January 16, 2018
New York

Jenne seeks ban on state subsidies for wind projects near Drum

WWNY | January 15, 2018 | www.wwnytv.com

When it comes to Fort Drum’s training and readiness, Assemblywoman Addie Jenne doesn’t want wind farms getting in the way.

“I want our military and specifically Fort Drum, the most deployed division in the United States Army, to be able to be ready when they are called to duty to serve our nation abroad and it’s abundantly clear that we need to do something and I’m trying to get a law passed that gets Fort Drum what they need,” said Jenne (D. – 116th District).

Jenne proposed a bill that would ban state subsidies for projects in specific areas that could affect Fort Drum.

That means projects would not get any incentives from the state if they are 10 miles within Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield and the Montague weather station, 5 miles of Army regulated airspace like the Watertown airport and also within a large area from Route 11 up to Potsdam, down Route 56 along the Adirondacks and back to Fort Drum.

But Jenne points out the legislation doesn’t completely ban wind.

“This legislation does not prevent a project from moving forward, if the finances of the project make sense for it to move forward without state subsidies, then it would continue to go through what we refer to as the Article 10 process, which is the state driven citing process,” said Jenne.

Wind projects have popped up all along the north country and even more have been proposed. Jenne says her bill wouldn’t affect the proposed Galloo Island project or the North Ridge wind project in Parishville.

As for landowners who see wind farms as an additional source of income:

“That continues to be a major concern of mine, and I’ll be bringing it up during the budget process and specifically requesting that funds be set aside to address this,” said Jenne.

The next step is for Jenne to find a co-sponsor of the bill in the state Senate. She mentioned the legislation could be tweaked a bit as it works its way through Albany.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/01/16/jenne-seeks-ban-on-state-subsidies-for-wind-projects-near-drum/