Energy siting plans are dangerous recipe
Credit: People's column | Observer | Apr 24, 2020 | www.observertoday.com ~~
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Translate: FROM English | TO English
Many folks may not be aware that the pared down catastrophic budget for New York state includes new authority for renewable energy siting that can ultimately dictate where and how these projects get approved and located, and there’s nothing local communities can do about it.
In Dunkirk and surrounding areas, we lost a major employer and taxpayer when the power plant closed while our lights are kept on primarily from electric imports from Pennsylvania, including a large chunk from coal fired power generation.
Then we watched as environmentalists dictated an accelerated way to site and build new renewable projects by taking away community input – and in many cases opposition – to projects that communities either didn’t want, or weren’t happy with benefits to the community.
The zealot advocates for renewables all used terms such as “just transition” for communities losing power plants, and that “commensurate local green jobs” would replace lost fossil employment.
Reading about all the out of state workers doing the construction work on the Cassadaga wind farm was an outrage – punctuated by the pandemic worries of out of towners going back and forth with potential for virus spread.
Are the local construction workers at full employment, and unable to capture some off “local green jobs” falsely promised? Where are our legislators that should have made damn sure that we didn’t get rolled with the new siting laws? This is bad and getting worse for those that deserve better representation than we’ve been getting!
GUS POTKOVICK,
Retired,
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Fredonia
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