Wind Power News: New York
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
How more wind power projects could mess up radar at Fort Drum
Last year New York State set an ambitious energy goal: to generate 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. That means building more generation capacity, and right now there are eight proposed wind projects from northern St. Lawrence to northern Oswego counties. But Army officials and community leaders say building more wind turbines in Fort Drum’s airspace will make its aircraft and weather radar systems unreliable – which could impact training and readiness. When wind turbines appear on . . .
Parishville man will stay on state siting board, despite wind developer’s motion to remove him
PARISHVILLE – A Parishville man will get to stay on the New York Siting Board on Electronic Siting and the Environment following a motion by a wind developer to have him removed for what they say was a conflict of interest. Hon. Kathleen H. Burgess mailed a letter to Gary Snell Sr. stating that the siting board had no authority to disqualify or remove Snell from the board. “She said I can stay on the board unless I decide to recuse . . .
Does this activist have the power to keep a wind farm out of his town?
An energy developer with plans to build a big wind farm in rural St. Lawrence County recently got a surprise. Avangrid Renewables is getting ready to submit an application to build the North Ridge Wind Farm, with up to 40 turbines in Hopkinton and Parishville. The towns are deeply divided, but the final decision was supposed to rest with a state siting board. This summer, the state announced that an anti-wind activist from Parishville will get to sit on that . . .
Reasons to fear the wind are piling up
Recent writings have indicated that there is much controversy over wind energy in the area. This is true especially in the towns of Somerset and Yates. Apex “Clean Energy,” a Virginia-based company, is proposing Project Lighthouse Wind, a project that will string up to 70 huge, 600-foot-plus industrial wind turbines along 12 miles of the pristine shore of Lake Ontario in Niagara and Orleans counties. There are some who support this activity; however, they are definitely in the minority. The . . .
Snell refuses to recuse himself from North Ridge siting board, despite conflict of interest allegations
Mr. Snell says that his chairmanship is a volunteer position and does not prevent him from representing his community. “It is also my personal belief that I have no more conflicts of interest or bias regarding the proposed North Ridge Wind energy project than anyone else serving on the Siting Board,” he wrote in his response to Ms. Burgess, in which he declined to recuse himself.
Hopkinton town board members to visit wind farm in Jericho Saturday to listen for noise, talk with local officials and residents
HOPKINTON – Four members of the Hopkinton Town Board will visit the Jericho Rise Wind Farm in Belmont on Saturday to listen for noise from wind towers, meet with local officials there and possibly speak with local residents. Hopkinton Town Supervisor Susan Wood says she, along with council members Sue Lyon, Greg Crump and Steve Parker Jr. will make the trip. Town council member Gilbert Sochia will not attend due to a previous engagement, she said. Some members of the . . .
Hopkinton woman announces town board candidacy; says town council is in ‘disarray’ due to ethical issues
HOPKINTON – Hopkinton Town Councilwoman candidate Kelly Pullano says that the town board is in “disarray” due to ethical issues relating to proposed wind towers that are planned for the town. Pullano, who formally announced her candidacy for the town board, says that her town is “faced with an issue of serious magnitude.” “If elected, I believe I could represent the community of Hopkinton in the manner residents deserve,” she said. “The serious issue I speak of is the real threat . . .
Contact local officials to stengthen land use plan
There are reasons wind developers in NY are unwilling to reveal the specifications for turbines they intend to use – – even while engaging (or pretending to engage) local communities in discussions about their projects and attempting (pretending) to reach stipulation agreements with local stakeholders. The main reason? Developers know the turbines being constructed over the next several years will be considerably larger than the turbines we are currently familiar with. They would prefer that affected communities not dwell on . . .
Residents ask about potential effects and benefits of Mad River Wind Farm at open house
Avangrid and its subsidiary, Atlantic Wind LLC, now plan to build 88 turbines that are 591 feet tall in an about 200-acre footprint within an about 20,000-acre plot of working forest it leased from Salmon River Timberlands LLC. Mr. Copleman said about 66 percent of the turbines will be located on the portion of the property within Redfield and about 33 percent of the turbines will be located on the portion of the property within Worth, but the proposed layout and additional project details are subject to change.
Avangrid Renewables holds Mad River wind farm open house
There are questions when it comes to developing wind farms in the North Country. “I’m very concerned about it, especially if it does interfere with flights and whatever impact of the economy of Fort Drum,” said Avangrid Renewables Communication Manager Paul Copleman. Avangrid hosted an open house Wednesday to try and answer questions about the Mad River Wind Farm project. “We want to incorporate those questions into the process so we’re studying what people are concerned about,” said Copleman. The . . .
