Although the law has many positive aspects it removes the ability of local government to protect its citizens. Large wind facilities dominate a landscape and cause significant environmental alteration to rural areas, where they are most often sited. It does nothing to protect real estate values nor remove the onus of improperly assessed wind facilities already permitted by local governments. We believe these deficiencies should be remedied prior to enactment.

If local town supervisors had their way, a state Assembly bill that would give the state discretion over the siting of wind farms would be gone with the wind. The bill in question, A08697, says "[A08697] would reauthorize Article X of the Public Service Law, with changes, to provide statutory provisions for the siting of major electric generating facilities. The bill would require an analysis of health impacts, the cumulative impacts of emissions in affected areas, and that environmental justice issues be taken into account by the Siting Board in its decision-making process. The bill would also require local appointees of the Board to be named by the Governor upon the recommendation of the Chief Executive Officer representing the municipality in which the facility is proposed."

WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- Multiple reports and studies, especially those published in the last year, suggest the United States, specifically the East Coast, has great potential for offshore wind. The politicized debate over whether to develop wind power offshore has dragged on since the late 1990s, when the first project was proposed in Cape Cod, Mass., off the Nantucket Sound. Since then there have been several other proposals, none of which has been completely approved.

Legislators in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic passed a number of bills applying to the electric power industry, with several states committing to emissions reductions through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and other states making broad organizational changes to their regulatory processes.

Another roadblock is being enacted to stop the federal government from overriding New York's authority to decide whether companies can build megawatt power lines through the state, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., announced Monday. Schumer plans to introduce legislation within the next two weeks to hinder the efforts of New York Regional Interconnect to seek federal approval if the state Public Service Commission denies its proposed project. The company has proposed building a high-voltage power line from Marcy to Orange County to help provide more power to downstate communities. Schumer said terms of his legislation include:

WASHINGTON, DC - In the wake of the defeat of a measure that would have prevented the federal government from trumping state governments on the issue of power line siting, Congressman Maurice Hinchey vowed to continue the fight. He said many lawmakers who voted against his measure did not understand it, and he promised to reintroduce similar legislation in the near future.

The shallow water just miles from the Rehoboth Beach shoreline could be the site of the country's first offshore wind farm -- but it will not be the only one, as similar projects are racing forward in Massachusetts and New York, experts say.

Lt. Gov. David Paterson on Tuesday opened the first meeting of a group meant to help reduce the state's reliance on fossil fuels by expanding renewable energies like solar, wind and biofuels. The 17-member Renewable Energy Task Force, meeting in the Blue Room at the Capitol, also is responsible for offering ideas on reaching Gov. Eliot Spitzer's goal of reducing the expected growth in electrical demand by 15 percent by 2015. That goal would mean the state would be consuming about 8 percent less power than forecast for this year, which would be about the same amount as it did in 1998.

How much money wind projects blow into local communities is still up in the air - and it could be changing as the state Senate and Assembly work on Article X, a bill to regulate energy production in New York. State Sen. George Winner, R-Elmira, is part of the conference committee comprised of Senate and Assembly members to come up with a joint bill. He said the two bodies are "very far apart" in terms of coming to terms on a joint offering. The bulk of the bills deal with natural gas and clean air standards, but wind energy could be impacted as well.

WASHINGTON - The House rejected a resolution Wednesday that would block government plans to spur construction of major new power lines in many states regardless of local opposition. The issue has been contentious in parts of the East Coast and in the Southwest, where two high priority transmission corridors for power lines were proposed. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., warned colleagues that unwanted power lines could come to their district.

Property in Franklin, Clinton and St. Lawrence counties could be seized in the interest of national security if the land is where a federal commission says power lines should go. The initiative is meant to improve the delivery of electricity to populated areas along the Eastern Seaboard. And it is designed to prevent the kind of wide-spread, rolling blackouts and power interruptions that California experienced - situations that experts predict will start in New York and other eastern states in 2011 unless system upgrades are made. But opponents, such as the Sierra Club and historic-preservation groups, contend that state and local governments would be stripped of the power to control what occurs within their boundaries under the plan and that host communities and land owners would get little compensation.

A bill proposed in the state Senate would put an 18-month hold on new wind farm projects in Madison County and the rest of the state.

Back and forth they went until they hit this point: "What other topics do you want to discuss since we're not getting anywhere on coal or (energy) diversity?" asked Assembly Energy Committee Chairman Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, Montgomery County. "Maybe it's best we call it a day," replied his counterpart, Sen. James Wright, R-Watertown, Jefferson County.

Draft legislation in Albany would make the state the chief reviewer of wind turbine projects throughout New York, wresting that control away from local communities, a preservation advocate said Wednesday in Albion. "This represents a fundamental shift from home rule (where local communities decide)," said Daniel Mackay, public policy director for the Preservation League of New York State. "This will expedite windmill siting." Mackay urged about 40 people at a forum on wind turbines to contact their state legislators and urge them to kill the draft legislation before it is proposed in the Legislature.

Two initiatives related to wind energy were announced by the Long Island Power Authority at a press conference on May 22, and generated mixed reactions from public officials in attendance. While LIPA's efforts to import wind energy from outside of Long Island was applauded by environmentalists and public officials, some criticized LIPA's push to conduct an updated, economic assessment of the utility's proposed offshore wind farm for Long Island.

From New York to Virginia, residents face the prospect of new high-voltage line construction after an announcement last week by the Department of Energy. Now, East Coast lawmakers are banding together in a bid to short-circuit the federal decision making it easier for power companies to build major power lines like the New York Regional Interconnect.

A new federal proposal to help electricity flow more freely could help the energy-choked East Coast. But it could also infuriate landowners, who have traditionally gotten their way in fights against utilities in Delaware. U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman last week named Delaware as part of his proposed eastern National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor. It would run from New York to Virginia, and west to Ohio. A second corridor would run through California, Arizona and Nevada.

A grass roots coalition of nearly 100 citizens from New York, Vermont, and other states have filed a federal Anti-Trust Complaint alleging that an international cartel comprised of foreign and domestic business entities have conspired to eliminate competition in the newly emerging U.S. wind energy sector.

The group includes 10 existing hydroelectric facilities that have been or will be upgraded, nine new wind facilities and two biomass facilities, the organizations say. The contract awards total approximately $295 million and will be paid out over a 10-year period as performance incentives for these facilities to produce and deliver electric energy to the state grid. According to NYSERDA and the commission, performance incentives will average approximately $15 per MWh.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer unveiled a new energy strategy yesterday that relies on reducing the state's energy use by 15 percent by 2015, investing $300 million in renewable and "clean" power projects and increasing supply by enacting a law to expedite power-plant siting. Simultaneously, the state gave a big boost to wind power by awarding performance-based grants to nine new "wind farms," including three in Steuben County in western New York and one in Herkimer County in the north-central section of the state. These sites, which state officials predict will open next year, will significantly increase the state's use of wind. There are now just four large-scale wind power sites that supply power to the electricity grid, state officials said.