The wind industry holds a lot of promise in New York because of the landscape. That doesn't mean it should be a scatter-shot, helter-skelter process to get wind laws drafted and projects up and running. While the intervention by officials is welcomed, we still can't help but wish it came earlier in the process - at least for Enfield's sake.

Many of our small towns are being sold a bill of goods from the wind company charlatans that are backed by information from the AWEA, which also supplies the U.S. Department Energy its information. The U.S. taxpayer will pay for this in tax subsidies. This is why it is important for our citizens to attend informational presentations on wind being held throughout Jefferson, County.

Finding clean energy sources is a way of the future, and that means we need to seriously investigate opportunities - especially those in our own back yard. Most important is to make certain we do not compromise the environment as they are developed. ...Drilling for natural gas and the creation of wind farms can be economically beneficial to communities as well as landowners. Yet, there are legitimate environmental concerns that need to be addressed.

Public servants fail the people when they make deals with companies or individuals seeking approval for private projects. Such dealings create conflicts of interest for those directly involved, and the appearance of a conflict of interest for the entire town government. The state must investigate all such conflicts to see if wrongdoing occurred. Local officials must act in a manner beyond reproach by turning down all entreaties from private wind-turbine developers dangling lucrative lease deals in front of them. And the governor, state Legislature and attorney general must study this entire approval process so that localities have clear guidelines within which to operate.

Many thanks for the excellent lead story in the Monday, Aug. 18, issue of the Times concerning wind-farm corruption which affirmed what many suspected. But I fear the town of Clayton's nearsighted board members will overlook the article. They see only immediate profit from turbines and refuse to recognize long-term concerns about severe environmental, ecological and economic damage.

But had Bloomberg done the math, he'd know that even if Manhattan were topped by a solid block of windmills, they wouldn't come close to meeting the city's power consumption. Wind power has its place as a power source, but it's not a place at the top. It provides less than one-tenth of 1 percent of U.S. electricity because it costs more to produce. The wind may be free, but the equipment is expensive. The costs are even dearer if you follow Bloomberg's other suggestion, namely floating windmills in the middle of the ocean. How many windmills does it take to meet the power needs of a typical city, much less New York City?

First, it's important to confront the issue in an open way, garner public opinion and plan ahead. Some towns in Clinton County have declared a moratorium to give time for careful study of whether wind towers are appropriate for their communities and, if so, where they should they be located. This is a wise approach. Towns have zoning laws for a reason, and wind turbines should conform. ...if the rules are followed, conflicts avoided and plans put into place beforehand in a transparent way with adequate public input, the energy needs of the country and the preservation of the environment require that opponents should take another look.

Every wind-generating power company in New York needs to come under closer scrutiny. There is just too much public money at stake. An aggressive watchdog is needed to make sense of the complicated deals they make, to protect taxpayers and to monitor the conduct of public officials whose decisions can yield wind generators millions of dollars. That's why a state attorney general's investigation of two wind-power companies is so important -- and why a critical, independent eye should be kept on the rest of the industry. ...These agreements need to above-board without even the hint of conflict.

Billions of dollars are spent through taxpayer subsidies to promote the biggest industry that we know as ENERGY. GREEN ENERGY to be more specific. Wind energy to be exact. ...I am for positive change in how we use energy and how we produce energy. Wind may fit some communities and not others. Responsible developers should consider this fact and not waste our taxpayer money (yes, we fund these projects through NYSERDA and charges on our utility bills) in order to push poorly planned projects into communities that are resistant to industrial wind projects.

Decisions on the appropriateness of building industrial wind installations should be based on the scientific facts of the issue, not just about who stands to profit from these projects. Since wind can never provide RELIABLE power on demand, it is simply the electricity version of the ethanol scam. It mattered not that it cost more energy to make a gallon of ethanol than it provided, nor that there were many who foretold of the problems associated with ethanol. Alas, since there was money to be made, politicians pushed it through in their "politically correct" rush to appear "green". Now, we are left dealing with the consequences of the rising costs of food and anything else associated with corn, the havoc it is wreaking on the environment, while it certainly isn't alleviating our oil dependence. It is very sad indeed, that energy and public policy decisions are being based on greed, ignorance, and misinformation being put forth by corporate wind profiteers, pandering politicians, and agenda-driven, corporate-owned media (e.g. - GE owns NBC), rather than according to what's actually right and wrong.

The Hatch case focuses on the inconsistency between Hatch's repeated claims that he did not have an agreement with Everpower, and the following documents filed between April 2006 and February 2007 by Everpower (with either the Town of Howard or Steuben County IDA) in which Bill Hatch is identified as a "participating landowner", either directly, by the listing of his name, or indirectly, by showing his property on Hughes Road in the Town of Howard as a site where a wind turbine will be installed.

Tanton explained, "Capacity factor and kilowatt hours are not pertinent ... the ONLY measure that is for this application ("How many homes...") is Capacity CREDIT, also sometimes referred to as capacity value. Capacity Credit is the percentage of nameplate capacity (applies to all types, not just wind) that can be counted on every, and any hour of the year. It is most important during 'peak' hours, which can be summer or winter depending on the region." Tanton emphasized, "Capacity Credit is a statistically determined number, but for most wind facilities is between 0% and 10%. In essence, industrial wind turbines - regardless of how many, power NO HOMES at all because it is not there when it's needed (just like a fair-weather friend). There is a vast difference between power and energy."

What do wind developers look for in a county and its township before putting their cross hairs on them? ...I think they scope out elected officials to see if they have any moral or ethical values, using a proverb like "they will fall for anything, because they stand for nothing." They found Herkimer County. They came in under the cover of darkness, behind closed doors and found their scarecrows. A scarecrow is a landowner who signs a contract to have industrial wind turbine erected on their land for money, but they must sign a contract that says they cannot bring a suit against the developers due to any nuisances (ill-effects, though the developer says there are none) the turbines cause them or their family.

Jack A. Nasca, chief of DEC's energy projects and management division of environmental projects, made a persuasive case for his agency taking the lead. He noted in a letter to his boss, Alexander B. "Pete" Grannis, that the "anticipated impacts" of the wind farm are "primarily of statewide and/or regional significance as opposed to local significance." The project will require installing an underwater transmission line along with other construction activity, which will mean heavy boat traffic to and from the island, and could disrupt fish spawning and bird populations with long-term ramifications ..."The impacts from the loss of a unique habitat of regional importance and the potential for impact to resident and migratory bird and bat species of statewide importance will remain for the operational life of the project," Mr. Nasca wrote. Terns on the state list of threatened species nest on the island, which is also near other important bird habitat.

Having read several different industrial wind energy landowner contracts, I really have to hand it to wind developers. In exchange for a few thousand dollars, the wind company can preempt landowners' rights to: extract sand and gravel from their property, develop mineral rights on their property, allow hunting, build additional outbuildings or plant trees, etc. If, in the sole discretion of the wind developer, such activities would interfere with or alter the flow of wind currents over the property, or interfere in any way with the building or operation of the wind project. ...Yes, I really have to hand it to these wind developers, and if you have signed one of these leases, you probably already have.

During the past year, several towns in the region have grappled with the issue of wind power, but none perhaps more contentiously than Meredith in Delaware County. Regardless of how you stand on wind power, Meredith has become a great example of townspeople with the legal right to control their fate actually exercising their democratic powers to take charge of their lives. A year ago, Meredith planners were working on an ordinance to regulate industrial wind turbines. After their work was completed, the town board made changes to their proposal, held hearings and passed a law many thought too lenient to wind-power developers. So, in July, when it was time to file to run for town offices in the November election, the planning chairman and others who opposed the town board's action decided to use the ballot box to get the power to rescind the ordinance they opposed.

A proposed wind farm with 77 turbines on Galloo Island has brought to the fore an often overlooked discussion of the need for new transmission lines to get the power from the turbines into the electrical grid for distribution to homes and businesses. ...The location of wind farms contributes to the problem. They are commonly sited in remote or more rural regions where winds are stronger. Doing so can create regional confrontations since the communities being asked to bear the brunt of the lines often do not directly benefit from power being sent into other areas or even out of state.

Eminent domain could be used for turbine placement and total number of units, all in the name of feasibility and "the public good." Local laws, no matter how restrictive, will be irrelevant once eminent domain is unleashed. All three levels of government seem unable to deal with the issue fairly. The state is bent on producing 25 percent green energy at any cost, not protecting rural citizens' safety and individual rights. The county cares only about the money, how much they get and who controls it without any responsibility for health, quality of life and property rights of all taxpayers. Local governments (some) try, but are no match for billion-dollar companies promising thousands of dollars to landowners as fast as they can. Seduced by money that's lavished on them, some officials and landowners ignore problems while trying to railroad through projects before anyone knows what's happening.

According to data provided by AWS Truewind LLC, Brandon falls within a Class 1 wind resource at 50-meter wind power density. There are very small areas within Brandon that, based on data provided by AWS Truewind, fall into a very low-end Class 2 category. There are no areas within Brandon that can be proved to be a Class 3 wind resource at 50-mters wind power density. Not even remotely close to Class 3. Based on our research of the AWS Truewind data for the Town of Burke, there are no areas within Burke that can be classified as Class 3 wind, either. ... What kind of electrical production can we anticipate will come from an industrial wind turbine facility that is Class 1, and barely Class 2?

Wind energy claims to be clean. Unfortunately, we can't say that about wind company ethics and some local town officials entangled in wind issues. There's a deafening silence from leaders entrusted with the public welfare. Conflicts of interest between wind companies and town boards appear to be a regular occurrence in small communities hypnotized by financial gain. ...Cape Vincent officials with apparent conflicts stated they will continue voting on wind issues, letting the legal chips fall where they may. If Cape Vincent gets wind power money, will town funds drain away in a cesspool of legal battles over potential corruption? ...While officials sit silently, fearing controversy or hoping to get through an election, citizens fill the void spending thousands of dollars protecting themselves and seeking answers, as wind power ravages their county.