Wind project statements contested
Erie Times-News | November 7, 2014 | www.goerie.com
As Don Goldstein is an economics professor, I’m hoping he can provide some data to support his statement in a letter about Pioneer’s wind project (“FAA wrong on wind energy ruling,” Oct. 30).
He states that Pioneer’s wind project will generate “many high-paying jobs” during construction and in long-term operation. My research shows that many workers during the wind project construction phase, which typically lasts less than nine months, are from out of state and that wind projects hire very few long-term workers during the operational phase. It would be helpful to know the actual number of jobs proposed for this project, where the workers come from, and how much they are actually paid.
I’d also like more information on “proper siting that minimizes effects on wildlife.” What has Pioneer done to reduce potential wildlife impacts? The Lake Erie area is a hugely important migratory corridor for millions of birds. How will Pioneer’s plan reduce direct mortality to birds and bats?
Right now, across the entire PJM grid (coordinates movement of wholesale electricity in parts of several states), we receive only 0.07 percent of our electricity from what the PJM grid considers to be reliable wind power. So I’m not sure how Pioneer’s proposed project can be considered “environmentally important.”
I’ve talked to wind developers who laugh at the number of turbines in projects here in Pennsylvania, as projects here are tiny compared to ones farther to the west. I’ve been told that projects in Pennsylvania are insignificant in number of turbines, electricity output, CO2 reduction and climate change reduction.
Laura Jackson
president, Save Our Allegheny Ridges, Everett, Bedford County
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/11/07/wind-project-statements-contested/