January 21, 2018
New York

Assembly bill aims to cut state subsidies for wind farms near Fort Drum facilities

By Marcus Wolf | Watertown Daily Times | January 21, 2018 | www.watertowndailytimes.com

Assemblywoman Addie A.E. Jenne on Friday introduced a bill that, if passed into law, would prevent the state from subsidizing wind farms that would adversely affect Fort Drum.

The legislation, which the assemblywoman has been exploring since September, calls for the state to withhold financial support for wind energy facilities that would be built within 10 miles of the Wheeler Sack Army Airfield, within 10 miles of the weather radar in Montague, five miles from the airfield’s regulated airspace in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties and within five miles of “class D controlled airspace,” according to the legislation.

The coverage area created in the bill forms a triangle that, according to the legislation, begins at the intersection of routes 11 and 26 near Evans Mills, runs north along route 11 until it intersects with Route 56 near Potsdam, runs south along Route 56 to the border of the Adirondacks, then travels west along the border of the park “to a point directly due east of the intersection of” Route 11 and Route 26, and finally “due west until the point where” Routes 11 and 26 intersect.

“(The bill) is the product of several briefings I’ve had at Fort Drum, with several military officials responsible for different aspects of training and operation,” Ms. Jenne said in a statement. “This legislation is necessary because the process for siting wind developments at the state level doesn’t take into consideration other major competing interest that should have a higher priority over wind power generation. This legislation would place the current needs of Fort Drum on equal footing with those of wind developers.”

Several state and local officials last year expressed concern, if not opposition, toward eight proposed wind energy facilities in the north country for their potential effect on radar systems and military training capabilities.

At least two of the eight projects, however, would not be affected by the assemblywoman’s bill, said spokesman Ryne R. Martin – Apex Clean Energy’s Galloo Island Wind project in the town of Hounsfield and Avangrid Renewables’ North Ridge Wind Farm in the towns of Parishville and Hopkinton.

“They’re outside that” proposed area in the bill, Mr. Martin said.

Lt. Col. Todd Polk said in a series of email exchanges with Clifford P. Schneider, a retired biologist who has previously challenged the project, that Apex’s project 108.9 megawatt project on Galloo Island would have minimal impact on Fort Drum’s radar and military flight capabilities when compared to other projects.

“Galloo Island is very manageable for us,” Lt. Col. Polk said. “At this point the Army has elected not to initiate a Mitigation Response Team to address any effects by the Galloo Island Wind Project on the Doppler Radar, ASR-11, or on our current or future training concerns.”

[rest of article available at source]


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/01/21/assembly-bill-aims-to-cut-state-subsidies-for-wind-farms-near-fort-drum-facilities/