Sucking Wind in the Fight for Renewable Energy

Wind Energy / Related Environmental Issues

Date posted: 03/29/16

Robert Bryce reports that Gov. Cuomo wants New York to be getting 50% of its electricity from renewables by 2030. But if the ongoing battle over the proposed Lighthouse Wind project is any indication, Cuomo and his wind allies are in for a long fight upstate. Three New York counties, Erie, Orleans and Niagara, as well as the towns of Yates and Somerset are all opposing the 200-megawatt Lighthouse project. If approved by state regulators, the project would install dozens of 500 to 600 foot high turbines on about 20,000 acres in Niagara and Orleans counties, both of which abut Lake Ontario. In January, the Town Board of Yates voted unanimously to oppose the project. Yates Supervisor James J. Simon said that the fight is about trying to preserve our rural agricultural landscape. Simon, an associate dean at Genesee Community College, was not active in politics until he saw how the push for renewable energy was going to affect Yates. He said that the attitude of the pro-wind forces has been you all are small potatoes, and we are going to cram this down your throat. Some 65% of property owners in Yates and 67% in Somerset are opposed to the Lighthouse project. On February 24, the Somerset Town Board passed a law that dramatically restricts (and may, in fact, ban) wind projects in the town. Yates is drafting a similar law. Rural and suburban residents in the U.S., Canada and Europe are opposing wind energy for multiple reasons... visual blight, loss of property value, potential impacts on local tourism and concerns about the low-frequency noise and infrasound generated by bird- and bat-chopping turbines that can stand roughly half as tall as the Empire State Building. The sentiment in New York is widespread. The town of Clayton, in Jefferson County, is considering a law that would ban wind turbines. Last July, the Town Board of Catlin passed a law prohibiting wind projects after Florida-based NextEra Energy proposed a $200 million project. But, read for more.