September 1, 2006
New York

Wind power debate blows through Wayne County

wroctv.com

Monday night Tom Golisano was in Lyons, pitching wind power development plans he says can benefit local residents instead of foreign companies. This time, instead of being met with skepticism and protest, the crowd seemed to want to hear more about potential plans.

Lyons resident Karen Killips says, “because I have a young son, and am concerned about his future and I have family with property that may be of interest, I am interested in hearing more.”

The newly formed alternative energy task force of Wayne County asked Golisano to come speak. They’ve heard about the debate over wind power in other parts of the state and want to know if Wayne County could benefit.

“There is a tremendous amount of community support out here. Just for the idea and concepts of alternative energy, especially wind,” says Terry VanStean of the Alternative Energy Task Force of Wayne County.

The area has what is called viable wind, it’s not optimal, but some areas around Lyons could house profitable turbines. “We’ve been out in Wayne County, we’ve been looking around, looking at the lay of the land, wind power resources and we think there are some prospects here for some projects,” says Keith Pitman of Empire State Wind Energy.

He along with Tom Golisano say, those projects, if done the right way, could have big rewards for the entire community.

“It could be for a couple reasons. Primarily, it will create revenue that could be used to reduce the level of taxation,” says Golisano.
“We think the money that blows through the air and gets captured ought to land right here,” Pitman adds.

(Katrina Irwin, WROC-TV)


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2006/09/01/wind-power-debate-blows-through-wayne-county/