Bayshore environmental group the Hazlet Area Quality of Life Alliance (HAQLA) is opposing a proposal that would place a 380-foot-tall windmill near a residential area along the coastline. HAQLA President John M. Curran III has written to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Monmouth County Freeholders in opposition to the wind turbine project proposed for Union Beach ...Curran calls for a countywide moratorium on wind towers/turbines "until the county and towns establish effective, controlling ordinances and regulations" governing renewable energy projects.

The second set of recommendations from the town of Orleans Wind Committee includes requirements for fences around turbines, an earthquake preparedness manual and fire department training. The recommendations were submitted to the Town Council at Thursday night's meeting. These recommendations addressed a wide range of health and safety issues unrelated to noise concerns, which were addressed in the first set of recommendations. The new issues also included stray voltage, well water and radon.

Every state in the northeast has set a target for increasing the amount of renewable energy it produces. Wind power is a big part of this push. Those towers and turbine blades can pose dangers to birds and bats. With more interest nationally in developing wind power, scientists are searching for more answers about the impacts, and how to minimize them.

Every state in the Northeast has set a target for increasing the amount of renewable energy it produces. Wind power is a big part of this push, but it may pose a danger to birds and bats. As part of a collaboration of northeast public radio stations, David Chanatry reports from the site of the biggest wind farm in the region.

Adirondack Park Agency commissioners approved two residential wind turbines at their recent meeting: one in Essex, the other in Indian Lake. In discussion, APA commissioners considered refining their use of "substantial invisibility" as it applies to slender, residential wind turbines, which disappear to the naked eye a mile away. Commissioner Richard Booth suggested APA Tower's Policy may not be a good regulatory fit for accessory, homeowner wind turbines.

Comments on the proposed Galloo Island Wind Farm submitted to the state Department of Environmental Conservation criticize the project's effects on birds and animals and ask for public access. DEC collected 22 written comments on the draft environmental impact statement submitted by Galloo Island developer Upstate NY Power Corp. Oral comments were taken at two public hearings May 18. As lead agency, DEC collects comments and then determines whether the draft statement is complete.

Gov. David Paterson met with four other governors of Mid-Atlantic states who joined together to announce on Thursday, June 5 the formation of a bureaucracy that will serve as infrastructure for future conservation and alternative energy projects in the Atlantic Ocean. The newly created Governors Mid-Atlantic Council on Oceans has the dual focus of preserving the natural habitats in and around the Atlantic Ocean while promoting "offshore renewable energy."

More than 90,000 households could be powered by the proposed Hounsfield Wind Farm on Galloo Island in Jefferson County. "This is a real opportunity for renewable energy in New York State. It's a very unique site. There are not too many islands that, I think, in the New York waters that would be suitable for a wind farm," said Jack Nasca, Department of Environmental Conservation.

Complaints by some regarding noise issues with the turbines have been brought to the town board's attention, most recently at the board's March 20 meeting. At least one resident reports that the noise is interrupting his sleep, which in turn is affecting his health. ...O'Connor, who attended the March meeting along with a neighbor, said that the company that did the study, Hessler Associates, is closely connected with Noble. "I had it reviewed by another guy," he said. O'Connor told the board that he videotapes the turbines and uses a sound meter to back up his claims. "My metering is honest and legitimate," he said, reporting that the sound level reaches over 50 decibels at times.

Balloon tests performed this week in Westfield gave residents their first real feel of the height of the proposed Ripley-Westfield wind farm. Babcock and Brown performed the test as part of their environmental impact study required by the state. "The balloon testing is performed in support of the visual impact assessment to be included in the DEIS," said Peter Gross of Babcock and Brown.

The St. Lawrence River is too precious to be marred by poorly-conceived wind power projects, Governor David Paterson said Sunday. The Governor fielded questions from a packed house at the Northside Improvement League as part of his budget tour of the state. Asked by a Hammond resident about his views on wind power development, Paterson indicated he thinks the industry is moving too quickly.

The Town Board says wind turbines planned for neighboring Prattsburgh come too close to the Naples town line. Board members agreed this month to send a letter asking the state Public Service Commission to intervene and order a developer to move the towers further from town line. "I think the board has made clear, we're not against wind turbines, but we are against the improper siting of towers," Supervisor Frank Duserick said. ...By placing turbines less than 500 feet from the Naples property line, Duserick and Servo argue that the project is creating "reverse zoning" that effectively limits Naples landowners from full use of their property for safety reasons.

The final scope of the Westfield-Ripley wind project will include 83 wind turbines: 47 in Westfield and 36 in Ripley. ...The next immediate step for Babcock and Brown is the preparation of the environmental impact study, which must be filed with SEQR and accepted as complete by both towns. There will be a public hearing and a minimum of a 30-day period for public comment.

While harnessing more energy from the wind could help satisfy growing demands for electricity and reduce emissions of global-warming gases, turbulence from proposed wind farms could adversely affect the growth of crops in the surrounding countryside. ..."By identifying better siting criteria, determining the optimum spacing between turbines, and designing more efficient rotors, we can minimize the harmful impacts of large wind farms," said Somnath Baidya Roy, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the U. of I. "Through careful planning and testing, we can avoid some of the worst pitfalls altogether."

Steuben County Public Works Commissioner Vincent Spagnoletti said the company, formerly known as UPC, will pay the county to restore several county roads to the same shape they were in before construction began. The two projects in the Dutch Hill and Lent Hill regions total 51 turbines. Seven miles of county Route 35, listed in fair condition before construction began, will need extensive repairs, including four miles of rebuilding, Spagnoletti said.

Although the DEC has cleared the use of slag on wind farm access roads, the state Department of Agriculture and Markets has concerns. In a Sept. 8 letter to Invenergy regarding the High Sheldon Wind Farm, Agriculture Specialist Michael J. Saviola said ...the Department does not support the use of any adulterated industrial byproduct material (such as steel slag) as road base on, or adjacent to, structural lands used for the production of food and/or forage crops," Saviola wrote.

Spanish multi-national Iberdrola unveiled a slimmer version of the Jordanville Wind Project before a packed town-hall meeting Monday, Nov. 10. It was unclear, though, if anyone has changed his or her mind on an issue that divided the townspeople of Warren and Stark, where the wind project is planned, and Herkimer from Otsego counties; the northern county gets the benefits, and two counties share the impacts.

"We had been all over the world looking for some place to live and we left our heart here in the Finger Lakes and this is where we came back to. We absolutely loved it here...until...we knew about the wind project," Judi Hall said. The back and forth over First Wind's bid to build wind turbines ended with the company's success. Champions of the project like Tom Casey, who sits on the town/village planning board, say the project puts Cohocton on the cutting edge of new energy and helps the economy.

The local debates over wind power are driven in a part by a vacuum at the state level. There is no state law governing where wind turbines can be built or how big they can be. That leaves it up to town officials, working part time and on advice from outside lawyers, some of whom may have conflicts of their own. Two Franklin County towns, Brandon and Malone, have passed laws banning the wind turbines. But the issue remains unresolved in Burke, population 1,451, where two Town Board members recused themselves from the issue this year because they had leases with wind companies, leaving the board deadlocked.