laurel Way 31 years ago we had no idea what lie ahead. We had come in response to an ad for a house for sale on Laurel Lake. Never having heard of a lake in this area, we were stunned to discover this pristine paradise less than two hours from New York City. In fact, so overwhelming was our response, that by the end of the day, we had come to . . .
Still a local matter
The Suffolk County Water Authority is again taking its “mandate” too far. The SCWA is not, as they define themselves in their environmental assessment of the proposed wind turbine at Laurel Lake, a “governmental unit.” It is, as their own website states, “an independent public-benefit corporation.” As such, they have no right to bypass Southold Town review or approval processes. There are many facets to the turbine controversy, such as the environmental impacts on the Laurel Lake Preserve and effects . . .
What’s the benefit?
Are there really any advantages to a wind turbine? I unknowingly thought so until I had to quickly educate myself when I heard the Suffolk County Water Authority intended to place one at perhaps my favorite place on earth, Laurel Lake and the adjacent preserve. What surfaced from my research were government studies, newspaper stories and scientific data that covered installations gone awry from Maine to California, as well as all over Europe. Wind turbines can create serious issues depending . . .
Cohocton eyes ‘home rule’ issues
Cohocton, NY — With all the attention on possible bans on hydrofracking, the took a different step last month. Town Supervisor Jack Zigenfus said in December he is looking at “home rule” issues, which have been brought to the town recently. Zigenfus said the town is waiting to see what the final Department of Environmental Conservation’s recommendations are, plus receive recommendations from the town and village planning board before going further with discussing a moratorium. Town attorney Pat McAllister said . . .
Windfall
Extolling the virtues of wind power is where most ecological documentaries finish after subjecting us to the details of the land-raping extraction process du jour and asserting those whispering windmills as the remedy. Not so fast, Laura Israel’s playfully thorough examination of the subject warns. Big as hell and largely unregulated, those scenic wind turbines aren’t nearly as benign (or whispering) as their image suggests, something Israel’s upstate New York neighbors discovered when several of them leased land to wind . . .
