The Tioga Preservation Group (TPG) filed this appeal of preliminary approval before the Court of Common Pleas of Tioga County, PA. TPG requests that the Court reverse the grant of preliminary approval and deny the preliminary land development plan granted wind developer AES.

This letter was submitted to the Tioga County Planning Commission on December 12 in advance of the Planning Commission unanimously voting to grant AES Armenia Mountain Wind L.L.C. conditional approval to construct over 100 wind turbines in the Eastern Region of Tioga County. The letter was submitted on behalf of the Tioga Preservation Group which contends that the conditional approval by the Commission would be in violation of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance and other processes established in the county.

The ordinance was crafted by many individuals and groups including, Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS), County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities, PennFuture, Community Energy, FPL Energy, PPM Energy and Gamesa Corp.
Editor's Note: Please note the identity of those involved in this project.

The generation of electricity by wind is a growing industry in Pennsylvania. While wind energy is certainly an attractive alternative to the pollution produced by fossil fuel power plants, all potential environmental impacts must be measured if electricity produced this way is to truly qualify as “green energy.” Surprisingly, only minimal environmental studies need to be done to site a wind farm in Pennsylvania. Improper siting of some wind farms in the U.S. has impacted migratory bird, resident bird, and bat populations. We present bird-impaction data from an industrial facility 30 km south of a proposed wind farm in Luzurne County, Pennsylvania, that suggest caution in the blind embrace of this energy technology. Siting decisions are made at the local government levels and are primarily based on economic incentives. We argue (a) that this energy alternative must incorporate robust site-specific impaction studies at each wind farm to demonstrate effects throughout the Commonwealth, and (b) that local government officials be given the guidance necessary to encourage and provide environmental oversight to wind farms in their areas.