December 2, 2006
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
Opponents of a private company’s plan to build a massive wind farm on leased property in northern Potter County have banded together for a grassroots effort, under the moniker, “Save God’s Country.”
AES Corporation, a wind energy developer, wants to erect 79 large turbines to generate electricity in Ulysses and and Hector townships.
“They must be stopped,” said Save God’s Country spokesman Herb Miller.
The turbines will be more than 400 feet tall, their blades whirling at upwards of 200 miles per hour under favorable wind conditions.
Miller’s group cites the following objections: negative impact on wildlife; noise pollution; ground vibration;
construction of new roads and transmission lines; alterations in local water flow; shadow flicker; declining property values; damaging health effects; negative impact on tourism; visual intrusion on the landscape and absence of any direct energy benefits for Potter County.
“God’s Country, as we know it, will no longer exist,” Miller warned. “It would destroy our rural lifestyle and negate the reasons most of us have chosen to live in this beautiful community.”
“We understand that there is an energy crisis and that alternatives to coal and foreign oil are being sought,” he continued. “Because of this, wind power is currently the darling of state and national government and huge subsidies have been provided to encourage its development. Wind plants have become a big investment scheme . . . We’re going up against monied interests.”
He emphasized that Save God’s Country does not oppose “green solutions” to energy demands, “but these turbines will destroy a very rural, beautiful place.”
Miller’s group is calling for a letter-writing campaign targeting Gov. Ed Rendell, Congressman John Peterson, State Senator Joe Scarnati, State Assemblyman Martin Causer, Potter County officials and others.
The group can be reached by email at savegodscountry@aol.com, or by mail at: Save God’s Country, P.O. Box 25, Ulysses PA 16948.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2006/12/02/group-forms-to-fight-proposed-wind-farm/